4. October 2013: Enoteca Moriondo Carlo
As it was somehow the day of the “Distillery Berta” we dined at the Enoteca Moriondo Carlo in Mombaruzzo which is also part of the Berta group. It started with a nice selection of different breads (regular bread, grissini and some kind of thin bread). But that was just to ensure that one was able to eat something before actually getting started.
The menu was a given that night and it started with “vegetable tempura with a sweet and sour dip” which was basically fried vegetables, something like hash browns but of a very different (and better) consistency, salumi and cheese – and a very tasty sweet and sour dip which you were also easily able to enjoy with a piece of the before mentioned bread.
Next was a “Piemontese beef tatare with a small salad with balsamico” and oddly enough the beef was served without any spices. I must admit, I have seldomly experience that but it was insofar a nice experience as the beef was incredibly tasty and rich! Haven’t had such a good and intense beef tartare in quite a while!
The next course was absolutely amazing “pumpking tortelli with amaretti and truffles”. It definitely sounded a bit off when I read it but hey, then again, one should just try things, right? So I did – and I must say, it blew my mind! It was so damn delicious my mouth becomes all watery again just thinking of it! The smooth stuffing with creamy pumpkin in a perfectly al dente cooked tortello was already great – the generous refinement with fresh truffles already boosted the taste. But the adding of small crumbles of amaretti just made it an incredibly amazing dish! The smoothness of the creamy pumpkin, the slightly “crunchy” of the al dente paste, the taste of the fresh truffles and the nice sweetness of the amaretti all together made it a taste explosion at its best! Absolutely loved it!
Given the two previous courses, my expectations for the main course were relatively high – especially given how promising it read: “Piemontese beef, sauce béarnaise, millefoglie of potatoes and artichokes”. Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed. The meat was definitely not of outstanding quality – I mean it was nicely medium cooked, no question but it was just somehow chewy and not of the quality you would expect it to be. The Sauce Béarnaise was no Sauce Béarnaise really as it lacked estragon. To be fair, the millefoglie of potatoes and the artichokes were pretty tasty though.
The last course made a bit up for it again: “caramel and grappa mousse”. The mousse was soft, light, taste-intense and just rich – nothing more to say about it.
Last but not least was coffee and any grappa from the Berta distillery you’d want plus their “home-made” amaretti. Good ending for a nice evening. A few words about the setting, service and price though. The place is great – the walls are basically wine shelves, lovely furnitured, great atmosphere, good light-play – lovely! The service is dedicated, does generally a good job, no question; but sometimes it was just not really that attentive and one had to wait quite a bit.
Overall, dinner at the Enoteca Moriondo Carlo definitely was a great experience – the place is lovely, the service is good and I must say I would have tended to say the food is outstanding if it was not for the main dish. A true pity but well, sometimes one cannot really do much about it.
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Contact Details:
Enoteca Moriondo Carlo
Via Giuseppe Saracco 7
14046 Mombaruzzo (IT)
Tel.: +39 01 41 77 003
E-Mail: info@moriondocarlo.it
Homepage: http://www.moriondocarlo.it
About the Author: Sven
I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org.
Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City. 
