It was late when we arrived in Verona. So rather than eat out with our client for dinner, we opted to just explore the city and find a place to dine on our own.
We walked around the centro storico for around 2 hours. At 9:30, we found ourselves back near where we parked, in front of the Arena. The fact that there was an opera performance which could be heard from outside, we opted to take advantage and chose to stay nearby to dine. Plus, the restaurant row on the north side of Piazza Bra (fronting the Arena) still was pretty busy considering it was late.
There were many restaurants to choose from. Since we didn't really know much about Veronese cuisine, we chose a restaurant based on 2 criteria: We chose the one with the most number of people (thinking that it meant that they served good food hence, the crowd) and the one with the most comfortable chairs.
It took us forever to scour the menu. I laughed at my colleague's choice of pasta carbonara and pizza margharita I, on the other hand, wanted to try something different. So, I ordered spaghetti aioli with chili for primi and cod fish with polenta for secondi.
The problem...
- Aioli means garlic. I completely forgot that I would be in a closed room for the whole day the next day with 2 people who, more likely than not, wisely chose not to eat garlic and would not stink of garlic.
- I had no idea what polenta was. And man oh man, I sure didn't like it.
I ended up eating half of my colleague's dinner.
The story isn't over yet.
So, the next day, due to my BAD ordering experience, we decided to let our partner/client to order for us when we went out to lunch. He's a local and well, the eating out in Verona experience should only get better. Or, so we thought.
The pasta funghi was delicious. The meat was something else, though. It was chewier, had a different taste and the fat had a strange consistency. Oh yea, it was paired with polenta.
My German colleague and I were too polite to say something. We just finished our plate and said that everything was delicious.
And you know what?! It was only in the end when we realized that we each ate 400grams of horse meat! We were not aware that the people of Verona are keen eaters of horse meat!!!
Lesson of the day: Check the menu and listen when they tell you what your choices are.
Ahhh...horse meat. Yeah. Most westerners don't eat it. Though I'm surprised yours had any fat as it is typically very very lean. In Japan, it is pretty readily available at your local "izakaya" or bar. Typically it's served sashimi style (aka thinly sliced and raw) and you wrap up a bit of ginger and scallions and dip it a bit in soy sauce. Quite tasty without the typical smell of beef.
Well, at least you can say you had an interesting cuisine experience. I didn't know they ate horse meat over there either!
Posted by: Tim Arai | September 24, 2007 7:56 AM | Permalink to Comment