Ristorante Montecarlo

Where are you going?" ....to Montecarlo!". Husbands gave this ironic answer to their wives in the evenings when, questioned after dinner, it was clear they were going out to reach the only meeting place in the area. Here, between one card game and the next, a glass of wine and a few words with friends, the evening passed. This is the origin of the name of this good restaurant in the countryside of Tortona, even if images and objects of the motoring world are on the walls and among the furnishings. In a modern and charming environment, the cuisine is local: the starters (€12) include Fassone beef tartare, salami with chickpea polenta, montebore and pear cream flan, rabbit tuna with sweet and sour vegetables. On to the first courses (€11), with the agnolotti filled with stewed meat, rabaton with butter and sage, red gnocchi with montebore, risotto with Timorasso wine. The second courses (€15) include veal tongue and brain in green sauce, the great Piedmont mixed fry, breaded and fried brain, grilled Scottona fillet. Don’t forget the seafood dishes, like the potato dumplings with dried salted cod sauce and black olives, burrata ravioli with scallop sauce, the gurnard fillets in potato crust. To finish, a delicious selection of cheeses (including of course a great montebore), and then the desserts, which will be listed to you by voice: bonet, panna cotta with mint, zabaglione semifreddo with melted chocolate, peach aspic. A balanced selection of wines from the major production areas of Italy, with an exceptional quality/price ratio. A good address to keep in mind.