Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy - General Discussion

[aghst]

So between seasons of Searching for Italy, Stanley apparently filmed this series in Spain, about searching for sunken treasure.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10714778/

Lukewarm reviews in Europe.  It will premier on AMC Plus today.

 

 

[buttersister]

19 hours ago, aghst said:

Patagonia could be interesting but no food porn on that show, one would think.

FWIW, I recently watched an old Bourdain stay at a 5* privately owned resort on Patagonia — he was very happy and impressed by the fresh food. 

[DanaK]

Season 2 was supposed to premiere on Sunday, March 13, but it’s been bumped for later in the Spring for coverage of Ukraine https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/cnn-delays-original-series-stanley-tucci-anthony-bourdain-1235193857/

[ebk57]

Just saw that season 2 is supposed to premiere on May 1st - yay! 

[DanaK]

On 4/11/2022 at 12:37 AM, ebk57 said:

Just saw that season 2 is supposed to premiere on May 1st - yay! 

Confirmed http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2022/04/12/cnn-sets-new-may-1-premiere-date-for-cnn-original-series-stanley-tucci-searching-for-italy-and-nomad-with-carlton-mccoy-334512/20220412cnn01/

[Inquisitionist]

Short season of 4 episodes covering Umbria, Veneto (Venice), and Piemonte, plus a look at Italian food in London.

https://www.whattowatch.com/watching-guides/stanley-tucci-searching-for-italy-season-2-everything-we-know-about-the-food-show

[ProudMary]

Let's hope there's no major breaking news Sunday night! 

 

[annzeepark914]

I love this show. Stanley is perfecto as the host. My favorite episode so far is still the first one,  but this trip to Venice is very close behind it. The Orient is a fascinating restaurant, benefitting from the culinary contributions of its diverse employees/chefs.

[DanaK]

On 4/12/2022 at 4:51 PM, Inquisitionist said:

Short season of 4 episodes covering Umbria, Veneto (Venice), and Piemonte, plus a look at Italian food in London.

https://www.whattowatch.com/watching-guides/stanley-tucci-searching-for-italy-season-2-everything-we-know-about-the-food-show

Interesting as I had assumed it was going to be 6 episodes, especially since they had it paired with Nomad with Carlton McCoy which is 6 episodes

[Rickster]

1 hour ago, DanaK said:

Interesting as I had assumed it was going to be 6 episodes, especially since they had it paired with Nomad with Carlton McCoy which is 6 episodes

I have to assume that a covid resurgence interfered with the filming, which is why they’ve ended up with an episode in London. Or they ran out of interesting food destinations in Italy?

[DanaK]

1 hour ago, Rickster said:

I have to assume that a covid resurgence interfered with the filming, which is why they’ve ended up with an episode in London. Or they ran out of interesting food destinations in Italy?

I thought the plan was to visit all the provinces in Italy which is certainly more than 9. But maybe they couldn't manage much more with the pandemic, or these were all that were ready to release for now

[Inquisitionist]

2 hours ago, Rickster said:

Or they ran out of interesting food destinations in Italy?

Not by a long shot!

[CheshireCat]

7 hours ago, DanaK said:

Interesting as I had assumed it was going to be 6 episodes, especially since they had it paired with Nomad with Carlton McCoy which is 6 episodes

Wasn't the plan to split the season in half and air other episodes in the fall or am I imagining that?

I liked the episode. I loved how they managed to include a lot of food and not make it feel rushed.

I forgot the name of the breakfast food but I think that one was made favorite. The rest looked delicious, too, but I love little bites like that and would have loved to try those right away. They can keep their wine for breakfast, though ;-)

And the 1000 year-old fish market?! Impressive and delicious!

[Rickster]

7 hours ago, DanaK said:

I thought the plan was to visit all the provinces in Italy which is certainly more than 9. But maybe they couldn't manage much more with the pandemic, or these were all that were ready to release for now

Gotta point out that this episode might have been a two-fer for provinces, since he also visited Friuli.

While I was joking about running out of places to visit, it might be the case that not every province will be judged to be interesting enough to devote an entire episode to it. Friuli has a very unique cuisine, but this might be all we see of it.

 

[DanaK]

6 hours ago, CheshireCat said:

Wasn't the plan to split the season in half and air other episodes in the fall or am I imagining that?

I liked the episode. I loved how they managed to include a lot of food and not make it feel rushed.

I forgot the name of the breakfast food but I think that one was made favorite. The rest looked delicious, too, but I love little bites like that and would have loved to try those right away. They can keep their wine for breakfast, though ;-)

And the 1000 year-old fish market?! Impressive and delicious!

I recall that was what was initially announced with the initial premiere, but showing only 2 episodes, than another 2 in the Fall doesn’t sound like a great plan. It’s possible though they are saving some episodes for the Fall

[buttersister]

I've been in 9 Italian provinces, unique food in all of them and I still need to make it to Emilia-Romagna. So I'm guessing the pandemic surge interfered with filming and, knowing Stanley's enthusiasm and the fandom for the program, let's hope he's back asap. Seriously, Genovese pesto in Liguria. Takes your breath away.

[aghst]

On 5/2/2022 at 3:22 PM, Rickster said:

Gotta point out that this episode might have been a two-fer for provinces, since he also visited Friuli.

While I was joking about running out of places to visit, it might be the case that not every province will be judged to be interesting enough to devote an entire episode to it. Friuli has a very unique cuisine, but this might be all we see of it.

 

But since he went outside of Venice, they could have covered more Venetian restaurants.

OK, got  flight booked to Venice in August, was going to mostly spend time in Trieste and Fruili VG and the Dolomites but may have to squeeze in an extra day or two in Venice.

Here is the menu of foods and places he visits in this episode.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/stanley-tucci-searching-for-italy-restaurants-season-two-itinerary-origseriesfilms/index.html

I know about cicchetti, though I'm not big on seafood, like the sea cicadas but I will seek out the baccala.  

Definitely will seek out the Orient Experience.  Not sure Stanley liked the scartosso or the cone of calamari to go.

I'd like to try the goulash, hopefully there's a place in Trieste because the restaurant they featured seems out of the way, as is the Dorona winery with the spaghetti dish the woman chef cooked up.

 

BTW, anyone going to check out the Nomad show?

Looks like they're trying to establish a Bourdain or Tucci for the younger set, the combo travelog/food exploration format created by Bourdain.

 

[Crashcourse]

4 hours ago, aghst said:

BTW, anyone going to check out the Nomad show?

Looks like they're trying to establish a Bourdain or Tucci for the younger set, the combo travelog/food exploration format created by Bourdain.

I saw the first episode and it does look like it wants to skew "younger," but I'll watch a couple more episodes before I decide to bail or not.    

[CheshireCat]

5 hours ago, aghst said:

I'd like to try the goulash, hopefully there's a place in Trieste because the restaurant they featured seems out of the way, as is the Dorona winery with the spaghetti dish the woman chef cooked up.

You may not find it outside that restaurant in Italy. It's an Austrian/Hungarian dish in origin. If you do find it, it may be different from how she cooked it. Traditionally, it's made with beef or a mixture of beef and pork, and eaten with potatoes or noodles. (It's quite popular in Germany, too, and still good 🙂). She had her very own version of it.

 

 

[aghst]

4 minutes ago, CheshireCat said:

You may not find it outside that restaurant in Italy. It's an Austrian/Hungarian dish in origin. If you do find it, it may be different from how she cooked it. Traditionally, it's made with beef or a mixture of beef and pork, and eaten with potatoes or noodles. (It's quite popular in Germany, too, and still good 🙂). She had her very own version of it.

 

 

I don't mean the particular goulash shown on the show, though it looked real good.

Looked like that restaurant was out of the way, in some rural area which I'm unlikely to visit.  Plus a Michelin star so pricey as well.

I mean goulash in general, obviously popular dish in Eastern and Central Europe.

I think I tried it in Germany or Austria and didn't find it to be memorable.  So interested in trying it again.

I didn't like Wiener Schnitzel too much either.

 

That Orient Experience place seemed to have like 10 Euro launches (like starter and an entree).  But it's kind of difficult to reach, not near the Grand Canal so you have to walk a bit from most high-traffic areas.  That would probably be why they can keep prices low, even though they are technically in Venice, which has some of the highest rents in Europe.

 

Edited May 4, 2022 by aghst

[Crashcourse]

Now I'm hungry! 😋😋

[ProudMary]

While I liked the look of the goulash and also the dumplings at Orient Experience, for the first time, there really weren't any foods in the episode that got my mouth watering. Most of the food presented fell into the "meh" category for me. My favorite episode remains the "Bologna" one. I repeatedly wanted to dive head first into the screen to eat everything during that one!

I've never had the opportunity to visit Italy, despite Italian heritage on my Dad's side. Italy's on my bucket list, but Venice has never been a city that particularly garners my interest. This episode didn't do much to change my mind.

[aghst]

Venice if nothing else is worth seeing at least once while it's still around.

Considering that it's been around hundreds of years or even over a thousand years and probably fighting a losing battle against rising sea levels, it may not survive too long in its current form.

[Inquisitionist]

45 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

While I liked the look of the goulash and also the dumplings at Orient Experience, for the first time, there really weren't any foods in the episode that got my mouth watering. Most of the food presented fell into the "meh" category for me. My favorite episode remains the "Bologna" one. I repeatedly wanted to dive head first into the screen to eat everything during that one!

I've never had the opportunity to visit Italy, despite Italian heritage on my Dad's side. Italy's on my bucket list, but Venice has never been a city that particularly garners my interest. This episode didn't do much to change my mind.

I haven't had a chance to watch the episode yet -- plan to do so this weekend with my husband as we are heading to Venice soon.  I've been there before, and while I love many things about the city, the food has not particularly impressed me either.  I'll be meeting up with a friend who has been scouting out local eateries, so hopefully she and Stanley will steer us in the right direction!

[CheshireCat]

3 hours ago, aghst said:

I don't mean the particular goulash shown on the show, though it looked real good.

Looked like that restaurant was out of the way, in some rural area which I'm unlikely to visit.  Plus a Michelin star so pricey as well.

Speaking of pricey, I was wondering how they can survive with only 9 tables. Even if they're pricey, I'm not sure they can earn enough to make a living.

 

3 hours ago, aghst said:

I mean goulash in general, obviously popular dish in Eastern and Central Europe.

I think I tried it in Germany or Austria and didn't find it to be memorable.  So interested in trying it again.

I love it, at least the home-cooked kind. Don't think I've ever had it in a restaurant but I think a lot depends on the quality of the meat/ingredients as well.

 

3 hours ago, aghst said:

I didn't like Wiener Schnitzel too much either.

Don't know what kind you tasted (obviously), but a little known fact is that the original is actually made from veal and not pork.

 

1 hour ago, Inquisitionist said:

I haven't had a chance to watch the episode yet -- plan to do so this weekend with my husband as we are heading to Venice soon.  I've been there before, and while I love many things about the city, the food has not particularly impressed me either.  I'll be meeting up with a friend who has been scouting out local eateries, so hopefully she and Stanley will steer us in the right direction!

My mom and her parents were in Venice ages ago. She said, they once went into a place because it was filled with gondoliers and it was the best pizza she's ever had. So, she can confirm what Stanley said about the best food being where the gondoliers are eating :-)

[aghst]

The cicchetti bars, particularly around happy hour, are probably packed.

Not ideal for pandemic times.

I'm going to try to scout places with outdoor tables.

Last time I went in 2019, I went for quick meals at all these pasta bars.  I wonder if they're still a thing now.

I did experience acqua alta first hand in July 2019.  I don't know if that was the same acqua alta that Stanley was talking about on this episode.

But there had been a big storm the night before I arrived so a couple of days after I arrived, the place I was staying in had water pool up in the late afternoon, early evening in the front door, where they had some barrier they put up to try to keep some of the water from entering the ground lobby of an apartment building.

Had to take my shoes off and gingerly walk through about ankle-deep water.

So probably good idea to pack some sandals.

[aghst]

3 minutes ago, CheshireCat said:

Don't know what kind you tasted (obviously), but a little known fact is that the original is actually made from veal and not pork.

Found a Vienna hotel that had both chicken and veal.

It had good reviews so I tried it, was just okay.

Yeah I think Stanley featured a schnitzel in the Milan episode as well.  IIRC, the chef there found a way to keep the meat moist inside the batter or breaded layer.

 

[Crashcourse]

8 minutes ago, CheshireCat said:

Speaking of pricey, I was wondering how they can survive with only 9 tables. Even if they're pricey, I'm not sure they can earn enough to make a living.

I wondered about that, too.

[buttersister]

Stanley taught me I’d made a mistake years ago in a popular restaurant in a small, charming town south of Venice. I didn’t order the special. Nearly everyone else did. It was fried cuttlefish night! Who knew? 

[Rickster]

12 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

I wondered about that, too.

Apparently there is also a B&B as part of the property. I don’t understand enough Italian to figure out exactly how their menu is priced, but the restaurant does not seem super expensive by Michelin standards.

[aghst]

I wondered how you’d visit that winery and restaurant which was on a separate island.

They have a tasting menu package which includes a round trip boat ride to their place.  
 

prices are 175 Euros per person for minimum 2 people from Venice airport or 220 Euros per person for minimum 2 people from Venice.

 

https://www.venissa.it/en/restaurant/boat-service/#1637223075119-6be28b28-5b85

 

 

[aghst]

24 minutes ago, Rickster said:

Apparently there is also a B&B as part of the property. I don’t understand enough Italian to figure out exactly how their menu is priced, but the restaurant does not seem super expensive by Michelin standards.

They do have English site.  They have different tasting menus ranging from 80 to 120 Euros.

They are east of Udine, near the Slovenian border.

Looks like it’s around farm land and a forest or two so you’d be going out there specifically to dine there or possibly stay there.

[Inquisitionist]

17 hours ago, CheshireCat said:

My mom and her parents were in Venice ages ago. She said, they once went into a place because it was filled with gondoliers and it was the best pizza she's ever had. So, she can confirm what Stanley said about the best food being where the gondoliers are eating :-)

I venture off the main roads for eateries in every Italian city.  The less English you hear being spoken, the better (in general).  One time in Florence, my husband and I were looking for a quick, inexpensive dinner after having been out on a bus tour all day.  We followed some university students down a side street to an upstairs cafeteria that was so good, we returned again another night! 😁

[CheshireCat]

13 hours ago, Inquisitionist said:

I venture off the main roads for eateries in every Italian city.  The less English you hear being spoken, the better (in general).  One time in Florence, my husband and I were looking for a quick, inexpensive dinner after having been out on a bus tour all day.  We followed some university students down a side street to an upstairs cafeteria that was so good, we returned again another night! 😁

I think when my mom and grandparents travelled, English wasn't that widely spoken yet anyway but this is the strategy my parents followed when we travelled to non-English speaking countries.

 

[annzeepark914]

The food in this episode didn't appeal to me until Stanley had the fondue (fonduta??). But seeing Italy in autumn was wonderful. Love this show.

[3 is enough]

Once again two regions in one episode.  I guess Valle D’ Aosta is so small there would not have been enough material for a whole hour. 

 

[aghst]

21 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

The food in this episode didn't appeal to me until Stanley had the fondue (fonduta??). But seeing Italy in autumn was wonderful. Love this show.

 

18 hours ago, 3 is enough said:

Once again two regions in one episode.  I guess Valle D’ Aosta is so small there would not have been enough material for a whole hour. 

 

Here's the menu for this episode.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/stanley-tucci-searching-for-italy-piedmont-itinerary-origseriesfilms/index.html

No interest in the finanziera dish.  That historic restaurant looks beautiful.  So it will be high priced.

The little family restaurant where the mother cooked up the banga cauda doesn't even seem to feature it on the menu.  Prices are low though.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Piola+Da+Celso/@45.06688,7.6474004,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1sAF1QipMjdXlwouc_RPja77a2yp2RlYGPzvgg1yByPgjF!2e10!3e12!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipMjdXlwouc_RPja77a2yp2RlYGPzvgg1yByPgjF%3Dw203-h270-k-no!7i3000!8i4000!4m16!1m8!3m7!1s0x0:0xc371c9746ade1ebb!2sPiola+Da+Celso!8m2!3d45.0668878!4d7.6473449!14m1!1BCgIYIg!3m6!1s0x0:0xc371c9746ade1ebb!8m2!3d45.0668878!4d7.6473449!14m1!1BCgIYIQ

 

The risotto place is actually about half way between Milano and Torino, an hour from each one.  Prices are high, 22€ for a can of risotto but mostly menu sets which are around 100€ or over it.

The Ristorante Alpage is in Breuil-Cervina, across the border from the Matterhorn.  But the Google Maps photos of the outside look nothing like where they shot Stanley having the fondue.

I checked some restaurants in the area.  One offers Fondue Gruyere and Fondue Valdotaine, the latter costs less and uses the fontina cheese.  But apparently they use wine in the Swiss version and maybe their cheese costs more because in the menu the Fondue Gruyere was more.

The young woman making Barolo wines is known as barologirl.

https://www.giulianegri.com/en/barologirl

 

 

[aghst]

Have watched both episodes of Nomad now.

I guess these food travel show hosts have to be willing to eat anything.  I certainly am not an adventurous eater.

Carlton definitely has a much wider lexicon or capacity to express what he tastes than Stanley.  No doubt his background as sommelier and chef has trained him to describe tastes.

Then again, sometimes the way people describe wine, it seems they’re just making things up.  So does Carlton have a refined palate or just a lexicon for expressing his reactions to foods and wine?

Probably both, since he’s willing to eat any and everything, he’s attuned to all kinds of flavors and can probably compare different foods.

In both episodes he seems to hunt for meaning like these places will both be culturally significant.  How about these were nice places that he visited and he enjoyed these meals?  Of course Bourdain liked to wax poetic too, using florid language to imply great significance to everything shown.

 

[ProudMary]

Oh my goodness, this Umbria episode was SO wonderful! When I die, I want the locale and and EVERYTHING Stanley ate here to be my afterlife! I love pork in all its forms so this truly was heavenly.

[buttersister]

 I enjoy watching Stanley eat.

One trip, we anchored in Perugia and it rained for days, so we couldn’t navigate the road to Assisi. Drove the autostrada to nearby Deruta, which has ceramic wholesale stores right off the highway. Shopping! Perugia in November is where we pigged out, sts, on truffles. Like here, black truffles in sauces, white shaved over simple pasta.
 

 

[aghst]

I'm not a big pork eater.  I've enjoyed various salumi -- charcuterie dishes with red Italian wine is a great combo.

But I don't tend to go for maiale dishes at restaurants.

Haven't even tried porchetta, though I've been to Italy many times.

Also have avoided pigeon dishes too.

Absolutely love Assisi and Orvieto.  Perugi is okay but like the smaller towns more.  CNN had an article about how Lake Trasimeno, which is just on the Umbrian side of the border with Toscana, has fish dishes unlike any other part of Italy, because they feature lake fish like pike and perch.

I'm a picky eater so Umbrian cuisine, other than the pasta dishes they showed, may not be for me.  But it's a beautiful place.

 

So I don't know if filming in the fall was intentional.  Certainly you can argue with the beautiful foliage colors.  But I get the sense that they got a late start and was only able to film enough for 4 episode, unless they filmed more around the same time but haven't edited it.

The last episode being in London also seems to indicate that they rushed through the shooting and production of this mini season.

Or maybe Stanley prioritized other projects.

Hope they're planning to shoot again soon so they could have new episodes by spring next year at the latest.

[MartyQui]

8 hours ago, aghst said:

Haven't even tried porchetta, though I've been to Italy many times.

In Padua there’s a restaurant on the main square that has porchetta sandwiches to die for.  It’s all they make, and they make them perfectly!

[annzeepark914]

Good thing I adore Stanley cause the food featured in the Umbria episode was not appealing to me (& I like pork). He is such an excellent tour guide as we move from one region to another. I don't think he's covered Liguria yet, has he? 

[Crashcourse]

15 hours ago, buttersister said:

I enjoy watching Stanley eat.

Me too! 😋

[Rickster]

On 5/16/2022 at 2:12 PM, annzeepark914 said:

Good thing I adore Stanley cause the food featured in the Umbria episode was not appealing to me (& I like pork). He is such an excellent tour guide as we move from one region to another. I don't think he's covered Liguria yet, has he? 

No, he hasn’t done Liguria. I think Liguria and Sardinia are probably the prime destinations for a third season. Maybe something around Puglia? It would be interesting to try to figure out how many more episodes he could do.

[aghst]

Sicily would be a big one.  

Here's the menu for the Umbria episode.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/stanley-tucci-searching-for-italy-umbria-itinerary-origseriesfilms/index.html

La Prosciutteria seems like it would be wildly popular.

In fact they seem to be a chain with more locations in Toscana than Umbria.

Under 6 Euros for their paninis.

https://www.laprosciutteria.com/en/where-we-are/

 

 

 

[annzeepark914]

I hope, if he covers Liguria, that he doesn't skip over Santa Margherita & totally focuses on Genoa & Portofino. SM is a resort town for wealthy Italians (we were told after we just picked it out in the AAA book). I felt as though I'd stepped onto a movie set or into a picture book...it's *that* picturesque. And good food!  We had pesto pasta with potatoes (the best!) and fritto misto (so good 🤗).

[Rickster]

2 hours ago, aghst said:

Sicily would be a big one.  

 

Sicily was listed as last season.

[andromeda331]

I love seeing the different regions of Italy. The cities and countryside are so beautiful. 

43 minutes ago, Rickster said:

Sicily was listed as last season.

Sicily has such a cool history.

[ECM1231]

3 hours ago, Rickster said:

No, he hasn’t done Liguria. I think Liguria and Sardinia are probably the prime destinations for a third season. Maybe something around Puglia? It would be interesting to try to figure out how many more episodes he could do.

Didn't he do an episode in Sardinia last season? I remember rabbit was featured.