Fine food turns into fine art – Madonnina del Pescatore – Senigallia

 

 

Few of us go often to such a restaurant like Madonnina del Pescatore. And it is not only because of the cost. Mainly because there are not so many of this quality and most of the time you have to travel for it. This one worth a trip if you are on the Adriatic coast of Italy. We visited last year at a lucky off season time when it is not busy. The town Senigallia is not so well known among foreign tourist. It is elegant Italian seaside much different than Rimini which is just a stone trow away. It is shown by the fact that there are two restaurants with two Michelin star here. We choose this one to visit it seemed fitting more to our taste.

Colors and lighting creates warm atmosfere

It is very elegant in every aspect. Interior design, table-ware, furniture are all superb. Such as the food.

Looks like an abstract painting with this unusual green

The chef Moreno Cedroni had one star for ages and 2 Michelin star for more than 10 years. For two stars you do not just have to make good food you have to make a creative and unique one. In this case you can use the term artistic. You can feel that the chef considers himself more of an artist who makes edible art than someone who gives you food to eat. His dishes look like art pieces culinary joys enclosed inside. This functional art fulfills its duty when you eat them. Just look at the speciel abstract like usage of colors in his masterpieces. Like this one here with the unusual green. I am sorry for the photo quality but it gives you back something of it. That time he used different kind of mayonnaise which is quite rear in Italian kitchen.

Risiko one of their attraction. Tastes from around the world

There was another dish where fish was swimming in green sea. We ate the 8 course menu „Vicino alla tradizione” and of course the main focus is on fish but had a beef like dish which was fish too it was amazing.
One of their attraction comes at the end of the dinner. It is the Risiko which originally a strategy war game. They using its map to show different taste of the world as petit four. Very creative and tasty too.
Mr Cedroni leads not a simple kitchen. Which has a lot of risks. Complicated kitchens can be tiring but here they keep all your senses awake during the whole time. You can enjoy yourself.

Feels good to sit at a table like this

I have to mention the wines. In most of these fine dining places they selling way too expensive wines which makes the bill even heavier. In Marche this is different. Marche wines are very well priced and you can have high quality for reasonable price. Of course here they have wide range of carefully selected local wines for good price. All together what you get here for your money is really worth it. Many two starred restaurants are way too overpriced compared to this one. See it for yourself.

The perfect beef like tuna
Octopus with mayonnaise

 

Lasagna with frutti di mare – It is swimming in green sea
Tartufo nero
„Simply” a coffee

 

Olive oil mill in Umbria at the time of harvest – Baccio Noemio

Looks and taste delicious

Olive oil has got very popular in the last decades. We just discovered it makes better almost everything. Italy and olives belong together in our imagination. They grow olive there for 4000 years and have 350 different species so they learned how to do it. We always wanted to go to an olive harvest but the organised tours are extremely expensive. We got a price offer for around 1000 Euro. We almost gave it up but got lucky. We visited Pennacchi winery in Sagrantino area Umbria, Mr Pennacchi makes good wines and an easy going man which show on his winery. (https://www.montefalcowine.it/cantina-winery/cantina-domenico-pennacchi/) Anyway he gave us some simple food with the wine tasting. Toast with pancetta (bacon) and sage leaves or just with olive oil.

Even the color taste good

It was harvest time and he had his own fresh oil which you can find only at this time and only locally. The color is very different of your ideas of olive oil. Amazingly dark green. He told us that his friend has an oil mill near. Although it was 9 pm he took us there. The harvest was just going on. We had a chance to see the process taste and buy the oil just spilled out of the mill. The mill and the plantation is owned by Bacci Noemio and his family. We had a warm welcome and were showen around. They have 3 kind of olives Moraiolo (80%), Frantoio (10%), Leccino (10%). Moraiolo is the typical Tuscan and Umbria type. This is the desirable green freshly cut grass smell oil, with a spicy and slightly bitter ending. It was 10 pm but the harvest was going on because the olives have to be pressed as soon as possible after harvesting. They prepared toasts and we had a chance to taste the different oils. New and old ones. It was real spontaneous and lucky experience for us. Mr Pennacchi even provided some more wine. http://oliobaccinoemio.it/it/home/

Even nigh time the harvest goes on.

 

They put leaves in too which is separated by the machine.
Holding tanks
The machine pressing the olive with the seed.

 

Last drops spilling out.
This what left after pressing.
Mr Noemio filling up our bottles. See the color?

 

Vada? Theres is no place in Italy without a good restaurant

Tuscan seaside is considered rather fancy but it has many different style. Among those Vada is an exception of everything. Very small hard to find village and not at all fancy. It is practically a port a beach practically together.

Hotels are cheap but would not suggest a long holiday.
They have a hotel and restaurant on the beach. Called on a fairly simple name: Bagni di Lido
http://www.hotelbagnilido.com/en/hotel-tuscany/
The village can be way too simple but to sit on the terrace of this restaurant and eat their food makes you have the feeling than nothing is better then the Mediterranean life.

Everything simple natural and good. Local Tuscan wine local fish and vegetables. What else you need. They even speak English.

The terrace in sunset

 


From the other side
Tuna is fantastic
A simple pasta 🙂