One thing that Italians do better than just about everyone else on the planet is the Sunday ritual of getting together with family and friends around la tavola — with knife, fork and wine glass in hand — to enjoy a long, leisurely pranzo (lunch).
And, I can’t think of a better place to break bread on la domenica than at Agriturismo-Enoteca Al Peraretto.
It’s where I am, sitting at a table for four, salivating over the menu prepared by super-chef Valentina Ongaro, undecided what to choose. I’d like to order it all, but let’s be reasonable, right? Hopefully, my table mates will each pick something different and we can all share in the mouth-watering bounty.
Al Peraretto — located in the tiny hamlet of Faedo in the Cinto Euganeo municipality of the province of Padova in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy — is nestled in the peace and quiet that is the Regional Park of the Colli Euganei (Euganean Hills), and it’s an unforgettable dining experience.
A bona fide member of the Associazione Nazionale Terranostra (National Association of Our Land), Al Peraretto is an upscale, “zero kilometer” eatery, meaning everything plated before you comes directly from products cultivated and raised locally and expertly prepared right on the premises.
A diversified agri-ristorante, Al Peraretto produces a wide variety of crops and livestock that are typical of the Euganean Hills: superlative DOC-rated wines from its hillside vineyards; cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil from its groves; seasonal vegetables and herbs from its garden; and, farmyard-raised (free range) guinea fowl, chicken, geese, duck, rabbit, capon and pig.
With seating for 50 hungry and eager patrons, Al Peraretto’s rustic, dual-winged, brick-‘n’-beam dining room is the perfect place to lose oneself for three or four hours on a Sunday afternoon (we clocked in at a respectable 3:45:00).
Al Peraretto serves up food magazine-worthy plates of regional cuisine with a modern twist, from appetizers, to first and second courses, to its to-die-for homemade desserts, piping-hot focaccia bread and rustic, extra long grissini.
And, all dishes are complimented by an excellent bottle or carafe of vino straight from the house winery.
Sorry you couldn’t be here with us, but enjoy the virtual aftertaste.
Agriturismo-Enoteca Al Peraretto. It’s one of the best places I know of where you can live and dine — at least for one, long, leisurely Sunday afternoon — in the Euganean Hills.
BUON APPETITO!
©The Palladian Traveler
________________________________________________________________
Fabulous Tom! 🙂
Thanks, vicina!
The food was fabulous and so light that I’m still hungry. Mmmmmmmmm! Wish I were trying to make the terrible decision of what to order.
janet
You’ll have to visit Italy and find out for yourself.