Foggy Day After Christmas in Milan

Early Sunday mornings, (not bright-and-early because it’s pitch dark out at 6:00 a.m.) are flea market times. Loredano has been a “regular” for decades, and I’ve got the bug when I’m here. Yesterday, the day after Christmas, we headed to the flea market at Assago, on the southwest edge of Milan. The sellers’ stalls were sparse, post-holiday, but we found a few things nonetheless. I got an old, leather-bound, very heavy, blank ledger (€20) which may yield fodder for art projects. That book is so big and heavy, it’ll require a suitcase all on its own! And I brought home a beautiful boxed set of handmade paper stationery, labeled “London” (€5), each bundle of envelopes tied with a white silk ribbon. I will use these papers for special letters, and maybe even do some painting on that gorgeous paper.

From Assago, we tried for San Donato, this time on the southeast edge of town. Also slim pickin’s at that flea market, we browsed, and walked away empty-handed. Up for a drive, we decided to head east, to Caorso, in the Province of Piacenza, Region of Emilia-Romagna. (Like driving to the next state over.) Caorso is almost halfway between Milan and Bologna, not far from Parma. It was a foggy drive in the countryside, with farmlands and abandoned buildings from long ago in the muted, roadside scenes… plus a giant Amazon warehouse.

We arrived in the little town of Caorso, stopped to ask a couple of locals where the flea market was, and they told us that because it was the feast day of Santo Stefano, there was no flea market. Hmm. Now what? In the historic center of town, we stopped across from the Piazza della Rocca Mandelli, a renaissance castle; the theater that caught my eye, Cine Fox; and Casa La Madonnina, an elder care residence.

It was almost noon, a little early by Italian standards to stop for lunch. We saw a man walking along the street, stopped and told him we’d like to find a restaurant serving foods typical to the region. Where would he recommend having a meal?

Absolutely the best choice, he said, was Osteria del Morino. (@osteriadelmorinocaorso) He was right. A half block away, we called to check availability. Yes! There was space for two. (By the time we left two hours later, the place was packed. Amazing that we had gotten a table.) (Of course, named “Morino”, how could we go wrong?)

From the outside, the place looked small and worth little mention. But inside, we found the place expansive, charming, and comfortably-yet-beautifully decorated. We were seated in the upstairs balcony.

Always choose from the local specialties. In Italy, you can go 50 kilometres and find a completely different food culture, each area with it’s own traditional recipes. Ask for those! (Please don’t fall back on what you “think” is “Italian Food”, what you’re accustomed to ordering back home in the States. I often don’t know what I’m going to get… but that’s the whole point!)

Loredano and I chose, and shared:

• Il tris di Carne Cruda di Garronese – Three different raw preparations of very special, high quality Garronese beef.
• Pisarei e Fasò – “Pasta and beans”. Borlotti beans with bean-sized rounds of firm pasta, in a smooth, tomato-based sauce.
• Melanzane marinate – Marinated Eggplant – Pickled in wine vinegar with olive oil and herbs.
• Il Ganassino – Pig’s cheeks, stewed in Barbera wine, served on mashed potatoes.
• Vino Gutturnio – A lightly bubbly red wine, typical of Piacenza Province.
• Un Caffè Normale – Every meal is finished with a sip of coffee.