Gnocchi of Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Potato gnocchi is quite common throughout much of Italy, but nowhere more so than in the north, where there is a strong Austrian influence. In Friuli-Venezia Giulia, parts of which…
Cookies of Friuli-Venezia Giulia
With the exception of Trieste’s Viennese-style cakes and pastries and the Slovene-inspired spiral cake gubana, one does not typically associate the cuisine of Friuli-Venezia Giulia with desserts. Rather, it’s the…
White Asparagus of Tavagnacco
Note: After nearly two months of a nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus COVID-19, Italy is finally beginning the process of reopening. However, the festival described in this piece has…
Soups of Friuli-Venezia Giulia
In centuries past, the people of central and northern Friuli-Venezia Giulia were typically poor and often plagued by famine. This was especially true during the long, brutal winters in the…
Gubana, Putizza, Presnitz: Deciphering Friuli’s Spiral Pastries
While doing research for Flavors of Friuli, one of my most nagging questions was this: is there any difference between gubana and the similar-looking spiral pastries from Trieste, putizza and…
Trieste: Marzapane and Horse Meat
It was dark and cold when I woke at 7:00am, the final morning of Daylight Savings Time made even more somber by the layer of gray clouds that had rolled…
Trieste: Ristorante Al Bagatto
Since it had been several days since I had done any grocery shopping, I spent the early part of my morning picking up milk, bread, and another can of tuna…
Trieste: Putizza
With no more day trips planned, I allowed myself the luxury of sleeping in until 8:00am. While brushing my teeth that morning, I was startled by a loud ringing—presumably the…
Trieste and Muggia
Having woken up with a stuffy nose and headache—my second cold of the trip—I spent the entire morning in my apartment at Residence Liberty, organizing maps and schedules for my…
Venzone: Festa della Zucca
On the day of Venzone’s Festa della Zucca, I made my way to the train station in Trieste with some degree of trepidation. The last time I had visited Venzone,…