As a tourist in Italy, choosing what to eat in a restaurant can sometimes be a difficult task. There is a spaghettoteca located in the small town of Manera in the Langhe region of Italy. This restaurant, Spaghettoteca Leone, that makes choosing a pasta dish an almost impossible one. It is not a place I’d advise for the indecisive because of the dizzying array of sauce and pasta choices.
For several weeks now, my husband has been talking about this particular restaurant, asking if we can go there on the same day we arrived. We arrived in Italy this past Thursday, and finally this Saturday he got his pasta, and I was able to check an item off of my Italian Summer Bucketlist.
The drive to the restaurant is a beautiful experience in of itself. Driving from the Bassa Langa (low Langa) to the Alta Langa (high Langa) the terrain changed from gentle rolling hills covered in vineyards to steeper hills covered in hazelnut trees. It is not advisable to drive there without GPS, and if a person experiences motion sickness, they should be prepared.
On that particular Saturday we arrived around 1:00, and there were a few people eating outside on the small patio, as well as a few families dining inside. The interior is simple. The walls are bright with some artwork hanging on the walls.
Their menu is at least 20 pages in length! There are no pictures, so it is not as if that is what is occupying the space either. The sauces are divided into several different categories, such as robust, vegetarian, creamy, curious, delicate, fish, etc. According to their website they have over 300 sauces. An interesting selection I made in the past included chestnuts in my pasta sauce. However, I don’t know if I could ever find that sauce again on the menu as there are so many selections to wade through!
I saved myself the stress this time, and I ordered a classic-Castelmagno e noci (Castelmagno cheese and walnuts in a cream sauce). Easy. Done. But, not really…once a sauce is selected, then a type of pasta must be chosen-spaghetti, penne, linguine, tortellini, gnocchi, etc. I already knew however, that I wanted gnocchi. Now I was done…wrong again! Now the size must be selected. Choices include regular, small, or large. If it were up to me, I’d choose the small. However, my husband insists that I always choose the largest size. It is here in which lies the real reason I think my husband loves this place-the ridiculous large portions you can select. It seems to be a popular place with cyclists, as there are typically at least a couple of bikes parked out front, and it’s easy to understand why. After eating that much pasta a person would have enough carbs to cycle across the whole of Italy.
Our food arrives shortly after ordering, steaming hot. I quickly began to devour these little puffs of goodness covered in creamy Castelmagno cheese, digging for the pieces of walnuts buried throughout the dish. I continue to eat with fervor, but quickly lose steam. Gnocchi with Castelmagno cheese is a rich dish, and my husband reminded me on the
drive there that the first time I ate this particular dish, I vomited that night. I did not want a repeat of that, so I stopped when I felt satiated. However, there was still enough pasta on my plate to easily feed 2 more people. In a very un-Italian like way, my husband asked them to package the rest of the pasta for us. This is the only dining establishment in Italy that we have ever asked to take food home with us. “Doggy bags” are not typically an option in Italy because the portion sizes are usually reasonable. If visiting Italy I would advise a person not to ask for a to-go box, unless they see others with one or they simply don’t care about following the social norms.
After a meal like that I needed an espresso. As we were waiting what I assume to be the mother, arrives out of the kitchen. She strikes up a conversation, talking some with our son. However, I think the real reason she emerged from the kitchen was to see who the 2 crazies were who ordered the large portions.
I have yet to take an American family member or friend to this spaghettoteca, however I would think it would be advisable to have a plan in place before arriving. It would probably be best to arrive early to allow yourself plenty of time to choose, and to have a particular ingredient or type of pasta in mind.
Thankfully, they do have English menus available, or it would just be an impossible mission selecting a sauce. They also have all of the names of their sauces listed online, although it does not state what is included in the sauce. It could be fun, however, to close your eyes and flip through the pages blindly pointing to a sauce. You may end up with something such as “Suicida” (Suicide), which includes bananas, capers, sardines, sheep cheese, oil, and cream. Or possibly “Bomba Calorica” (Calorie Bomb), which includes chestnuts, amaretti cookies, hazelnuts, cinnamon, caramel, cognac, and cream. At Spaghettoteca Campoleone, the possibilities are seemingly endless.
FYI-Gluten-free and whole grain pasta are also available
*If you are interested, these are both located under “Salse Curiose” (Curious/interesting sauces)
