RISTORANTE GIANNINO—Via A. Sciesa 8
This is probably the most famous restaurant in Milan, and certainly the one which gives the customer the most visual pleasure. Giannino possesses more than a touch of P. T. Barnum. This is a side show of gastronomy as well as a top-notch dining place. The first thing you see upon entering under bright neon lights is a plump lady seated at a table before what appears to be a large, olive-green tablecloth. On closer inspectioni becomes clear that she is making a vas sheet of lasagne verdi, rolling it thinner and thinner on her table. As you progress down the corridor of culinary landscapes you pass luxuriant displays of fruit, cheese, pastry, and pasta, recumbent fish on ice, and trout mulling meditatively about in their fresh-water tank.
There are beautiful cuts of beef to whet your appetite before you arrive at the shimmering summit of Giannino' splendor, the kitchen. It is immaculate and beautiful, glass-enclosed on four sides. so that the cooks, many of whom are women, are just as exposed as the lake trout. You can gaze just as long and languorously as you wish at these skillful technicians; no headwaiter will hover at your elbow.
The restaurant, which began as a very simple trattoria over fifty years ago, is now a large, busy place which rambles around two courtyards-Its deferential owner, Signor Cesare Bindi, is the son of the original founder, and it is not surprising that everything runs like clockwork. His sharp eye keeps a discreet watch on everything. The maîtres d'hôtel are trilingual and genial, and the menu takes in about every accepted masterpiece of Italian cooking. We decided upon a simple dinner, beginning with a risotto rich in baby shrimp, followed by cotolette di vitello alla Valdostana, Giannino' particular specially. This is a toothsome veal cutlet cut into a pocket, into which is inserted a filling of ham, cheese, and truffles. A bit of cheese, a macedonia di frutta which looked like a bouquet of flowers, a worthy bottle of Bardolino, coffee, and Strega, and complete felicity was ours. Don't be misled by Giannino' showmanship! Mis restaurant is a mus if you stop in Milan!
RISTORANTE ALDO—Via della Maddalena 1
Maybe it is the bellboy attired in a gold-buttoned royal-purple uniform, perhaps it is the headwaiter in a fine café crème dinner jacket, or the immense twenty-pronged chandelier—whatever i is, one senses a certain chic upon entering this establishment. The room is a large, lush rectangle dominated by a huge bas relief of frolicking and unadorned maidens, youths, and horses. I is rather difficult to concentrate on the food, if you happen CO be facing this playful panorama, and this is too bad. For Aldo is considered to have the bes sea food in Milan. It is rushed daily from the Adriatic, and you have a glittering choice of scampi, sole, red mullet. and lobster, not to mention a zuppa di pesce and a grande misto mare Aldo which defy description. Rut before embarking on the fish, we urge you to try another specialty called gioielli Aldo. This is as subtle and delicate a dish as we encountered in all our Italian travels. Gioielli means jewels, and these particular gems are baby ravioli. They are golden-yellow, light, and wonderfully under, touched up with butter and powdered Parmesan, and mixed with green peas-a symphony of yellow and green which just can't be forgotten, especially in the company of a cool, seductive Soave.
Aldo is located near the ultramodern Hotel Cavalien, where so many Anglo-Saxon visitors stay, and it has the acclaim of many of them. Hut the French have a fondness for Aldo too, always a good sign. The last time we were there the diners at a full third of the tables were French. Few Parisian restaurants could have made them look more contented.
RISTORANTE BIFFI—Galleria Vittorio Emanuele
The crossroads of Milan, at least so far as foot passengers are concerned, is the immense glass-roofed gallery adjoining the cathedral. Businessmen, politicians, musicians from the Scala, tourists, and clerics all stroll by endlessly. There is no better vantage point to view the passing throng than from the terrace of the house of Biffi, a worldly complex which includes a café terrace, interior bar, pastry shop, pizzeria, and restaurant. The latter is very well appointed, with rose pink napery and shimmering crystal to delight the eye.
Less awe-inspiring than famous Savini, which is just across the way. Biffi has been established for decades also and can boast some top-ranking specialties. Among them ate cannelloni, lasagne verdi, and a delectable turkey preparation called delizie di tacchino pastorella. For gregarious diners who enjoy a passing show with their repast, Biffi is a byword.
And what of the hurried visitor who hasn't time for a long-drawn-out lunch in Milano? The answer can be found no farther than fifty yards from the cathedral. There, under the arcades, is MOTTA of Milan, one of the bigges Italian confectioners and one of his biggest, gaudiest, most seductive food shops. All kinds of snacks—pastry, pizza, sandwiches—are there, with coffee, tea, or chocolate to accompany them, and a flourish of fruit-imbedded ice cream to back them up. Or would you like a toasted ham sandwich touched up with capers, or sliced artichokes in oil, or yellow peppers in a piquant sauce? All of them are here. There couldn't be a handier. noisier or more exciting place for a buffet lunch, and the charge is agreeably low.
THE LAKE DISTRICT
Lombardy cannot claim exclusive right to the lakes which thread through its upper hills. Lake Garda forms its eastern boundary with Veneto. It shares Lake Maggiore with Piedmont. while Lake Lugano is mostly in Switzerland. But Lake Como, the most beautiful of all, is gloriously Lombardian. For centuries it has been Milan' summer retreat, its weekend country place, its refuge from the heat and turmoil of the metropolis.
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