Once at the edge of the roads of the province of Ancona, especially in the summer season, it was easy to find vans with a small grill next to them covered with trunks. And from the return from the beach it was customary for many to stop for a substantial snack. Today they have practically disappeared, but the sandwich with the ribs is still there. Here's where to go to eat it and rediscover the smells and flavors of the past
Are you traveling on the highway, but you cannot give up the temptation to stop and enjoy the local gastronomic products? Well, then take note: exit Ancona Nord of the Adriatic A14 motorway and navigator pointed to La Chiusa, in the municipality of Agugliano. Then a thick cloud of smoke will guide you and spread the aroma of the air into the air spare ribs.
What are? Even if you opened the dictionary, you will not find the real definition of what since the seventies is the outdoor snack of the first truck driver and then of the families.
What are the ribs
They are the gut of the small intestine of the dairy calf (which has never tasted the herb), very peppery, spicy and perfectly grilled. You will say: the pajata. Yes, but in Rome. In the province of Ancona, however, this dish never ends in the sauce: it becomes the stuffing of the rustic sandwich that you find only in the countryside or along busy roads. Although retailers are less and less. In fact, since 2002, with the case of the "mad cow", this gastronomic habit has been rapidly decreasing, although the ribs in that period came from Argentina. Today, however, the supply chain is mostly Italian and, although it is not at the same level as it used to be, trimmings have returned to great, even if the way of eating them has changed. No more reinforced snacks, but even outdoor meals, also because they are low cost. And since sauces and sauces do not enter the sandwich, the secret to savoring them at their best is that they are hot and accompanied by a good red wine (preferably the scented Lacrima di Morro d’Alba).
Don't call it street food
Among the few remaining kiosks to offer this dish is the "river" refreshment of Mario and Anna. Mario grids the check marks from 1999 to Chiusa. It was opened by his father "Fiorindo" together with his wife Giovanna Tartabini in 1984. They became a kind of culinary institution. The way was crossed by trucks and the crowded parking lot. Then a new road has isolated this Spartan restaurant, which today has become a destination for families. Plenty of outdoor space, where you can sit on small concrete tables shaped like a mushroom. You enter the room passing under the neon sign that is always on and the grill seems to roar. Alongside, the river flows and the river air mixes with that most characteristic of refreshment. Here in the seventies there were dance halls, those with rows of lights hanging from trees. A local atmosphere in a gypsy style. The most curious thing is that the passion for trimming probably derives from a sort of childhood imprinting. Children may not appreciate them right away, but be sure that one day that acrid smell will come back to them, stimulating the appetite and the curiosity to taste them once again. And it will become one of your fixed stops when you are around: your proustiana madeleine.
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