When we were in Piedmont for a weekend away, we stayed at a beautiful family run bed and breakfast/vineyard, Villa Cornarea. Villa Cornarea is located just at the top of mountains and in the center of their vineyard property. We were all so comfortable sitting on the balcony, followed by their cozy dining room, so we decided to order pizza that night, rather than dress up for a fancy dinner and head into town. We realized that we should probably pick up wine and beer in town before spending the night up in the hills, so my husband and two friends drove into town to pick up some local wine.
The little town of Canale was a 10 minute drive; the guys drove to town as the girls took care of the pizza order–I’d say it was a fair trade. They parked in town center, and Jamey walked into what looked to be a small restaurant, under an arch of a beautiful brick passageway, in search of a few bottles of local red wine. When he entered the restaurant he was greeted by an older woman named Ilaria and her mother.
When returning to Villa Cornarea, Jamey immediately told me about the incredible people he had met, and restaurant he had found. He went on to tell me about Ilaria and about how kind she was. Not only did she help him pick out some local wine, and tell him the story of her restaurant, but she told Jamey all about her mother. Ilaria told Jamey about how she has noticed her mother decline rapidly in the past few years, and how much it was hurting her to watch her mother aging. She told him how watching her grow old has pained her–and how important it is to her mother that she continues to work with the family business every single day, despite how aging is affecting her.
Before leaving Piedmont that Sunday, we went on a hike through the Villa Cornarea vineyards but expecting to drive back to Lugano pretty early. We still had our workout clothes on and weren’t planning on sitting for a full Italian meal, but we decided to have lunch before driving home. We drove into town, and Jamey suggested that we see if Ilaria’s restaurant was open – hoping that maybe I could meet her and her mother. My husband is well aware that I have a soft spot for older people, in addition to special mother-daughter relationships.
As restaurants often appear on Sunday, this one seemed to be closed but there were two older men sitting outside, so we figured it may be open. We opened the doors and found the entire dining room completely full, and Ilaria standing at the front working the cashier register.
Ilaria quickly remembered Jamey (which is common due to the bright orange hair), but she also remembered him speaking about me; she quickly greeted him and looked my way to introduce herself. Without us asking, she said that her restaurant was completely booked at that time. She glanced over the dining area and gestured towards one table that was open, as the two people who had made the reservation for that table were in fact late. She quickly led us to the open table towards the back of the front room. After sitting down, Jamey and I realized that there was a second and much larger room, also completely full.
Each table was set with silver and china, unique large plates, and beautiful linens. Jamey and I sat for our meal alongside locals and large Italian families. It was clear that we were all there for a traditional Italian Sunday dinner–courses after courses of delicious homemade food.
We were each provided with two menus, one consisting of traditional and local food dishes, and the other with wine. The wine menus were divided by the types of wine available in the region: barbera, barolo, rossi or bianchi del Roero e delle Langhe (Roero and Langhe being the regions nearest to us) to name a few. Each page on the wine menu had handwritten information. It was apparent that the wine list is constantly modified as most wine names had been covered with white-out, or erased, and new information covered the old. It didn’t seem strange to anyone that some wines were available, and others not; after all, we were sitting in a region known for so many types of wine–and the availability of each wine always fluctuating. Ilaria informed us that she would be providing us with complementary vino bianchi to start, and if we would like, she would be choosing our wine based on our meal.
Jamey and I thought we would share a few courses, which didn’t translate well, as we received two orders of everything, including glasses of wine (which I was forced to drink–Jamey was driving). We had possibly the best meal we have had since moving here. The meals included a complementary appetizer to cleanse our palate which included a cold fish salad, salad, pasta, and of course, a large meat dish. Our lack of ordering dessert and espresso was shocking to the kind waitress; we’re still trying to figure out how Italians fit so much food in their stomachs in one sitting. Something tells me we’ll get there soon.
Both Ilaria and her mother worked the dining room the entire time, despite having help from what appeared to be about 10 other waiters and servers. In between placing orders, filling wine glasses, keeping track of small children running throughout the restaurant and working as the cashier and espresso maker, they both checked in to see if we were happy during each part of the meal.
At the end of the meal, Ilaria thanked us and opened up her back door to show us where she and her mother lived, just 20 feet (or a few meters) away. She went on to tell us that she has small, private rooms which she rents out for friends and people whom she trusts, and she offered for us to come back and stay there the next time we are in Canale.
She reiterated how happy she was that Jamey came back to the restaurant, and with his wife. Ilaria and her mother ended with saying that they hope to see us again, and it was clear that they meant it.
famiglia o'neill 