09-09-2020
It’s hard to visit the same restaurant twice in the same year, especially if it’s far away from Milan. Not because of lack of will, but because of all the commitments, and because luckily there’s a fantastic editorial team on which I can count. So if Passera or Zanatta have recently visited a restaurant, I try to visit one that’s been neglected for too long, and is unjustly collecting dust.
Two perfect images of this disgraced year take me to Rome, towards the end of the winter, and now, always next to Trinità dei Monti, at hotel Hassler, whose owners, the Wirths, have made the right choice of presenting it as a section of paradise above Piazza di Spagna, at the top of the incredibly beautiful steps.
The entrance to hotel Hassler, closed since early in March because of Covid
Hassler is a 5 star luxury hotel that includes a precious restaurant, Imago, on the 6th floor. Since April 2019 the chef is Andrea Antonini, born in 1991. Very calm and careful, he’s the kind of person who ponders cuisine, without ever letting go to unnecessary special effects, loud declarations and tricks on social media. Silent but with a voice, he rather speaks through facts and dishes.
It’s not easy because the capital can be so beautiful, that in many places what you’re being served easily loses its importance. And sunsets, and the darkness of the night help everywhere, let alone when a place is already wonderful. Antonini in my opinion has the gift of making the best use of the view offered by Hassler to give even greater strength to his offer. Especially now, in the middle of the emergency.
The kitchen on the sixth floor of restaurant Imago
Chicken and pepper ravioli, chef Andrea Antonini
Risotto, scampi and porcini
Catalan style lobster as interpreted by Andrea Antonini
Sheep’s milk Cheesecake
Before the double sweet end, a second glass of Rossese di Dolceacqua Superiore Posaù from Giovanna Maccario’s Maccario Dringenberg in San Biagio della Cima (Imperia), tel. +39.333.2063295. Then the desserts: two, because since I couldn’t make up my mind, I tried both the Ricotta and sour cherries, and the Sheep’s milk cheesecake with apricots and pine nuts. The latter was better, the former being too full, but this changes little in my opinion. In the middle of the emergency, I truly praised what Antonini prepared and organised. His merit? He managed to draw my attention from the view to his dishes. Fantastic.
Translated into English by Slawka G. Scarso
A mouth watering page, published every Sunday in Il Giornale from November 1999 to the autumn of 2010. Stories and personalities that continue to live in this website
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born in Milan in March 1955, at Il Giornale for 31 years dividing himself between sports and food, since 2004 he's the creator and curator of Identità Golose. blog www.paolomarchi.it instagram instagram.com/oloapmarchi