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I apologize if this english version of my italian blog S'Notes has not been updated in the last months, but I'll soon translate the posts and I hope to do it regularly.

In the meantime I'm participating to a contest: Blogger We Want You for an important italian magazine, Grazia.it. 

If you would like to vote me, go on this web site: http://blogger.grazia.it/blogger?id=98 and click on the heart.

It's possible to give a vote every day. Therefore, if you would like to give as present your little red heart, I'll be very happy for it! :D

Hug&kisses

Silvia

Fiori Chiari Plates

When you're in Brera you do not need much more. Just walk through its narrow streets and elegant Art Nouveau buildings, you can feel in the air all the charm of this district of Milan crowds of life and beauty.

If you are in Brera and take the opportunity to have lunch at Fiori Chiari Plates, then you understand why you are so much in love with this heart of Milan! 

Un Posto a Milano

How to stay immune to the charm of Un Posto a Milano. For me it was impossible! 

Pavè (living room with kitchen)

Breakfast! Long as only Sundays can grant, as good as Pavè can offer! 

Toasteria Mi Casa

This triumph of yellow and taste of Provence is called Toasteria Mi Casa and it is the most romantic and colorful note I've ever seen in the area between via Monza and via Padova. 

Brunch at God Save the Food

Two pancakes and a cascade of syrup poured by the intrepid Carli: God, besides the Food, should  save also my health! 

Cycling to the Certosa di Pavia & stop to Erba Brusca

A fantastic bike ride on the Naviglio Pavese during one of the Sundays when the traffic of Milan is blocked and the whole city is on foot and on two wheels! 

The colomba of Pasta Madre

It is well known to many Milanese that the prodigious hands of Pasta Mother (read post here) churn out every day with croissant breakfasts, lunches and dinners of delicious dishes of traditional Sicilian and Pugliese cuisines (some really impossible to find in Milan). 

Vivaio Riva

I would be fine even with a piece of small land, discreet and quiet, but also with a plant that can courageously live in my un-prodigious hands!

I cannot afford to have that wonderful tree with the mirrors, the azalea pink like a Big Babol, or that table in the shade of the pergola, with a bottle of wine waiting to be sipped in the company.

Everything is fine for me, as long as it is a piece of that paradise hidden in the Vivaio Riva! 

Lupo Bistronomia

A place nice like this cannot fail to catch the attention of the people walking in Via Gian Giacomo Mora. Just a glimpse of a white wall with red stripes to attract the eyes and just a couple of steps to find out that this is a place nice and new. His name starts with Lupo (that in italian means wolf and it is the last name of Mark, the owner) and is completed with Bistronomia, the new format of haute cuisine prêt-à-porter who brings along palates and portfolios of gourmets. 

Thinking about the weekend: David Lachapelle and Via delle Arti

And if it will be sunny on Saturday?! "Sperem" a typical Milanese would say! 

Light and warm weather already make me want to plan for the weekend, my mind escapes from the office and I already put in the bag the camera to capture a corner of the sky and a light cloth to steal a corner of the grass.
Finally I would complete the en plein air kit with few good venues in Milan.
Here are a few that came to my mind between evasions and digressions of mid-week!
Two ideas to feed your eyes with colors of the arts and the with an excellent breakfast. It is too late: my countdown has already begun!

Restaurant EFF - Cucina e Stagioni

I knew I was already in love with EFF Cucina e Stagioni even before spending an evening in this great place. 
The beautiful pictures seen on internet, the look of an elegant loft and the lights of Manhattan just few steps from the crowded disco Goganda, the colors and fantasy of the food, the various reviews on the web, the idea of listening live jazz on Thursdays evening. They were all appealing strokes of an attractive and colorful paintings that could not be imprisoned for too long time between the white of the web pages and the gray of my notes. 

Restaurant Al'Less

The poor food is getting very fashionable in the last period in Italy, but the boiled meat (in italian: the "bollito") remains one of the traditional italian plate that I really don't appreciate! I haven't been eating it since the years at the high school and the bollito has remained in the obscurity of my adolescence together with the acne and interrogation of maths.

After about ten years I wanted to try again the bollito at the restaurant Al'Less, the most famous restaurant in Milan on boiled meat. And in fact here the Gran Bollito reigns supreme in the menu and is in good company with other traditional Italian dishes: tripe, braised colt, boar Maremma, soups, ravioli in broth, testaroli. But since this dinner was meant to be a reunion with an old acquaintance (the bollito of course), I could not do the honors to the protagonist of the restaurant and taste the various cuts of meat boiled and the various accompanying sauces.  

Saturday loves: breakfast at Marchesi and the design at Studio Achille Castiglioni

A good dose of optimism for the upcoming spring and a quick polish to the bike and the sunglasses before cycling to a Saturday morning in the Magenta and Castello area. The streets of Milan flow with the rhythm of life in the heart (as Lucio Battisti used to sing) and I keep a safe distance from the noisy traffic of Milan: on Saturday mornings all I need is the peace of mind. Better if it is accompanied by two good excuses to pamper myself: a delicious breakfast at Pasticceria Marchesi and a visit to the Studio Museum Achille Castiglioni. 

This is really happiness prêt-à-porter!

A brief of spring at Villa Necchi Campiglio

Here are my pics snapped today in the beautiful garden of the Villa Necchi Campiglio during the trade show sponsored by the FAI (Italian Environment Fund).

The exhibition will take place also tomorrow, Sunday March 4 from 10 to 18 (full price 5 €).
It's a great opportunity to buy some flowers and plants, visit the beautiful Villa, take a break in the Caffeteria and enjoy the first moments of spring.

Zona Tartina

There are always some good reasons to spend an afternoon in Zona Tortona and Navigli: a photographic exhibition at Spazio Forma (very nice the exhibition of Women of Life - until 11 March) and have a snack at Zona Tartina. This venue has been open for almost a year in the Tortona area and has turned name and logo into a parody! 

But the surprises are not limited only to the name, but also inside Zona Tartina shows beautiful, colorful and interesting activities, with the design creations of Studio Nimè and initiatives of the CREU, a cultural organization that aims to "raise children to remain children and adult to return to be children."

Saturday brunch on Navigli at MAG Cafè

I always wondered how Navigli looks like during a cold Saturday morning in Winter.

This question is not for granted for someone like me who lives in a completely different area of Milan and who spend Saturday morning dribbling among market, gym and washing machines. 
But a couple of weeks ago I planned to visit the Affordable Art Fair in Tortona area: an extremely good opportunity to take a ride on the Navigli and give an answer to my question, and an excellent excuse to stop at MAG Café and make a brunch, cheap and very nutritious! 

First whoopies in Milan: Di Viole di Liquirizia

After macarons and cupcakes, the new fashion among the mini-cakes seems to be that of whoopies, a cake with two chocolate chip cookies and a soft filling. The name you can tell from the first bite: the exclamation of happiness is spontaneous and the etymological mystery is solved soon!

Milanese who loves Sweden: Mud Art Cafè

The typical Swedish common places dwell in Milan on dusty Billy libraries, among the books of the Millenium trilogy and some DVDs of the great director Ingmar Bergman. But there is a Swedish place in Milan not common at all: its name is Mud Art Café and it looks like a typical caffetteria and bistrot of Northern Europe, cosy and warm like a living room with a nice and red kitchen, just as in the enviable photos of the Ikea catalog. 

Restaurant - Nobile Bistrò de Milan

Whether you want to try this restaurant for a romantic Valentine's dinner, for a group dinner with friends or colleagues, whether you want to have breakfast before going to the Gardens of Palestro, a light lunch or to take tea with your girlfriends: the important thing is to try it and very soon!!

I chose to start my discovery of this new restaurant Nobile Bistrò de Milan with a dinner. Indeed the chef is the famous Claudio Sadler and, in front of this star, I could not start to explore Nobile Bistrò from cappuccino and croissants!

The dishes on the menu celebrate the Italian culinary tradition and they are mainly based on simple ingredients from our cuisine: puntarelle, scialatielli from Amalfi, ossobuco, cheese and pepper, salt cod, etc.. All dishes are reinterpreted with the creativity of Sadler and it might a commonplace to associate the kitchen of this restaurant to the title of a great Italian opera and movie: Misery and Nobility. An evocative title of the simplicity of the ingredients used by Sadler and processed with his noble art of cooking.

Our dinner was a triumph of surprises and flavors, as evidenced by the photos of the plates that my friends and I have ordered. All the dishes were excellent, of great taste and full of character.

The winery is limited, but well selected, and for our dinner we chose a Blangè Arneis fruity and very pleasant.

The venue is very elegant, and the formality of the room is mitigated with colorful water glasses. The service is very fast and courteous. Not to mention the parking: it's easy to find: a true miracle in Milan!

The average cost for dinner is around 40-50 €, glass of wine included and the relationship among quality, quantity and price is very positive, since it is a cuisine of the Michelin firmament.

Nobile Bistrò de Milan passes the exam with a 9 for dinner (I can give 10 only to my mom's kitchen) and with a lawful and legitimate letter of recommendation for those who wants to experiment this extraordinary restaurant.

Noble Bistro de Milan

Corso Venezia, Milan 45 (Palestro area - map)

Tel 02.49.52.65.92 
Hours: Monday through Friday from 8 to 24 Saturday and Sunday from 9 to 24.
Bill for dinner: 40-50 € with a glass of wine. Parking lot easier.

http://www.nobilebistro.it/

Tatin of chicory, fondant Toma Piemontese oil and anchovies

Terrine of foie gras goose of the house with red onion chutney, toast

Maccheroncini the press, cheese and pepper, roasted artichokes and crispy bacon

Salmon steak grilled, crusty black rice,

squacquerone songino cheese and flavored with sesame

Tiramisu Noble

Photo: S'Notes (all rights reserved) and Noble Bistro website

Peck-ato (sin) of gluttony!

When it snows and gets cold, everything is permitted! 

New Birrificio Lambrate

 

I spent a good part of my university life among books, desks and stools of the Politecnico and beer mugs, tables and stools of the Birreria Lambrate (a brewery) in via Adelchi in Milan.

Tizzy's: best hamburger in Milan!

Two bites and an exclamation: Oh My Gosh! Two more bites and I got the confirmation: this is the most delicious burgers in Milan! 

The break!

I have a scary backlog of work, sleep and post.
But it's time for a break and of few moments of relax with hot tea and the photos that I shot last weekend.

Bacchette Forchette: two clicks and the dinner is served (at home)

It's Friday night: I am not in the mood to go out, suffer the breezing cold of Milan, drive the car and desperately search for a parking. The week was full of work and I feel my shoes very heavy (using the same the words used by Oskar, the young protagonist of the book I'm just reading). 

Al Mercato - burger bar

The show is at 21:15, perfect timing to get away from the office, take a breath of fresh air and have a bite with my faithful friends of the theater Franco Parenti. The appointment for a quick dinner is at Al Mercato that, unlike the evocative name of vegetables and products of our mother earth, is actually a wonderful "stall" full of great burgers in Yankees sauce. And on the web are rumors that this is one of the best hamburgers in Milan ... a visit of courtesy was a must! 

Bodega del tasca ¡Bar de Tapas!

Just missing the musicality of the Spanish voices, the toothpicks and receipts on the floor and an edition of El Pais newspaper read sipping a glass of vino tinto and then this venue would really look like a tapas bar madrileño. And here it is the Bodega del Tasca, with its long wooden bar that invites you to sit down to share wine and tapas with old and new friends, with its stools scattered everywhere, high or low, it does not matter: it's OK to stand up, enjoy the cheerful atmosphere of this small place, in a pleasent party of sips, bites and speeches in good company! La Bodega belongs to the popular restaurant / bar Il Tasca and it shares the name, address and the Spanish spirit, but the Bodega del Tasca has a more youthful and rebel look and spirit!