Trattoria Antica Urbino

Monday 5 July

A day mostly devoted to getting to Urbino.

(By the way, once we got to Pesaro, we asked six people, all of whom worked for the bus company and were wearing uniforms, where the bus for Urbino left from. Got only two completely different answers. Pay no attention to anyone except the woman behind the gelato counter, which, according to a very helpful, peeling, faded, xeroxed, unique, carefully hidden piece of paper, doubles as the biglitteria. She will inform you rightly that there is no espresso autobus, the claims of the OFFICAL WEBSITE for il stesso autobus notwithstanding, and is the ONLY person who actually knows what’s going on).

After settling in we chose a restaurant open on Mondays but closed on Tuesday. We arrived ridiculously early (7:55) to the very pleasant Trattoria Antica Urbino, with our choice of table (we were the first, of course), looking out over the garden where bottle-plants were growing.

An antipasto of pears wrapped in prosciutto and grilled.

Then tagliatelle al tartuffo: butter and shaved truffle, simplicity itself, and so perfect.

Only one secondo (uno per due, a useful expression) of fesa rosmarino. Fesa is veal rump, rather on the steaky side. Not a revelatory dish. With a verdura of a gratine of melanzane and tomate.

Wine: Rosso Conero by Lanari, a nicely tannic mix of Montepulciano with just a shot of Sangiovese.