Al Fresco – I think I may have gone to school with him
Massimo was announcing his menu. We had a solid 3+ hours of eating ahead of us and it was a perfect evening as we sat on a patio surrounded by an urban forest in Toronto.
I was listening intently to his description of what was to come, why he chose the Tuscan menu that he did and how he infused hints of Pulia into it. I sipped on my glass of wine and looked around at the 30+ diners sitting with us and revelled that almost a dozen were friends.
Mass mentioned that this was, of course, “al fresco.” I had heard the term many times and realized that I didn’t have the foggiest idea of what it meant – in fact the main experience I had with the word was a suburban restaurant chain (thinking back, they had large patios) named “Al Fresco’s”.
I made a mental note to ask Massimo what exactly made a meal Al Fresco. I’ve become a lot more educated with Italian cuisine in the last year (a lot has to do with him) and can pick out some of the regions of many dishes and even some wine – but this was one thing I didn’t know, yet.
The combination of wine and the wonderful evening air led to me quickly discarding said mental note. I forgot to ask.
Yesterday’s article was about the “joys of eating outside.” I almost fell off my chair laughing when I read a link to it in Taste TO which described the article as the “Joys of dining Al Fresco.”
I really do enjoy sharing the humbling moments and hope some find the humour in this. I’m somewhat disappointed that I haven’t discovered another region in Italy, a spice or serving style though…