The Italian Affair by Helen Crossfield Read Free Book Online

a Ravello summer and the perfect town square made it impossible not to just stand and stare. It was picture perfect.
    As they both jumped off the Vespa Dan reached out for Issy’s hand and said. “Ok. Nice as this place is, before we take a closer look I want to take you to a special restaurant. It’s tucked away down one of the small side streets. Not many tourists go there, but it does some of the most amazing food I‘ve ever tasted” said Dan excitedly as he pulled her away from the view.
    After walking quickly for a few minutes under a baking hot midday sun they found themselves inside a restaurant which looked from the frontage like a small rustic home, with a few wooden tables covered in checked table cloths next door to a butchers shop.
    Rather surprisingly, given how tucked away it was, various walls of the restaurant were covered in black and white photos of famous people, signaling that they’d eaten here at some point in the past too.
    “Oh look over there” Issy said “Jackie Onassis must have liked the food here. There’s a really big photo of her by the big table in the corner.”
    “I know,” Dan interjected “a lot of cool people visited here in the past and still do apparently. They probably anchor their yachts and come here in blacked out cars because it’s so out of the way and they can eat without the paparazzi following them.”
    As they were chatting, a large Italian woman came towards them giving Dan a big smile and two hand written menus, ushering them both quickly to one of the empty tables in the furthest corner of the room.
    It was almost their own little private area, away from the other diners who were finishing their meals and drinking espressos.
    As they sat down Dan said with an exaggerated flourish. “All the food here is fresh and the restaurant is run by Netta, the lady who just showed us to the table. She grows a lot of the vegetables and herbs herself round the back of the restaurant. She also bakes her own bread.”
    “Oh God Dan,” Issy said as she looked at the menu. “I love everything about this place. What do you recommend? Everything looks like it’s going to taste exquisite?”
    “That is the only problem with this place. What to choose! I recommend any dish on the menu,” enthused Dan scanning the specials of the day trying to weigh up what might taste best.
    “Why don’t you choose for both of us?” asked Issy hungrily.
    “OK,” replied Dan. “How about bruschetta cooked with Netta’s home grown roasted garlic drizzled with locally produced extra virgin olive oil and Sorrento tomatoes slightly dried in the sun for our antipasto?”
    “Sounds great” said Issy trusting his judgement in food implicitly as her mouth watered. If he could find a place like this, she was sure he would know exactly what to order.
    “And I think for primo we’ll have some seafood risotto – which is a local favourite and full of clams, mussels, squid and other fruits of the sea. And for secondo, I think we should go for the fresh catch of the day with a local green vegetable, all washed that down with a nice bottle of Greco di Tufo.”
    “Is that a local wine?” asked Issy.
    “Yes,” replied Dan “it’s local and very dry. The grape Greco di Tufo was originally cultivated on the slopes of Vesuvius but now grows in the small town of Tufo in the hills of Avellino.”
    “I’ve never heard of Avellino. Is it on the coast?” Issy asked.
    “Inland” replied Dan. “You must have heard of it. It’s where the creator of the Godfather Mario Puzo’s family came from. I have to tell you I’m obsessed with the Godfather, so Avellino is one of the places I intend to visit while I’m here.”
    Dan’s excitement, was interrupted by Netta taking their lunch order and coming straight back over with a carafe of wine which she poured out directly into two large glass beakers.
    Cradling the glass in his hand Dan continued. “The Costiera Amalfitana is spectacular, but a lot