Percorsi stellati/Starred Journeys: Trussardi alla Scala (Milano)

Located next door to the iconic Teatro alla Scala in Milan, at the first floor of the Trussardi’s flagship store, the restaurant Trussardi alla Scala is definitely a pleasant surprise in the overall milanese gastronomic landscape.

Under the superb guidance of the young Chef Luigi Taglienti (grown up under the mentorship of italian gastronomy masters like Ezio Santin and Carlo Cracco), Trussardi alla Scala has been awarded 1 Michelin Star in 2013. Taglienti’s cuisine proposes an interesting trade off between tradition and innovation, maintaining a strong link to the local territory ( like for example the “Risotto allo zafferano”) and at the same time exploring unusual combinations for who is more curious to experiment new flavors (like the intriguing “Scarola, cioccolato bianco, olive e bergamotto”). The overall impact is a well balanced mix of high care of raw ingredients, creativity and naturalness, where simplicity remains the dominant factor across the entire gastronomic journey.

Chef Taglienti and his kitchen

Thanks to the precious support of Luca Turner (good food&wine lover, unbiased gastronomic critic, but, above all, husband of my sister-in-law) we had the honor to personally meet Luigi who guided us through a memorable journey where he was so kind and flexible to allow us to rearrange a bit the menu he usually proposes integrating a few courses from la carte and other menus.

We opted for the 7 courses menu that is inspired to the tradition of italian cuisine:

Ossobuco alla Taglienti ( “Ossobuco” Taglienti style)
Musetto di vitello allo spumante, sgombro, cetriolo e tartufo nero ( Veal snout braised with spumante, mackerel, cucumber and black truffle)
Pasta fresca all’Italiana, ricotta di bufala e composta di pomodoro (Italian homemade pasta, buffalo ricotta cheese, tomato compote)
Risotto allo zafferano con lacrima di midollo alla brace (Risotto with saffron and roasted marrow)
Controfiletto di vitello impanato “alla Milanese”, asparagi all’inglese e salsa olandese (Cubes of veal “Milanese style”, green asparagus and hollandaise sauce)
Macaron al gorgonzola 100 giorni e caffè (Macaron with gorgonzola cheese “100 days” and coffee)
Tartufo nero e tiramisù (Black truffle and tiramisu)

integrated with…

Scarola, cioccolato bianco, olive e bergamotto ( Escarole, white chocolate, olives and bergamot)
Macaron di capasanta alla coque tarassaco, fave fresche e latte di cocco al limone verde (Scallops à la coque, dandelion, broad beans and coconut milk)
Spaghetto affogato nella zuppa di pesce, peperoncino e calamari al vapore (Spaghetti cooked in a fish soup, chili pepper and steamed squid)

Under the expert guidance of Sommelier Marco Curcio we paired these amazing courses with a set of really intriguing wines:

Giulio Ferrari Riserva del Fondatore 2002, fantastic Trento Spumante (Gambero Rosso’s “Three Glasses” Guide when talks about Ferrari’s wines says:”Enjoy the best sparkling wine in Italy, which is also one of the best in the world”, no need to add more)
Graves Blanc 2008 – Clos Floridine produced by Denis & Florence Dubourdieu Domain … in my opinion the best white wine tasted so far together with Cervaro della Sala by Antinori
Les Chamois du Paradis by Jean Francois Ganevat, a côte du Jura Chardonnay
Valpolicella Superiore 2012 – La Formica, we blind tested it, I never expected it was a Valpolicella…

To make the long story short, it was a really good experience and across the extreme variability of the “1-Star” Universe (in my personal opinion 2 and 3 stars are a much more homogeneous cluster) I definitely rank Trussardi alla Scala in the top side of the pyramid.

Finally I could not end this post without mentioning the Maitre Simone Dimitri, very nice and prepared guy, who took care of us in an impeccable way.