Slow Food Quickly Served
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| Osteria Gloria, Marina di Carrara |
At the base of Carrara's marble mountains with the dramatic white quarries, in the flat, rather featureless industrial section of Marina di Carrara , is one of the
most enjoyable restaurants in the area,
Osteria Gloria. A Slow Food recommendation for many years in their guide, 'Osterie d'Italia', this restaurant has complete authenticity. Family
owned and run, the place has been a standby since 1979. It is seconds from the
autostrada exit, and no hungry traveler should pass it by.
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| Gnochetti with shrimp. |
We went for lunch on a weekday in October. It was packed, but, unusual for many Italian restaurants, they 'turn the tables', quickly setting up for new guests as
happy people leave, and there was no wait. The walls are covered with
vintage pictures of the quarries: tiny workers posed by impossibly huge
blocks of stone, with insignificant looking portable hoists and stone cutting tools littering the foreground.
There’s no written menu, but after your water and wine are delivered, a
pleasant man with a short beard promptly appears and says in Italian ‘May I
disturb you?’ and recites today's dishes. No antipasti were mentioned – it’s
a work lunch, after all. For the
primi piatti, they offered pasta with
pesto, pasta with
ragu, vegetable soup with
faro,
taglierini with beans, and
gnocchetti with shrimp. For seconds, they offered
chicken
involtini, fried calamari,
seppie in humido with potatoes,
tripe, anchovies, oven-roasted beef, and rabbit
cacciatora. Whew, that recitation went by fast!
Ancora, per favore!
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| Taglierini with fagioli. |
We ordered the
taglierini with beans and the
gnochetti with shrimp to start. The soupy
taglierini con fagioli is a Carrara specialty and it was hearty, of course, with lots of fresh pasta incorporated, a few
delicious dark whole beans to add some drama, and it was accompanied by a
liter of olive oil and a big bowl of grated Parmigiano - let your
conscience be your guide. The
gnochetti were ½” light potato cylinders,
about half the size of a typical
gnocco, and just grainy enough to let
you know how fresh and potato-y they were. They were served sauced
with an oil that tasted just like the small shrimp that hid underneath. This
is the inadequate description of a really delicious dish.
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| Seppie in umido with potato. |
For seconds, we chose the fried
calamari, the lightest and freshest
version we've ever enjoyed, and - the hit of the day - the
seppie in
umido.
Seppie are cuttlefish in English and they're cousins of squid and octopus. This dish had meltingly tender pieces of
seppia, with a sauce just a touch piquant, and the
potatoes falling apart to thicken the sauce. This, too, made the best ever list. Rather
surprisingly, there seemed to be no tomato in the sauce – our best guess: a
simple base of celery, onion, and parsley, long stewed with a little
white wine and a good fish stock. I watched a man in a suit diligently mopping his plate,
getting every bit of sauce with the very good bread they serve, and it
was clear that this dish was a constant favorite.
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| Fried Calamari. |
We wished we had room for
contorni, which were salad, beans, greens,
french fries, etc. but it wasn’t possible, and the desserts will have
to wait, too. After coffee, when we went to pay, the pleasant ending
was that the whole wonderful mess including wine, water, and
coperti only cost 34 Euro.
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| Lunch at Osteria Gloria. |
Osteria Gloria is located at Via Covetta, 92, Marina di Carrara. Telephone 0585-53876.
Lunch and dinner daily. Closed on Sunday.
Directions: From the A12 Genova-Livorno, exit at Carrara and turn left after the tolls. Turn right at the first traffic light, and
Gloria is about 100 meters down on your right.
Written by Martha
