“Go to Il Bercau. That is where all the locals go”, a resident friend informed me when trying to decide where to take my parents for dinner. In fact, it was a TRUE trattoria — finally. Old style photos painted on the walls, local wine bottles displayed on the shelves and a casual and simplistic feel that made you feel at home. The people were patient and warm and brought us each dish one at a time until we told them to stop! This was down home comfort food and style of Piemontese fare that I really enjoyed.

Pelaverga is a local grape variety made basically just in this small town Verduno, where we were. It is overshadowed by its more illustrious peers like Nebbiolo and Barbera but on some occasions it is just right. Delicate, fruity and with a peppery finish, it goes well with just about everything. We tried two local producers Cadia and Bel Colle. We loved the Cadia Pelaverga which was one vintage younger so it was nice and fresh.

When friends came the next week and wanted to eat out at a trattoria we knew we could count on Bercau again. As we drove into the tiny town of Verduno, every inch of it was jammed with cars. We couldn’t even find parking! I joked that maybe they were all at Bercau, and in fact, they were! All the locals in the area were there on this this multi-room/story restaurant. Incredible to think about the fact that they don’t even have a sign outside! The service was much slower and the food was still tasty. Nebbiolo was our wine of choice this time but more importantly we enjoyed our fun Dutch friends’ company on this beautiful Sunday afternoon. By the time we walked out of the restaurant it was already dark! But this is the “bellezza” of Italy…what else do you want?!

The beautiful Sporck family!

 

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