A few other specialties of the region are also worthy of note. One is cima di vitello, a lightly seasoned veal galantine. sometimes round, sometimes lozengeshaped. enclosing in the thin wrapping of cooked veal a mixture of hard-cooked eggs, green peas, cubes of meat, and a subtle yellow, custard-like binding. A slice of cima with a green salad makes a handsome entree. It is an admirable dish for a roadside picnic. Add a little fruit, a slab of cheese and a fine flagon of red wine, and your day is made!
Stoccafisso plays a robust role in Genoa. A local writer describes it well: “steeped in milk and drowned in oil. with anchovies and grated walnuts, and served covered with olives and black walnuts.” This is no dish for a timid digestion, but it is a Genoese favorite.
Last but not least of Genoese delicacies is a favorite pastry to be found in almost any pasticceria baci di casella. Two plump little macaroons are held together with a rich chocolate cream, and are totally delicious.
If you don't mind traipsing back to the frontier, here is an abbreviated guided tour along the Ligurian coast, showing due concern for gustatory felicity. Admittedly it touches only a few high spots.
LA MORTOLA
You don't have to travel very far beyond the Customs harrier to find a worthy restaurant in Italy-only a mile or so. Then you come to LA MORTOLA, located in a bend of the road in the village of the same name. It has a fanshaped terrace, well sheltered by awnings, which perches over a precipitous landscape of pines, olive trees and pencil-thin cypresses plunging headlong into the Mediterranean. Its staff is bilingual, its menu widely varied and its cooking excellent. Almost all of its customers are people who are about to motor across the frontier, or have just done so - hence a very cosmopolitan group. The prices seem high in comparison to those prevailing farther inland, but there is no question about the praiseworthy quality of La Mottola.
A glance at the highway markers shows that you are on the Via Aurelia, one of the most famous roads leading to Rome, 426 miles away. It's not new Roman legions used it at the dawn of the Christian era-but new things are being added, especially flowers. Civic pride refers to it as the “ribbon of flowers, ” and much has been done to justify the name. The Via Aurelia continues around bends and hills to shell-pocked, depressing Ventimiglia, in whose dingy railroad station millions of passengers have passed through the Customs. Far more cheerful is Bordighera, even though its Victorian, high-ceilinged hotels seem to belong to a departed glory. Restaurants here are few, and it might be a better plan to have a look at the charming old hill town and proceed to a brighter prospect. It isn't far away.
SAN REMO
The most popular pleasure resort on the Italian Riviera truly glitters with superlative hotels. We had lunch at one of them, the ROYAL, and have rarely seen such a beautifully run establishment. Our host was the owner, Signor Bertolini, a courtly, faintly wistful man. He offered us a luncheon which we will never forget-small melons with port, trenette col pesto, chicken cacciatora, zabaione, accompanied by strawberry red Rossesse and a fragrant dessert wine from Asti. It couldn't have been more Italian, or more delicious. Although few of his guests ask for regional dishes, his cooks are overjoyed to prepare them. The Royal has a sumptuous swimming pool, with an outdoor bar, soft music and everything. There can't be many hotels in Europe which outrank San Remo's Royal.
The city itself is a pleasant place, and picturesque in spots. It has an old port, populated by a melange of yachts and fishing boats, an open-air market and a lofty hill town, capped by the usual rococo Church tower. For those who are passing through, there is a good restaurant. AU RENDEZVOUS, on the main street, Via Mattcotti. The Rendezvous is clean, cheerful and well-managed, and rejoices in many regional dishes and wines.
ALASSIO
Once in a while the rocky Riviera shore relents and allows a stretch of sandy shore to creep in. Almost automatically this means a summer resort. There are several bathing places along this opalescent crescent, but our choice is unhesitating-the shimmering halfmoon of beach fronting Alassio. The sun worshipper could hardly find a more relaxing place. You can rent a recumbent beach chair, umbrella and a big fuzzy towel for a ridiculously small daily fee. A sailboat, paddle cruiser, or a rubber raft are yours for little more. Alassio is all vacation, all fun. Its cafés are gay, and there is a night club featuring “I Jits-Bops, ” the hottest of the hot.
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