It’s our last night in Santa Margherita Ligure. Tomorrow morning we’ll hit the road and drive to our next home base – Alba. Alba isn’t a major tourist destination. It’s not Florence or Rome, but it is in one of the best wine-growing regions in Italy, and it’s the home of the world’s most famous truffle festival.
And as a matter of fact, it’s truffle time in Alba right now. We’ll be there at the height of all the truffle-related activity. In the next few days, various events will be taking place in Alba, including a parade through the streets, the truffle fair, and of course, donkey races! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
It’s Dinnertime
For our last dinner Santa Margherita Ligure, we decided to eat in the same restaurant we dined in last night. The food was great. It’s a short walk from the hotel. The service was good, and the servers were fun. And, the lady who took our order complimented me on my italian. She said it was “benissimo.” If she was looking for a way to get a better tip, she had certainly found it!
When we entered the restaurant, the staff recognized us from last night. They welcomed us back like we were family. With so many other restaurants in the vicinity, they probably appreciated us returning after eating there just last night.
This restaurant is all about seafood. The day’s catch, whatever it may be, is displayed in windows facing the street. The fish and other delights had been brought in by local fishermen. You can see their boats from inside the restaurant.
We sat down and had the usual barrage of service that starts you off. We ordered some wine and settled in. As we were taking in the sights and sounds in the busy restaurant, we noticed something strange.
The Guys with the Fish
A guy would come out of the kitchen and go out the front door of the restaurant. Then he’d come back into the restaurant carrying a fish by the tail, which he’d take into the kitchen. Pretty soon another guy would leave the restaurant and return, carrying another fish by the tail.
Some time later, a server would come out of the kitchen with someone’s dinner – a nicely-plated whole fish. The fish on the plate looked a lot like one of the fish that had been brought in from outside. They served quite a few whole fish while we were there that night.
It turned out that the guys going outside were getting fish from the display tanks in the window, which could only be accessed from outside the restaurant. Maybe that doesn’t seem that strange, but I bet if you were in a restaurant where a guy kept going out the front door and coming back in holding a fish by the tail, it would get your attention, too.
After dinner we walked back to the hotel for the last time. Tomorrow I’ll go and see if the car is still in the “hidden” garage. (Hidden from me, anyway). I left it there four days ago. I’m pretty sure it’s there, because no thief would ever be able to find that place. Then we’ll hit the road for Alba.
Santa Margherita Ligure, Portofino, and the towns of Cinque Terre have been fun, even accounting for the bad experience we had in Vernazza. Because of that, we weren’t able to keep our reservation at that special restaurant in the hills. I missed out on ravioli made from chestnut flour, and stuffed with home-made ricotta, pine nuts, and local salami. There are a few of those torte di noci in the shop windows I would have liked to try, too. Oh well. Maybe there’ll be something good to eat in Alba, eh?
To be continued…
