HolyFocaccia Aperitivo @ The Pumphouse Cafe 27 June 2013
I have always loved a good Italian Aperitivo and everytime I am in Italy, I always make sure I start my evening with an Aperitivo before heading to dinner.
If you have never been in Milan at around 7pm, Apertivo is a pre-dinner meeting with your friends to enjoy one or two drinks and some nibbles before you tuck into your dinner. The attractive thing is that you only pay for your drinks, the food is free.
Aperitivo is a serious thing for Italians. Bars take it seriously and punters take it even more seriously.
Bars in Milan compete to offer the best food and clients compete to shove as much food as they can in their gobs (btw, this is why Italians don’t get drunk when they go out!).
When you are a student, Aperitivo is your main source of food throughout university. When you have left uni and start working as a little slave, it is your only source of food, while in your thirties it turns into your best chance of catching up with your friends before dinner at that expensive restaurant you’ve been wanting to go for ages.
I miss this event in my London life and I’ve teamed up with The Pumphouse café to launch the very first Aperitivo by the canal in Angel.
Forget some salt&vinegar crisps from a bag or some little olives or wasabi peas that you pay as if they were covered in gold.
We meant business. Like proper Aperitivo. I dare you finding the same in London!
Together with Andrea, The Pumphouse café resident chef, we have put together a menu fit for the best bar in Milan.
We decided to offer a tour of Italy throughout the local cuisines. From Pesto in Liguria to Tuscan Panzanella and the Sicilian Caponata.
Of course we also had plenty of Bruschetta, with tomatoes or roasted peppers or tomatoes and pesto...
Although I think the favourite of the night was the Erbazzone, a spinach/chard pie typical from Emilia-Romagna. I saw it coming out of the kitchen. And that was the last time I saw it.
Andrea the barman, prepared plenty of Italian drinks to wash down the nibbles.
Amongst some Barbera and Vermentino wines, we had Negroni (Gin, Campari and Vermouth) and Spritz (Aperol, soda and Prosecco) respectively the king and queen of Aperitivo.
We also had some other classic drinks like Sbagliato (Campari, Vermouth and Prosecco) or Malato (Negroni with OJ).
The mood was amazing, exactly what an Aperitivo is supposed to be; people socializing while enjoying a good cocktail and some good food. Exactly what I hoped for.
The experience was so positive that we have decided to have another Aperitivo night on Thurs 25 July.
Hopefully this time the sun will decide to join us for the event!