notes on espresso 4

I love Italian food

espresso count: 12.5 (+2.5)

It’s done. My great Italian adventure is over.

I’ve definitely been to Italy before! But this was the first time as an adult doing all the planning, discovering new cuisines and really trying to find the best deals. And it’s totally possible. Even here in Milan, you don’t need to be spending 20€+ on a plate of good pasta. I will now look at all American Italian restaurants with contempt.

And this final day in the great country of Italy started with a lazy morning. Because after all the travel esteemed subscriber Noah Curran and I have done, it was time for a break. And there we sat in the cafe, sipping espresso and munching away on a chocolate croissant.

Lunch came, and so did our skiing compatriots. Esteemed subscriber Leo Liu and coworker Dan joined us for lunch and as Leo was recovering from some stomach issues we decided to stick with the pasta and tried our luck at some local-looking places.

As I noted in a previous edition, my measure for local food success is as follows:

1. Cheap prices
2. People with ties are there during local mealtimes
3. Bald people are there during local mealtimes

And we hit all three! As we entered, the confused shopkeeper took a look at us before running through various greetings.

“Ciao. Hello. Hola¿,” he listed in rapid succession.

“Hello!” We replied with two thumbs up.

The premise of the cramped space was rather simple: every day he had a set of pastas. We would choose that one and a sauce and in a few minutes he would bring it out to us. I went with some tortellini and a pistachio pesto that filled me with enough warmth to last until dinner.

Though our morning was lazy, our afternoon was not. We had a plan — one that almost every tourist does in Milan. In the words of a hotel receptionist I had a year ago: Of course. The duomo!

The breathtaking cathedral broke ground in 1386 under the supervision of one Archbishop Antonio. da Saluzzo. Over the supervision of many leadership figures including Napoleon Bonaparte himself, the cathedral was finally finished in 1965 — with two doors depicting the birth and death of Jesus Christ.

I’m not going to get too into it since this isn’t the museum part, but sitting inside is quite the spiritual experience — even for a non-Christian as myself. I could sit in awe of the arched ceilings for hours with all the majestic stained glass peering down at me. I was particularly lucky today and saw some of the colors fall upon the columns leading up to the prayer area.

Now my third time at the Duomo, I think I’d still highly recommend this museum. It really brings to mind how powerful and tenacious us little human beings are. And how good the Catholic Church is at organizing!

Skipping past the museum and a short stroll through the galleria, our cadre (now rejoined by esteemed subscriber Zack Chen!) went out separate ways before reconvening for dinner.

I’m gonna be honest: I’m usually not much of an Italian food guy. I’m usually clamoring for Asian food because my impression of Italian food is that it’s just generally expensive and stuffy and if it’s cheap it’s just not good.

This trip has changed that almost entirely.

Our final dinner was at this chain that makes the pasta fresh with each order. And my god is this a winning recipe because I had carbonara for the first time and was not disappointed. It was warm and the panchetta hiding under the pecorino and pasta brought out a saltiness that contrasted the warm smoothness of the egg sauce. And after a few bites, I knew. I have converted into an Italian food believer. I still love Chinese food, but I have awakened a new appreciation for this amazing cuisine and am excited to chase after this in New York.

You may also be wondering why I added 0.5 espressos to the count. That’s because I had a tiramisu as well (also bomb) but only ate half. Thus, 0.5.

Our small group walked back to Castillo Sforzesca. We took a selfie, joked around one last time, and all parted with full stomachs and better memories. Until next time!