Vegan Night Aviano Inn April 2016

I think that Aviano Inn Vegan night is one of my very favorite things about Italy. Well, there is travel and wine and friends and and and ... but this is maybe one of my favorite things about Aviano. Once a month, for 25 euros, they have prix fixe menu of fresh, mostly organic, mostly locally sourced, vegan menu. Service starts precisely at 8 PM and is served family style. Last month, I convinced Mama and Papa Gooch and BIFL to try it with me. This month we convinced the Navigator to join us along with Boss Lady and her littles and Sarge and his wife. The Midwife is in town from Alaska for a conference. Sure, the time difference is tough and she's tired, but she has to eat, right? So, I dragged her along. We arrived early and had an apperitivo that was a great start to the evening. We were seated just before 8 PM and took this blurry pic to commemorate our evening.

Before service started, we were brought some popcorn to snack on. We were told not to fill up. But, it was not like normal popcorn. It was kind of savory, but didn't seem to have anything on it. Some of us might have filled up more than others.

 The menu theme this month is Il Profumo dei Prati--Aroma of meadows. Perfect for spring. We started out with an aperitivo sopresa. The surprise was amazing sweet fresh strawberries. You can tell these were just picked. No transport across the country. Just like when I picked my grandfather's strawberries in his yard as a kid.












Course 1: Crostoni con cerma di asparagi e zenzero--Cream of aparagus crostini with ginger. I swear this greeen aparagus cream tastes like super creamy and rich butter. But, when the ginger was added, the flavors just exploded in my mouth. Bites with and without ginger were like two entirely different foods.

Course 2: Bouquet ai colori dell'orto crepes--Crepes with bouquet of colors of the orchard. Everything on all the plates tonight was edible. The herb tying the crepes, the flowers on later plated. These crepes were filled with multiple vegetables...sweet carrots, zucchini. Not just pretty, but super tasty. I wish I knew how to make vegan crepes.



Course 3: Patate al pesto di erbe--Potatoes with herb pesto. I already knew what to expect on how full I would be, so I started slowing down here. The potatoes were amazing. The herbs were so flavorful and I could pick out fresh dill. This was the start of my take-away plate for tomorrow's lunch.




Course 4: Tramezzini con frittata e fantasia verde--Frittata sandwiches with green fantasia. So, this was not actually the best item on the menu. The fritatta was good. The green fantasia dressing/mayo/or whatever it was is amazing. I think it's the same asparagus cream as the crostini that was amazing and rich like butter. The bread was a bit dry. I took a bite. I took off the top piece of bread and partially deconstructed my sandwich and placed it in my container for lunch. The flowers were edible, but I've never gotten into the edible flower thing.

Course 5: Insalata Primavera con legumi--Spring salad with beans. This was a surprisingly simple but really amazing salad. All kinds of greens including rocket and watercress. Lots of beans including garbanzo, black, kidney, and mung. Few carrots and green onions. It was tossed in simple olive oil with salt and pepper. The flavors of the vegetables were allowed to speak for themselves. There was enough here for me to keep loading my plate. No one else was taking home leftovers. Maybe that's not an Italian thing. But, my belly is getting quite full and I want to really enjoy every bite of this amazing goodness.

Course 6: Muffin alle ortiche--Nettles muffin. Who would have thought? This was not a sweet muffin, but a savory muffin. It was also absolutely beautiful. The flowers were edible. The creamy dressing on top seemed to be the same asparagus cream we have had a few times tonight. It amazes me, though, how tastes can change when combined with other flavors. When I tasted it alone, very buttery. With a bite of muffin, there was an herby flavor.

Course 7: Risotto in technicolor--I kind of like the name of this. Technicolored risotto. Risotto dishes in Italy are creamy and contain cream or milk in them which makes me sad because I could really enjoy a mushroom or asparagus risotto, but my guts might not like me afterwards. This was a really pleasant surprise because I got to enjoy a creamy asparagus and spinach risotto. It was everything I hoped it would be. Flavorful, creamy, herby. I wanted to keep eating, but I knew dessert was coming. And, it is gonna be awesome for lunch.

Course 8: Tiramisu alle fragole--Strawberry tiramisu. I think of tiramisu as coffee soaked lady fingers layered with mascarpone. This was a little different, so I wonder if tiramisu in Italy is layered dessert with some form of cream. There was a little layer of something cake-like in here. The cream was the amazing cream we had on the tart last month. And the strawberries were sweet and fresh and perfect. So glad I saved room.

What an amazing meal with amazing friends. I am making it a point to get to every vegan night while I'm in town. I would give my right arm for something like this back home.

My leftover tray. That's a lot of food. And it was amazing the next day as the first

Budapest for my Birthday

 I had originally planned on going to Rome to run the Marathon over my birthday. But, the logistics of the train and lodging, and actually finishing in time to shower and get back to the train in time to get back to work was just too much. So, I changed my plans. But, I had the weekend off. ITT was doing a tour to Budapest. I've never been to Budapest. Perfect.

So, Saturday morning at some ungodly hour, we departed from Aviano on the bus. I think this is about a 10ish hour drive, so we had to leave early. We stopped for breakfast, as usual, on the freeway. This trip we had a great tour escort. He gave us pointers on what to look for. Yay. I packed a blanket and a pillow and just slept until we arrived. Near arrival time, our tour escort also provided a lot of information regarding the history of Hungary and the details of the city.

Upon arrival in Budapest, we met a tour guide for a walking guided tour of the city. Our first stop was Heroe's Square and I immediately love this city. I love the symbolism here. But, one thing that stands out ... among the monuments to kings and saints is the focus on the people. The statues at the 4 points of the Colonnade represent the lives of people. Labor and Wealth, War, Peace, Art and Knowledge.

We bused to our next stop, along the Danube, and then we walked through the center of the Pest,  and past Parliament. Budapest is really 2 cities. Pest is on the eastern shore of the Danube. This is where most of the city activities happen. It's lower, flatter, and compromises about 2/3 of the area and population of Budapest. Buda is on the western shore. It's higher, and hillier. It's also where the wealth is located as it is where the wealthy desire to live. Work in Pest, live in Buda. Parliament is huge and has different looks from all sides. I was struck by the statue in one of the squares. The bronze doesn't celebrate heroes and generals. But, it's the common people that are memorialized and celebrated.

 

Hungary is very proud of its freedom. Even during Soviet days, they seemed to fare better than other countries with their freedoms to travel and study. Much of it is because of Imre Nagy who was Prime Minister in the 50s. His government led a revolution against Russia and he was executed for it. He is honored for his fight for freedom. And they love the Gipper, who took a selfie with me.

We went past St. Stephen's Basilica. We had a few minutes in the square, so I paid my 2 euro to go inside. I can't pass up a church. (In Europe, I have heard the term ABC--another boring church. I don't find any of them boring. Always something different.) Stephen I is the first king of Hungary. He unified Hungary and converted the pagan tribes to Christianity. His symbol is the double cross. Two interesting things about the Basilica. First is that it houses the mummified right hand of St. Stephen. People come here to pray at the hand. Odd. And the second is something that just was interesting to me. Again, the focus on the people. The statues here focus on the importance of common people. Not grand bishops and cardinals Their greatness is in what they do for the people. 

The hand is in there somewhere

From here we were back on the bus to the Market for lunch. The lower level is primarily food. The second level is products. We had time to grab a bite to eat at the only sit-down restaurant. Very heavy meat base here, so I had the fried vegetables. I did a little wandering and found a sweet Hungarian lace sweater. I took a leisurely and roundabout walk back to the bus and had a great view of the Liberty Bridge.

After lunch we crossed the Danube to Pest. We had views of Buda Castle in the distance.  

Then past St. Matthias Church and a little time to explore Fisherman's Bastion where we had some amazing views of Pest. 

 And for just 7 euro, I made a friend (for a few minutes) of a bird of prey. Boy, these guys are super heavy. The "knight" wasn't sure I could hold him up. Honestly, neither was I.

 

 Wow, it has been a long day since we left Aviano. From here, it's time to find the hotel and freshen up before dinner. Dinner was in the hotel, buffet style. So for me, it was some salad and steamed vegetables. Lots of meat in everything...even the things that are labeled vegetables, so I had to be careful. One of the people on tour heard it was my birthday and told the musicians (yes, there was a little Hungarian band) so I got a "happy birthday" serenade. In English and the right tune. I was a bit embarrassed.

After dinner we had the chance for 20 euros to take an evening boat ride down the Danube. With glass of Proseco, thank you very much. It was cold, but it was breathtakingly beautiful. We passed under the 7 bridges of Budapest. They each have a meaning and are built differently, but I need more time in the city to explore the reasons. The city was lit up beautifully.

 Back to the hotel. If I had written this sooner (yes, I am writing late, but pretending I'm writing on the weekend I went), I would remember the name and give a mini-review. Overall, though, it was nice. Clean. Breakfast was included so I had breakfast in the morning before we had to leave. Too soon. One thing I have decided I will have to come back and I will have to enjoy some of the hot spring baths here. Budapest is famous for the baths, but we didn't have time to enjoy them. Quick turnaround. On our way "home" we stopped at Szentendre. We had a few hours to explore this little village. I guess it's supposed to be well known for museums and artists as it sits along the river. Personally, I had seen just about all there was in about 15 minutes, but that's because I wasn't doing a lot of shopping. It's cute, but I would have preferred more time in Budapest.

 

 I did check out a few museums. How about Marzipan? Some of the details of the sculptures are pretty incredible and these can take hundreds of hours to create. But, really, I wanted to eat them.

 And, really, who doesn't want to make a quick stop at the potty museum? Double decker porta-pottie anyone? Entrance to the museum was free, after you paid to use the public toilet.

 I had heard about a popular snack in Hungary called Langos. It's fried dough. The line at the Market was long and packed, probably because this location is mentioned in several guide books. But, in an alley in Szentendre, I found a place selling it. My first thought smelling it was "funnel cake." Traditional way of eating it is with sour cream and cheese. Well, that's not going to work for me, so I had it with vegetables. OK ... once was enough. Funnel cake was right, but without the powdered sugar. Super greasy. And the vegetables I think were canned peas & carrots. It sat in my gut like a rock and I didn't finish it.

From here, we were back on the bus. Made a stop for dinner at a roadside supershop. It was amazing actually. They had a salad bar to die for with beets (not pickled) and chick peas and jicama and a vegetable soup that was really vegetables. I chowed down. For part of the ride it was light outside and I was awake. Pretty scenery. It was late when we got home and I had to get to bed fast so I can work tomorrow.