Genova's only Michelin 1 star restaurant

November 13, 2007 Tuesday

Tonight, I decided to splurge. Dinner is at the Ristorante La della Pergola, the only restaurant in Genova with any Michelin stars (and it's a one star place).

I wander in (meaning I take a taxi) and after getting there find out that it's right around the corner from where I dropped off my Hertz rent-a-car 3 weeks ago, when I arrived from Alba and Piemonte. The neighborhood has 3 of the top-rated restaurants in Genova, so I figured the neighborhood must be upscale. It isn't as sumptuous as I'd thought it might be. But there's the restaurant. I look around for the menu, but none is posted. So I try to go in. Hmmm. The door is locked and you have to ring to get in (I didn't think the neighborhood looked THAT dangerous--in fact, not dangerous at all considering I live in the centro storico! Hey there aren't any prostitutes hanging around!).

So I go in and ask to see the menu. The prix fixe menu consists of 6 entrees (starters) and a dessert. Most of these are various forms a raw fish and/or crustaceans. I detest raw fish (I made an exception once for cerviche in Peru, and while it was quite good, I'll not make that exception for a while!). So I ordered a la carte. They did send in an amuse bouche of toast with some seafood pate and a ball of fried something in a sort-of tomato sauce. Both were decent, but not great (the toast was a bit stale, truth be known).

Okay. True confessions time. When I go to a Michelin One-Star restaurant, I'm measuring against what I get in Paris at a Michelin One-Star restaurant. I’m convinced that those rated outside France, get almost a full star-mark off the full measure (that is, a 3 star rating in Italy would only be a 2 star rating in France). Still, if they're going to serve crustacean pate on toast, the toast should be fresh toast--crispy and to the point, not several hours old and nearly soggy from absorbed humidity. In a Parisian One-Star the toast would still be warm when served.

And the poor waiter. When I first went in, he said the restaurant was "Completo" (full). The Maitre-d'Hotel came by as I was leaving and said, "No, C'e' un tavolo per uno. Prego." I was in (maybe it helped that I'd dressed up in my best suit and silk tie). Unfortunately, the waiter was expected to serve 5 tables. One table had 1 person, me. One had 6 people. Another had 5 people. And another had at least 20 people. The guy had his hands full (and overfull). Service was definitely not Michelin One-Star service (even discounting the out-of-France factor). No wonder he said the restaurant was full—his plate certainly was!

I ordered a gamberi con fagioli primo. Good, but not great. The main course was pesce a la St. Pietro con caperi. Also good, not great. I had a 1/2 bottle of a local white wine (not expensive) that was pretty good with those courses. These courses were not very big (or satisfying), so I ordered a steak for a 3rd course. I'd finished the 1/2 bottle of white by then, and I'd noticed a 1999 1/2 bottle of Gaja Barbaresco for an extremely good price. So I ordered that with the steak (actually at this point, I was more interested in the Gaja Barbaresco than I was the steak!). Alas! The waiter returned saying that they were out of the Gaja Barbaresco mezzo. I could have cried (a Gaja Barbaresco is heartbreakingly good. A full bottle of 1999 Barbaresco costs over 250 euro at the wine shops and the half bottle was listed at 50 euro--I was hoping for wine nirvana and was dashed). Needless to say, I whined, saying how disappointed I was that I couldn't have a 1999 Gaja Barbaresco with my steak. Whining is good, especially in a Michelin starred restaurant that has disappointed and that wants to keep it's star. The waiter offered another Gaja (a 2006 blend of nebbiolo and barbaresco) by the glass. While not nearly as scrumptious as the 1999, any Gaja is heads-and-shoulders above the rest. He opened the bottle and left it at the table. I didn't ask the price of the glasses (and had 2-1/2 glasses of the blend). They only charged me 16 euro for the 2-1/2 glasses--a great bargain (but I yearn for the 1/2 bottle of Barbaresco)!

Still the food part of the bill was, well, overpriced. The total was 96 euro, all said and done. A very nice dinner (counting the Gaja for the "very" part). Plus 11 euro each way in the taxi. Oh well, one fling in Genova. Can't wait for Parma!