As our ferry pulled out of Portoferraio, port city of Elba, I thought about those few days we’d had there on this glorious island and they seemed condensed to just fleeting, pleasurable moments.
Across the harbor, a clipper ship was anchored just below the fortress. I wondered where it was from and how long the passengers would have on Elba….
As our ferry slipped out of the harbor, heading for open sea, a red boat full of tourists chugged past, taking vacationers on a tour of the area by sea.
Our days in Elba had included a boat tour around the island, too, as well as jaunts by car on the island’s winding mountain roads. Not enough to see all the island’s wonders, but we’d be back….
The ferry ride back to the port of Piombino was only about an hour and we docked close to lunch time. We knew where we’d have lunch: Ristorante Lo Scoglietto, a serendipitous discovery the day we had headed to Elba.
Elderly Signor Sauro welcome us once again, but then headed home for his afternoon nap.
We both chose fixed-price menus at astonishingly low prices for seafood. Pino’s starter on his menu would have been his own choice in any case: steamed mussels.
My starter had me curious: encrusted tuna fillet with capers. Ah, Lo Scoglietto never disappoints.
My pasta with anchovies was another new one for me: buonissimo, as even Pino affirmed.
[lcaption]“Anna, ottimo!” (“Anna, excellent”)[/lcaption]
But Pino’s own primo, too, was a hit: pasta with crab:
No secondo was included in our menu al prezzo fisso – and in any case, we were satiated.
We’d enjoyed superb seafood each day while on Elba but for Pino, Lo Scoglietto topped all, as we told our waitress. She passed our compliments on to the cook, Lenora, daughter-in-law of elderly Sauro (whose wife had once been in the kitchen). Lenora came out to thank us. She’s in the kitchen about sixteen hours daily all year long: “we just take off Sunday afternoons,” her husband Luca told us.
[lcaption]Top seafood chef, Lenora, with husband, Luca (son of Sauro who’s father opened the restaurant)[/lcaption]
Lenora, thanks for cooking up that seafood goodness: such a delectable opening and closing to our seaside vacation on Elba.
Now YOU need a vacation!
Read about our first meal at Lo Scoglietto
Read about seeing Elba by land, by sea
Click here for a note on more good eating on this Elba vacation
I’m so glad you went back!
Sounds like you & Pino enjoyed a glorious getaway! As always, your pictures of the food get my salivary glands going. And your narrative transports me to another Italian gem. Thank you for sharing, Annie!
Happy to see you and Pino taking a vacation and enjoying yourselves. We plan to visit Elba for the first time in October. We are staying in San Vincenzo for a week (October 7-14). We will probably only get to do a quick day trip to Elba and will be frustrated that we didn’t spend longer. We’ll only be in Italy for less than a month as we are arriving from France after a river trip with friends. Hopefully 2018 will be our year to be together again.
On my bucket list!
Bev
My two favorite Italian foods are Steamed Mussels over a bed of linguini and spicy crabs with linguini, which I think are all from my Sicilian roots. I can hardly look at these pictures and not want to be next to you eating these foods Pino, then ride our motorcycles off to the next meal! Love u guys Jimmusso