Where to Eat and Drink in Turin, Turin, Italy (B)

I’ve been to Turin three times over the last two and a half years and have come to like it a lot. They’ve only been short weekend trips so this in no way claims to be a comprehensive guide to eating in Turin, but I’ve done a lot of sampling in my time there and the food and drink are so wonderful – and famous to foodies – that I can hopefully give you a good start to knowing what to look for and where to find it.

Piedmont, of which Turin is the capital (indeed it was the capital of Italy briefly after unification in the 19th century), is rich in culinary history and tradition. You will find some of the very best food and wine in Italy here. With the Alps to the north (and visible from the city) and the fertile Po Valley, where it’s said the best risotto rice is grown, you will find wonderful meats, fabulous cheeses and the most glorious wines anywhere in the world.

As a visitor to Turin you’ll find the traditional restaurants have a strong emphasis on meat. And we’re not talking a simple steak or roast chicken, we’re talking the parts of animals we normally don’t use or talk about. One of the most famous dishes is Finanziera – a stew of sweetbreads, chicken giblets, brain, cockscombs. There is a lot of boiled meat – bollito – featuring calf’s head, pork belly, pigs’ trotters, and all kinds of offal. But you’ll also find some wonderful dishes cooked in local wines like Barolo. Even pasta often has a meat filling, especially agnolotti, which are like ravioli, and a popular speciality, or comes with a meat sauce. But you can find lighter food so vegetarians don’t despair. It’s just a good idea to check the menu before you go into a restaurant. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).