It was time for lunch and as we pulled off the highway not far from Notaresco (tiny Abruzzo town near Teramo), a sign dangling before a two-level stone house caught our eye: “Antico Frantoio Bar”. An “ancient olive oil mill” sounded promising as a place to eat.
The restaurant, Ristorante ai Friscoli, was above the bar and the friscolo hanging above the steps near the entryway was testament to its former life as an olive oil mill. Large fiber discs, the friscoli are stacked one on top of another like towers just under the olive press, the crushed olive paste resulting from the first pressing, spread out on the discs. The crushed olives are pressed in between the friscoli for about an hour and a half.
When we walked up the steps into Ristorante ai Friscoli, the warm woodland fragrance of baking mushrooms annulled any doubts about our lunch choice. The beamed ceiling of the former mill stretched out over the main dining room and the restaurant centerpiece: an antipasto buffet to tempt the palate and the eye.
The fragrance of baking mushrooms had greeted us as we walked into the dining room…
Just have a look at my antipasto selections:
..and Pino’s first “round”:
..and his return plate:
Dark-haired young waiter Marco told us that many diners make a full lunch out of the antipastos. Easy to see why. I wanted to try a pasta selection and Marco suggested Pino split it with me: homemade fettuccine with duck meat sauce.
Marco advises us to think about splitting that pasta dish…
We tasted just a bit of that buonissima pasta, for Marco had been right: that rich antipasto medley had been an abundant lunch.
Most of the other ristorante customers were more prudent……their lunch started and ended right at the antipasto table.
