A trip to the taverns with a long story to tell, even after the Covid-19 emergency
Let's start with a premise: how many times have you asked a friend who lives in Milan for advice on a typical Milanese trattoria in the city center?
And how many times have you been told that in addition to the most famous city restaurants, the best places to jump into the past are just outside the city?
This is because the Lombard capital is surrounded by the countryside, full of ancient farmhouses from which the typical Milanese cuisine we know is born, to live an authentic gastronomic experience.
Over the years many of these farmhouses have also been converted into farmhouses and inns.
Here are two ancient taverns selected with a long and fascinating story to tell.
Antica Osteria il Ronchettino – Gratosoglio
Just outside the center, in the shadow of the skyscrapers of the Milanese suburbs, this ancient 17th-century farmhouse has survived over the years, now renovated with great taste.
A small and pretty internal courtyard acts as a link between several rooms, each of which with a few tables, well spaced from each other, for an intimate atmosphere where you can fully appreciate the great attention to every detail, both in the furnishings and in the dishes served, inspired by the family recipes of the owner Patrizia Meazza today helped by her sons Alessia and Francesco Angelillo.
The first evidence of this inn dates back to 1929, but the name Ronchettino seems to have taken inspiration from the broken base, also called the "ronchetto". Here, in fact, there was already a post station in the seventeenth century where horses were shoeed and legends narrate that even Napoleon stopped here to stay overnight in the early nineteenth century. Subsequently this building became an oven, then a butcher shop and finally a restaurant with an adjoining bowling club, later taken over in the nineties by the Angiolillo family who made it a place of catering and entertainment with music and cabaret shows.
Today the chef Simone Zanon in his menu, written strictly by hand in old school notebooks, offers recipes historically faithful to the Lombard tradition such as the risotto with veal ossobuco and gremolada sauce or the Milanese cutlet both in the cooked elephant ear version in clarified or Imperial butter prepared with a cut that satisfies at least 4 people.
In addition to these proposals, which remain on the menu all year round, seasonally other dishes also alternate, the so-called "outside Milan", perfect for those who want to be amazed. Like spaghetti with grapefruit and bottarga sour butter and artichoke risotto with roasted eel.
Noteworthy is the extensive wine list that prefers Lombard and Piedmontese terroirs, with which you can play letting yourself be guided blindly by Diego Laguzzi, sommelier who enchants for his great experience.
During the summer there is also the possibility of staying outside, in the delightful internal courtyard.
Osteria del Ponte – Trezzano sul Naviglio
On the banks of the Naviglio Grande, which flows from the urban center and continues its course in the Milanese countryside, a building rich in history has survived to the present day. It is said that it was founded in 1380 as a castle and later in the sixteenth century it was converted into a monastery. Some historical texts attest that Ludovico Il Moro passed through here in 1480, who often and willingly would have stayed overnight, while reaching his hunting lands in the Pavese countryside.
Today the former castle has been renovated and set up with a more modern taste, between Provencal and Lo shabby chic, without forgetting its history. The large central courtyard is an outdoor area that is very enjoyable in this summer and for social distancing.
The Milanese cuisine here could only be offered in its purest version. We find the mondeghili (the typical meatballs), the mixed Milanese fried, the Milanese risotto with the wicker and the inevitable elephant ear cutlet.
On some special occasions the tavern can also be reached by boat, which navigates the Naviglio Grande starting from the Darsena in Milan. An alternative and certainly fascinating way for an experience that takes you back in time.
It can be said that today another piece of history has been added to these places that will continue to live here and in all the restaurants that have survived this period of difficulty.
This recipe has already been read 213 times!