The gastronomical Heart of Europe: Part 2

February 28, 2013February 28, 2013 / dolcevitaspinelli / 2 Comments

As you could read in my previous post I was really ‘in love’ with the spot where the event ‘Heart of Europe’ was held. You might also remember that the reason for me being here is that the regions Belgian & Dutch Limburg, Liège and for a part Aken are joining their forces to show people the many hidden treasures on all levels (Gastronomical, museums, etc…) there are in their regions. All these treasures are bundled on the website “Heart of Europe” which is available in Dutch, German and French (I’m sure English will soon follow).

I’m being honest when I’m saying that is a very user friendly website! Really!!! On the website you are able to look on whatever interests you most either per region or across region and country boarders. Are more into food/gastronomy or art and culture…? Just click on it and the website will guide you through the best these regions have to offer and you’ll find whatever your little heart desires. The best period to visit this period to me (but this pure personal) is spring time, as this is the moment that all plants, fruit trees and flowers are blooming. Just imagine yourself cycling through beautifully colored landscapes as far as the eye can see feeling a light spring (slightly warmer than in winter) breeze and stopping once in a while to visit a local farmer, winemaker or any another craftsman to enjoy their local products with the sun shining down on you … but then again every season has its beauties. Try all 4 and then decide 😉

I’ll let you in to a little secret of mine, the website has helped inspiring me and organizing my fiancé’s birthday 😉 I know she’ll be reading this (am I mean to make her this curious?) so I won’t go into details, but I’ll share it when the time is right. Ooooooooh yeah baby!

Not that I needed more convincing that this region is beautiful in every sense of this word, but if they want to convince me with food, who am I to stop them 🙂 🙂

At this “event” or maybe meeting is better word, they had also invited some local culinary craftsmen (winemakers, cheese makers, etc…). I arrived at 10 a.m. so I didn’t feel like trying the beer or wine yet (I just felt wrong) although there are some really good wines in these regions. Something that did catch my attention from the moment I walked in was the ham’s, that is a big weakness of mine I love ham’s both cooked as dry-cured ham (like Parmaham and Pata negra). The “LIVAR” booth was one that immediately got my attention. Livar is actually a ‘pig’ farmer that besides selling the “regular” meat of his pigs also makes some delightful hams!! From the moment you put a piece of that ham in your mouth it immediately melts like butter. Livar has 3 nominations of their ham (from the same kind of pig) the first “Livarsijnk” is dried and aged in the headquarter near Maastricht, the second part gets dried and ages in Spain “Jamon de la Sierra” and the third part “Proscuitto di Monastero” gets dries and aged in Italy near Parma . With the last two as my favorit ones, not that the Livarsijnk wasn’t good, but the other two just had that flavor I love! (They are aged longer). What makes the difference between Livar ham and other hams you’ll find around is the fact that the Livar pigs’ meadow doesn’t have a fence and they get fed things like nuts, etc… I can really recommend trying this ham and/or even visiting Livar whenever you are near Maastricht. I’m a fan!

Although I really loved all of the ‘craftsmen’ that were here had great products, other one that caught my attention were the “Seigneurie de la Vervi-riz”, they had with them my all-time favorite dessert (besides tarte tatin) Rice pie and man this was THE BEST I have ever had!!! It was all I ever looked for in a rice pie 🙂 and I must say they were the fanciest dressed of us all! (check the pic below).

BUT, the best was yet to come!

To be continued….

The gastronomical Heart of Europe

February 25, 2013February 26, 2013 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

Breathtaking, that is the first word that comes in mind when I think back of the event I was fortunate enough to be part of. This event was to put the local products from 4 regions that to my opinion deserve more attention. I’m talking about Limburg (Belgian & Dutch), Liège and Aken-Düren-Heinsberg (Aken doesn’t contribute to the culinairy part).Not sure how good your geography is, but maybe you’ve noticed that these are neighboring regions (even crossing country boarders)

Chateau Neercanne was the location of the event, why exactly this location? Well first of all because Maastricht is the point where countries from the 4 regions come together and I think also the historical past of Chateau Neercanne might have been a reason. Chateau Neercanne is the place where the Maastricht Treaty has been signed on 7 February 1992 (Treaty on European Union). So basically they used this historical location to write history all over again! 4 regions spread over 3 countries collaborating and joining forces to put, what is a wonderful piece of Europe in the spotlight.

Chateau Neercanne itself is already a good example of the treasures that are hidden in this “Heart of Europe” (and a reason to come here).This 1 Michelin star awarded restaurant (already since 1985) is to me one of the most magical and beautiful restaurants where I have ever eaten. No picture can represent the actual beauty of this spot! We didn’t eat at the restaurant itself, we ate in the restaurant’s wine cellar. This cellar is located in the caves of the hill itself on which the Castle is located (also the exact location where the Treaty was signed). From the first step you walk in the caves, the only word that comes to mind is “WOW”. Names from people who have been here during the centuries written on the walls, plaques with names and Escutcheons from important and royal guests that have been here (like Paul Bocuse, HRH Queen Beatrix, …), candles burning everywhere and wines wresting as far as the eye can see. Funny enough the Plaques that is the most striking from them all was one from Red Bull crushed ice (yes, in the bright colors of Red Bull, check picture below)

Honestly I didn’t know there were such beautiful castles in “Limburg”! Which is again like I said before a good example that these regions get underestimated and deserve much more credit than they are getting at the moment. FYI I would have loved arriving here on a horse :-).

In my next post I’ll finally start talking about the food and reveal more undiscovered secrets from the gastronomical heart of Europe! To already make you curious I’ll share the picture of our table for lunch

For more info on the heart of Europe, check the following link

To be continued ….

Toronto the city of burning secrets part 2

January 30, 2013January 30, 2013 / dolcevitaspinelli / 1 Comment

Ok, so we have the CN tower and Eaton center covered, what is there still left to talk about you might ask yourself…? Lots of things that is my answer! Last year wasn’t my first visit to Toronto, but it always feels like like it, as you every time I come here I seem to discover new things. One of the“discoveries” I did this time was the Distillery district or known as the Gooderham and Worts Distillery until 1990 as this was the year they closed their doors for making bourbon and whiskey. Nowadays you’ll find theaters, a few artsy shops, some nice lunch options and a museum on the Distillery. What attracted me here (besides the nice lunch spots) was that the fact they have kept all the original buildings (although I’m sure that at some point it must have burned down like everything else in Toronto) and this gives lots of character to this part of town and the jazzy music jazzed it up :-). We had our lunch at the “Brick street bakery” where we had some very satisfying sandwiches (I had the day special “meatball sandwich”, not sure what my bride to be had 😦 ). If you’re not really for sandwiches for lunch, I’m sure there will be something else to your liking in the Distillery district for every kind of budget). What you should also know about The Distillery is that it has been used in lots of famous movies like Chicago, The Farm (with Al Pacino) and X men. (you can find a more complete list on the following link). So basically you can even pretend that’s you’re on a movie set 🙂

If you are into food (like me) a visit to the St. Lawrence Market is a real must! Walking here felt a bit like walking in a cleaner version of Barcelona’s “Mercat De La Boqueria” (which is an amazing covered market). Just like at ‘La Boqueria’ you can buy as well as eat both local as foreign products, but also farmers selling their own products. On top of this you can also follow cooking workshops here, given by some of Canada’s best chefs! A stop at Placewares while at the market is highly recommended as they really have every kitchen appliance you can imagine at a normal affordable price (I was like a kid in the candy store, to bad I had keep my luggage weight in mind). I can say for a fact that this market woke up a very big appetite!

Just like in every other city Toronto has a huge choice of restaurants of any nomination and cuisine, so I’m sure you guys won’t starve! Personally I didn’t try too many restaurants in all the times I was here, as I prefer eating the great food my aunt makes! She is a very good cook, I know when she’ll be reading this she’ll say she isn’t, but she is (she’s just modest)! She had two of my preferred cooks as examples 🙂 her mom and her mom’s sister aka my zia Livia (you might have already read about her in my post about her). However a restaurant that I hope to get to next time I’m in Toronto is restaurant ‘Nota Bene ‘. Why? Well a friend of mine (who now works at my favorite wine shop and studied at one Belgium’s best chef schools) worked there for a while and was so enthusiastically about this place that I just have to try it and I’ve also seen lots of positive reactions on this restaurant on the web… (Last year it didn’t work out to go there)

If you would have the time, I can really recommend you to also explore the area around Toronto. One thing you just have to have seen are the Niagara Falls, they are only an hour drive away from Toronto… so to Canadian standard very close by. I have seen it both at winter time and during summer and the last is definitely better as during this gives you the opportunity to walk a bit and see the falls from almost every angle or do a little walk in the park. You could also take a boat or walk under the fall, but is all quite expensive to do…I mean once you’ve seen the falls you’ve seen the falls. The “town” at the falls is a bit tacky if you ask me, Vegas style, a lot of light, lots of noise, casino’s and junk food 🙂 not really my thing, but still an experience… what I do recommend is stopping at Niagara on the lake, which is the opposite of Niagara town.

Another great trip outside of Toronto would be through the Ontario Wineries (if you like wine obviously), you would really be surprised what beauties (referring to wine) you’ll find here. You can check the following link to know more about the wineries and plan a route.

Or a stop at Oakville (an upscale town at Lake Ontario) could be nice if you like to see some smaller towns… We had a nice dinner at restaurant Julia, which to my opinion was a place where you can eat well for a modest price and enjoy some local wines… what more do you need?

I could keep talking, but one has to stop somewhere… Toronto, Ontario or better whole Canada have all so many beautiful things to offer for you to discover from beautiful nature to great cities with a European touch and Canadian friendliness . I recommend everybody to go there at least 1 time in their life!

I would also like to thank Gabby and the family for making our trip even more amazing. Thanks guys!

BTW: I didn’t know I had such big fans in Canada? These guys even had a Spinelli Sticker on their car 🙂

My Loire valley adventure by bike: final part

July 3, 2012October 14, 2014 / dolcevitaspinelli / 1 Comment

After already having had a wonderful time in the Loire, it got even better! Not only did I get to visit some of the most well-known vineyards in the Loire valley, I also got to go around the Vitiloire wine fair together with the one and only Miss Vicky Wine. For you who don’t know her, she’s the coolest wine chick in France that knows a loooooooot about wine. So lucky me :-). My preferred wine houses I got to try were Lionel Gosseaume (loved his white wines aka Les Sauterelles) and Domaine des Ouches (for the red wines). So if you ever get the chance to try them, please do so 🙂

The next day we were all ready again to ride our bikes through more or the beautiful landscapes of the Loire Valley or better around Saumur. The architectural character of the town owes much to the fact that it is constructed almost exclusively of the beautiful, but also fragile Tuffeau stone and indeed gives a very unique touch to this region.

Not only is it known for its architectural sites, it is also well known for its sparkeling wines. Did you know that most Champagne brands like Bollinger, Taittinger ,… own lots of vineyards in this region. They have done this as the soil caves around Saumur is perfect are perfect to make some of the best sparkeling wines around. One of the best examples would be Langlois-Chateau (fyi, chateau is a family name, not indication of a castle), is owned by Bollinger. It is already long before it got taken over by Bollinger, that this vineyard had a big tradition in making sparkeling (since 1885) and it is indeed one of the best you’ll try and the best part is that Cremant de Loire as this wine is called is much cheaper than champagne 🙂 (I like) (FYI, their other wines are also very good)

2 Vineyards you should also try to visit are ‘Clos du Cristal’ and ‘Chateau de Targé’, there are 2 reasons for this, first of all for the wines and second of all to hear them talk with all their passion about their life work … oh and also because the vineyards are beautiful… I’ll let the pictures speak for me 🙂

In case you would feel hungry, I would suggest going to restaurant L’Hélianthe and here again, the pictures will do the talking.

I really hope that all of this has convinced you to travel to the Loire! I enjoyed it very much, even with all the effort of cycling :-). For more info on the Loire you can always look on the website of Vins de Loire

My Loire adventure by bike: part 2

June 21, 2012October 14, 2014 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

Lucky for us we could start our first day of cycling in sunny weather. For me it was a little bit to warm (or I was just dressed to warm), because it sure wasn’t because of my bad shape ;-). The first day took us from Tours to Rochecorbon

To get to our first vineyard ‘Maison Brédif’ located in Rochecorbon, we cycled through the beautiful vineyards or Vouvray. This thanks to Christophe Marzais (from Détours de Loire) our guide. What seemed for a walk in the park for Christophe, was a little tougher for the rest of us 🙂 (not the downhill part)

But the ‘paysages’ were really nice!

Where are my manners, I’ m always talking about us, but I didn’t even introduce my cycle buddies… Please find my cycle buddies on the picture below (They made the trip even better!). FYI, we just came of our bikes when this picture was taken, so nooooo judgment please 🙂

As said, our first stop was at vineyard ‘Maison Brédif’ located in Rochecorbon. Founded in 1893!

What I liked about all the vineyards we’ve visited (also at Maison Brédif) is that you can really see and feel the history they’ve all been through and they have the most beautiful cellar you could possibly imagine (If I think of wine cellars, these are the ones I think about). So I would really recommend if you would come to the Loire valley, to stop at some vineyards.

Ok, now it might get a little bit technical, but what do we need to know from the region around Rochecorbon/ Vouvray? Maybe the diversity of the soil here, that changes from parcel to parcel. It goes from very sandy clay to chalky clay… which results to a big difference in the flavor the grapes will be having (even if they are the same kind of grapes). If you don’t believe me, just pick a grape on every different type of soil and compare 🙂

Even though you can also find red wines in the Vouvray region, it are mostly the white wines that are well known (and best, if you ask me). FYI, all grapes get picked by hand!

Of course we also tried wines 🙂 , that was the reason of all the effort of cycling, right? If I would and could generalize the Vourvray wines (but maybe I shouldn’t, but I will 🙂 ) I would say that most Vourvray wines are actually sweeter wines with touches of exotic fruit like pineapple or Quince .

The most special wine we were fortunate enough to taste was the Vouvray Collection from 1959, which got a cognac color during the aging process. FYI, did you know that normally white wines are better for aging for years instead of red wines?! (Neither did I, so never too old to learn). You would think it would get sweeter, but it doesn’t 🙂

After this last tasty wine at Brédif, we jumped (more or less) on our bikes to head towards the Vitiloire wine fair. But more about that in the next blogpost…

My Loire valley adventure by bike

June 17, 2012 / dolcevitaspinelli / 1 Comment

What does one think about when thinking of the Loire Valley? Most people (including me) would b say that the first thing they think about is castles, which is indeed something we cannot ignore. Chateau Chambord would be one of the famous ones, but there are many more beauties across the valley.

What surprises me though is that not so many people would be think of wine when they think of the Loire, unlike for example Bordeaux where people would instantly think of wine. I can say for a fact that the Loire valley is one of the regions with some of the best French wines just think of Sancerre or Pouilly Fume as most welknown, but there are also wines like Chenin Blanc, Chinon, Cremant de Loire, Malbac,….

When they first asked me if I wanted to join to do a wine tour through the Loire valley, I didn’t hesitate long. First of all because I had never been there and secondly I was sure that I would actually see that the Loire Valley is more than ‘Chateaus ‘. What I didn’t really didn’t take into account, was that it was a tour through the Valley by bike :-).

I honestly have to admit that I have underestimated the bike ride, not that I’m so out of shape, but some of those climbing’s were pretty tough! BUT, I’m really glad that I did it by bike as I got to see things that you just would see when taking a tour bus or car. The next best thing would be doing it by Vespa 🙂

We obviously couldn’t cycle through the whole Loire valley in 2 days. For the first day the choice fell on Tours which would be seen as the capital of the Loire Valley and the second day we would be visiting the region around Saumur.

Stay tuned if you want to read more about my adventure in the Loire valley….

A weekend at Vlissingen with Flexso

January 30, 2012January 30, 2012 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

This weekend has been a nice weekend actually. We went to Vlissingen, a little town in the South of The Netherlands located between the Scheldt river and the North Sea. Vlissingen is also known ( so it seems) for building most of the ships of the Royal Netherlands Navy.

The reason we were here, was because my boss wanted to thank all his employees for the hard work and commitment. And what better way to do this they with food, drinks and a wonderful location close to the sea? For me it was just perfect, I really like being at the sea side… when you look at the sea it always looks so endless… aaaaah, just great. What I prefer at the Dutch seaside (in confront of the Belgian) is actually that there are less buildings and much more nature and you can walk across the dunes for miles and miles.

Don’t get me wrong, I really love the Belgian seaside, but sometimes I really feel like walking a lot without seeing buildings 🙂 . The party was a the Panta Rei beachpavilion, I think in the summer time this place must be even better, as you are right at the beach …. And the pavilion has a huge terrace!

I’m only showing you outside pictures, as not all the party pictures are to be seen by the world 🙂 :-), but trust me, it was good AND they served BELGIAN beers (thank god, because if we would have had to continue the evening with Heineken 🙂 ) La Chouffe, Duvel, Maredsous, De Koninck …. And there was more than enough food and it wouldn’t be Holland if there wouldn’t have been some Croquettes 🙂

During our stay we stayed at the Vlissingen Westduin Golden Tulip hotel as sleeping in the dunes or driving back after the party back to Antwerp didn’t seem like a good idea :-). The hotel was located just in front of the dunes and was overall a nice hotel… or at least I slept really really well, but there might be other reasons for that.

Then last but not least, Vlissingen itself… It is a very nice not tooo big town with a long seaside walk, but surely worth visiting or you can also visit the little bit bigger town Middelburg, which is also very nice (FYI, every last sunday of the month, all the shops are open). Or Yerseke, one of the most famous Dutch fisherman’s harbors in The Netherlands, where should definitely stop to eat some fresh sole, blue mussels etc… (according to a foodlover/colleague, restaurant Vistro is really THE place to go) Last time I was in Yerseke was when I was about 9 years old, so don’t remember the restaurant … I think this all is even better in Summertime. Although I was only here for 1 night, it felt like a whole vacation and I was totally relaxed when I arrived at home.

So only 1 more thing left to say. Thanks Raf AND to all my colleagues for making it a wonderful night!

That’s all folks

Some ideas for Valentine’s day

January 25, 2012 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

We all know Valentine’s day is approaching, not that I’m really into this whole celebration

As I’m of the opinion that you should spoil your loved one every day and not only on Valentine’s day (or at least, that’s what I do).

February 14^th has actually always been another special day for me, my brother’s birthday.

But for the people who do want to give this day something extra or make it a romantic getaway, here some romantic tips.

Maybe a trip to Tuscany? No better place than Hotel San Simeone in Val D’orcia (close to Siena). This old monastery ‘village’ has been renovated and is now a very romantic place where you can enjoy incredible views over the Tuscan landscapes. At this hotel everybody gets its own little house. I’ve enjoyed this hotel A lot!

Or maybe you prefer having a little SPA weekend? Mmm, For this I have a very nice hotel in Portugal

Hotel Vilalara Thalassa Resort, I took my girlfriend here when I was 22 :-). This is the perfect combination of luxury, wellness, sunny weather and Portuguese atmosphere . FYI, the standard room is a Junior suite. + The treatments are heavenly!!

Or maybe you prefer just to Have a romantic dinner? In that case restaurant Les Foudres has something romantic… This old wine warehouse seems like the perfect spot for some romance.

Or maybe you can make something yourself? And make a romantic dinner for your loved one????

As long as it says ‘I love you’, I’m sure it will do!!

My dad and I part 2

January 24, 2012May 2, 2014 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

So far, so good … the lunch at Sassella was just incredible (as always). We didn’t only come for food … (does that sound convincible?) We also came here to visit family, or better, to visit my grandmother aka ‘La nonna’ 🙂 . On the picture below, La nonna is at the left (with the white sweater), the lady in black is her best friend… They are both so tiny

After that we decided to visit my niece (Francesca) who has a hotel/restaurant at Bormio 2000 (and since Christmas also a pizza kiosk). FYI, the hotel is called Cedrone . I always like coming here, because the view you have from up here, is just wonderful. Especially on a sunny day like this day …

I’m not really in to skiing, but this is one of the few times I really wanted to do some skiing… but my sickness decided otherwise.

I can really recommend it to everybody!! Go Bormio Go!

In case you might decide to come to Bormio, you should also visit the town of Bormio, which is a nice picturesque little town.

A must when you’re in town is to stop a the brewery/ distillery of Braulio, a local Amaro filled with herbs from the mountains. In case you’re not too keen on Amaro, they also have a beer brewery 🙂 (or you might wanna try one of their grappa’s when it is cold 😉

And unfortunately this was my last evening of good health L after this the rest of my holiday I was sick. And instead of gastronomical dishes, I ate white rice, light soups, etc… WHY ME??? But I have to thank my family for their good care (especially my dad)

Anyway, I really hope you guys get to explore Valtellina one day as you get the Italian flair, food and hospitality at its best!! In Summer and winter

The 45 places to visit

January 12, 2012January 12, 2012 / dolcevitaspinelli / 1 Comment

Goooooooooodmorning world, I’m actually getting ready for a trip to visit my family in Italy (I’ll be eating A LOT)… But not just yet. I first wanted to share with you the New York Times list of 45 places/cities that are worth visiting in 2012. 1 thing is very clear when looking at the list, is that I have start winning that lottery and stop working 🙂

Something that is already a little bit reassuring is that I at least visit a few of the places…

What surprised me is actually the variety of countries represented, India, Brazil, Russia, Myanmar ….

Picking a favorite would not be an easy task, but I’ll try to share a few of my favorites and these o nes won’t be for 2012 as my trips for this year are already booked…

Havana, Cuba
Malacca, Malaysia
Chiloé Island, Chile
Dalarna, Sweden
Tokyo

Don’t get me wrong, if they would ask me to do the whole list… I wouldn’t complain.

What would your list be out of this 45?

Anyhow, I’m off to Italy!! See you later…

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