Our last night in the Dolomites was at the beautiful Chalet del Sogno in the adorable village of Madonna di Campiglio located at the foot of dozens of ski slopes in the western Dolomites. Here, unlike in the east, the language is all Italian and the food thusly follows.
I Pini has tasting menus, a la carte menus and a divine wine list and the owner, Alberto, graciously poured many wines for me to taste before the group arrived for dinner. We settled on a Cantina Toblino 2022 Kerner, our new favorite white varietal from this region and then moved on to a Nosiola (blend of Nosiola and Fanti grapes!!) 2022 from Vignetti delle Dolomiti. Our reds were St. Magdalener (blend of Schiava, Piccola Lagrein & Grossa Lagrein)) Riserva from Josephus Mayr-Untergazner and a stupendous Ciliegino Vallagarina which was a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot. Our third red was one I could not refuse due to the name Masetto Nero(Masetto is a character in the opera Don Giovanni) 2019 from Endrizzi made from Teroldego, Merlot & Cabernet Sauvignon.
Alberto and his kitchen team went out of their way to allow us to choose four courses each from a large list of items and each dish was more beautiful than the previous and the food was out of this world (photos on FB).
The amuse was an odd choice of tapioca cracker with balsamic & blueberry, but the adorable breadsticks and fabulous breads that followed with Olive Oil & local butter were excellent.
I started with a Carne Salada de Cervo which was an amazing venison carpaccio with burnt shallots, currants and the revisited tapioca cracker! It was the perfect starter for this last night in the mountains! Raves came from the group for the Tagliatelle with Duck Ragout, Stravecchio Cheese and Cornelian Cherries, but none of us had ever experienced anything like the Risotto al Limone, Bottarga di Muggine, Polvere di Verdure e di Limone Bruciato, a magnificent presentation of perfectly cooked risotto with lemon, mullet roe, vegetable powder and burnt lemon. I cannot recall ever having a fish risotto, but this dish took that concept to the greatest of heights.
For my main, I chose the "starter" of Animelle di Vitello, Zupetta di Fagioli Cannellini, Emulsione al Prezzemolo e Golden Gel which were the most tender Veal Sweetbreads in a Cannellini Bean Soup with Parsley Emulsion and a gel made from aged Erborinato cheese, a local specialty. It was not a small portion, and was indeed just perfect for me having been eating for what seemed like all day. Others raved about the grilled lamb and local arctic char with goat milk!
There was a very sweet pre-dessert of Tonga Bean Ice Cream, but it was the Nuvole di Caramello of Caramel Mousse with Fior di Latte & Sourdough Ice Cream & Coffee that was a dessert dream come true.
Alberto offered us some Fracastoro Amarone Secondo Marco which is a port-like wine made from Valpolicella in the Amarone style that was quite intense and we wandered off to our suite upstairs as our last evening in the Dolomites came to end(but the trip continued!--more soon).
