These reviews will be slow in coming in as we had three enormous meals almost every day during our week in the Dolomites in Italy. Our first full day in the mountains brought us to the top of a cable car run called Kronplatz where we walked several minutes down the hill to see AlpiNN, an architectural work of art itself as it hangs off the mountains and views across the valley to the Austrian Alps. Plenty of photos here https://alpinn.it/en/ and on my FB page. Chef Norbert Niederkofler has an amazing staff, and we were greeting by his actress wife in a flowing gown who escorted us to the two tables at the center with magnificent views of 10,000+ foot peaks.
We had ordered the set menu as a three-Michelin star spot needs to have all the ingredients and choices for a group of 14 up front!
I chose wines to pair, and they were all spectacular from a Chardonnay Vigna Masso 2020 from Kettmeir to a 2015 Skythos Rot form Dolomytos Sacker made from Pinot Noir, Alicante Petit Verdot and Sangiovese! The wines of this Sudtirol region in northern Italy are small production and generally excellent in quality as we were to learn over the next week.
The amuse was Ricotta Mousse with Polenta Chip, Cabbage Powder and Fried Wheatberry! We then headed into the set lunch menu starting with Pork Knuckle with Cabbage, Mustard, Apple & Puffed Amaranth. The local pasta of this region is Pacchero or Pache which is an open round cylinder so the sauces can go inside. The version here called "Pache Monograno Felicetti" had a rich yummy sardine sauce with buckwheat, and roasted kale powder.
The main course was a beef baveta or flank steak as they called it, but I felt it was more rumpish than flank which was the only dish that did not thrill me. Dessert was an amazing Thousand Marlene Caramelized Apples with Yogurt, Kefir sauce, Fermented Buttermilk and Granola. YUMMY. This was the view of the century and indeed one of the most memorable meals of the trip!
