Mauro & Bari's - The Fish Menu

You'll all know how much we love Mauro & Bari; the spunky chef and sommelier proprietors of our favorite restaurant in all of Italy, Trattoria all'Angelo. In January we were invited to a class organized by our good friends Ann and Roland. The menu theme was focused around fish, specifically dover sole and sea bass.

Mauro is a hands-on kind of guy, so we were definitely going to get a little dirty on this one!

Mauro demonstrates how to filet the sole

Ann tries to emulate his technique without gagging!

...Fish heads, fish heads, eat them up! YUM!

Cleaning the fish... I try to emulate Mauro's technique without gagging! Cynthia was a total pro at gutting the fish. It must be the nurse in her. If you ever need your lungs ripped out and a knife to cut you from anus to chin, y'know who to call.

Want to improve your cooking? Add Booze!

The food tasted a LOT better than it looked! So good I forgot to take pictures of it. Oops!

:)
M

That's Amore!

In Napoli, where love is king,
When boy meets girl,
Here's what they say!

Our great friends Sandy and Reggie moved from Vicenza to Naples it was a truly sad day for us. But it gave us an unequaled opportunity to visit them down in old Napoli! Reggie and Sandy live in a quaint little town about 30 minutes north of Naples called Castelvolturno. We had heard a lot of stories about the crime and decay that plagues the areas south of Rome, and I'm sad to report that a lot of the stories are true. However this area of Italy has such a unique and vibrant flavor we found ourselves swept away by the whole thing... well not so swept away that we left our valuables unattended, but you get my point.





On one of our excursions we stopped at Sorbillo for the real deal Napolitano Pizza!


But by far the highlight of the trip was the day we spent cruising down the Amalfi Coast. It was a gorgeous day with great weather. Too bad everyone had the same idea as us, and a traffic jam of beach-goers, sight-seers, and impatient locals quickly formed!


The Amalfi Coast line has several little small towns perched precariously on steep, ocean-facing cliffs. Our first stop was the little town of Vietri Sul Mare which is renowned for their intricately painted ceramics.




For lunch we enjoyed the Sea King's Feast at Ristorante d' Nettuno in the town of Maiori!




And then there was Amalfi!
Renato Fucini said of Amalfi
On the day of Judgement,
for the people of Amalfi
that go to heaven,
It will be a day
like all the others...






After Amalfi came Positano bathed in luxurious evening light.




By the time we made it to Sorrento, all the good light was gone, and we were exhausted. We can't wait to go back to see our friends!

Check out more Pics!

Ciao!
M & C