La Piola

La Piola One Last Lunch in Alba Yesterday, we experienced the extraordinary imagination of Enrico Crippa at Piazza Duomo. Today, for the final lunch of our White Truffle Road Trip, we stayed in Alba but moved to La Piola, its more informal sister restaurant. Both belong to the world created by the Ceretto family, but they offer different ways of celebrating Piedmont. Where Piazza Duomo explores the region through Enrico’s creativity, La Piola brings us back to the familiar pleasures of traditional cooking. Cured meats, handmade tajarin with white truffle, slow-braised veal and the desserts of the Langhe. After a week of extraordinary meals, this felt like a lovely way to say goodbye. One last table, one last white truffle, and one last afternoon together. ❤️

Cured Meats and Pickled Vegetables

Our farewell lunch began with a selection of Piedmontese cured meats, accompanied by pickled vegetables. Thin slices of richly marbled pork and salami, served without fuss, alongside carrots, cauliflower, celery and peppers. The vegetables’ bright acidity provided a lovely contrast to the richness of the meats. A simple, traditional beginning, exactly the kind of cooking we came to La Piola to enjoy.

Tajarin with White Truffle

Handmade tajarin, the delicate, thin egg pasta of Piedmont, generously covered with shaved white truffle. What a beautiful final expression of the ingredient that brought us to Alba! After yesterday’s elaborate preparations at Piazza Duomo, there was something particularly satisfying about returning to such a simple dish. Pasta, butter, white truffle. That’s all the magic we needed.

Braised Veal

Slow-braised veal, served in thick, tender pieces over a bed of creamy purée, with its rich cooking sauce and a roasted vegetable alongside. The kind of generous, comforting food that makes you appreciate the traditions of Piedmont. No elaborate presentation, no unnecessary complications. Just the pleasure of a properly cooked piece of meat and its wonderful sauce.

The Sweet Ending

For our last desserts of the tour, we shared four traditional sweets, bringing together the chocolate, hazelnuts, fruit and creamy preparations of Piedmont.

Gianduiotto Hazelnut Cream

A smooth gianduiotto-style chocolate and hazelnut cream, accompanied by raspberry sauce and a hazelnut crumble. The richness of chocolate and hazelnuts meets the brightness of the raspberries, with the crumble adding a little texture.

Chocolate and Amaretti Flan

A dark, dense-looking chocolate and amaretti flan, served simply on a white plate. Chocolate and the distinctive almond character of amaretti, brought together in a traditional dessert.

Relanghe Nougat Parfait

A nougat parfait with dark chocolate sauce and an almond biscuit. Creamy, nutty and accompanied by the richness of dark chocolate. Another sweet reminder of the region’s affection for hazelnuts and traditional confectionery.

Cavour Ice Cream

Cavour ice cream, a traditional preparation with cream-flavored ice cream, candied fruits and apricot jam. A lovely, old-fashioned dessert to finish our farewell lunch.

We began with a Roero Arneis from Bruno Giacosa, made from grapes grown in the Roero hills. A final opportunity to enjoy one of Piedmont’s local white grape varieties, and a lovely beginning to our farewell lunch.

For the red, a 2019 Barolo Castelletto from Mauro Veglio, based in La Morra. After the extraordinary wines we’d enjoyed throughout our journey, it felt right to finish with another bottle of Nebbiolo from the Langhe.

And so our White Truffle Road Trip came to an end. Over the past week, we’ve shared extraordinary meals, discovered wonderful wines, heard stories from chefs and families, and enjoyed the company of friends who traveled from far and wide to be part of it. Yesterday at Piazza Duomo, Enrico Crippa reminded us how endlessly creative cooking can be. Today at La Piola, we were reminded of something equally important: the simple pleasure of sitting around a table, sharing familiar food and enjoying one another’s company. I couldn’t have imagined a more fitting way to finish our journey. To all my dear Hungry Tourists who joined us, thank you for the laughter, the friendship, the curiosity and, above all, your wonderful appetites. These are the memories I want us to keep. Until our next adventure, my friends. ❤️ I AM A HUNGRY TOURIST.