This week we said “Goodbye!!” to the blue kitchen. It actually worked for us for the last five months, it was adequate, but I really hated the color. We are pleased now to be the owners of a new, well-built, attractive, functioning kitchen.
After a few days of back-and-forth with our contractor, Leonardo, we agreed on a work plan for installation. Massimo (our all-around handyman) would come on Monday to prepare the wall below the new window (which had been installed a week ago), as finishing touches remained to be done. Tuesday, he would come to remove the old kitchen, take it upstairs to the attic, and then prepare the kitchen ceiling and the walls for painting. On Wednesday, he would come to finish painting. By Thursday it would all be ready for the kitchen installation.
This meant that we would be without a kitchen for at least four days. What do we eat? And how can we eat? So, we came up with a plan. First, we bought a small portable refrigerator. Something we could use on the balcony at some time in the future if we wanted. It was perfect for storing butter and keeping a few things cold. But how do we cook? The answer is: We don’t. We’ve been to a few restaurants here in Citta’ Sant’Angelo and nearby towns, but there are many more that have been recommended to us. So why not take this opportunity to go restaurant hopping? We could have a big lunch, then if we needed to snack later, we could pull from whatever we had stored in the little fridge or the panty.
Now I have to brag. I called four restaurants and made a reservation for each day -- in Italian! I am very proud of myself. Not only did I think they understood me, but when we arrived, our reservation was in fact waiting for us. YES!
Monday: Da Margherita. It’s a family-owned restaurant that’s been in business for generations. The menu is primarily meat, but all home-made from traditional recipes. And it was delicious. The location is a bit out of the way (for us Americans, not for the Abrussi), but the atmosphere is very peaceful, surrounded by a lovely garden. Typically Italian, there were two televisions broadcasting news and sports. It was fun to see Chicago take center stage on Italian TV during the week of the Democratic Convention. Less fun watching Colbert's Late Show as he ate his way through Chicago and made us hungry with deep dish pizza, Al's beef, Vienna hotdogs... People of all sorts arrived – large and small families, couples like us, and construction workers in their work clothes. Mike looked across the room and recognized a couple sitting there. He walked over and asked them, didn’t we meet at the Pescara English-speakers meetup? Yes, we did! So we were able to connect with them and hopefully arrange a future get-together.
Tuesday: Margazzill. We actually passed this restaurant on the way to Da Margherita. It’s just a few minutes from our house. Originally established in 2009, this restaurant is newer, established in 2016, and very up-scale, with white tablecloths, and a fancy menu. Today the restaurant was not busy. A few couples, a family visiting from Canada, and what appeared to be businessmen having lunch while discussing work. Mike ordered a calamari Pescarese appetizer that I tasted but didn’t like (very unusual). His main course was grilled octopus and was delicious. I had a pasta with fish in a red sauce that was amazing. We drank a whole bottle of very good Pecorino. I don’t normally like Pecorino, but this was quick good and went well with our meal. This is definitely a date night type of restaurant.
Wednesday: Osteria il Grottino. We found this restaurant a year or so ago when we scouting for a new place to live. It was off-season at the time and Citta’ Sant’Angelo was very quiet. No restaurants seemed to be open and we asked a couple of guys if they knew of any open restaurants. One guy pulled out his phone, chatted for a few minutes, and then pointed us to Osteria il Grottino. We were not disappointed. So we decided to try it again. And again, we were not disappointed. The restaurant is tucked into an alley at the top of the hill, near the church. There is a balcony that has a lovely view. It is definitely a family-type restaurant. There were a number of young families and multi-generational families enjoying their mid-day meal. The food is typical Abrusee.
Thursday: Big Mama Pizzeria. We had heard that the pizza here is the best. So, we were disappointed to find out that they don’t serve pizza until after 8:00 p.m. Duh. We should have known that! It’s the law here in Abruzzo that wood-fired stoves cannot operate until 8:00 p.m. And the best pizza is made in wood-fired stoves. Instead, we opted for mixed antipasti to share, I had mugnaia (flat home made pasta) in red sauce, Mike had fried calamari. Of course, there was wine. Too much food, so no dessert.
Everything back home went just as planned. Oh, yes, there were a few hiccups, but all were promptly solved.
Thursday was the big install day. Two workmen from Expo 2000, actually working during Ferragosto! One issue that came up was with the countertop. We had ordered a black quartz countertop. However, the length of our countertop is too long for a single piece, so our consultant at Expo suggested we use two pieces, one long and one shorter. After much back and forth, we decided to place the seam under the cook top, where it would be less noticeable. Fine. But, when the workmen opened the crate with the quartz, there was a chip broken off of the end, by where the seam would be. This meant that they would not be able to finish set up, as they would have to order a new piece of quartz, and that would take weeks! However – one of the workmen noticed the missing chip on the floor, and said “I can fix this, and it will not be noticeable.” And he was right. I could have kissed him.
Here's the before and after photos:
Click HERE to see photos of the kitchen transformation and our restaurant hopping.
We still have a few finishing touches to do in the kitchen. Now, though, we will focus on getting our guest room ready for company scheduled to arrive in a month.
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