Johannesstube – Nova Levante, Bolzano – Italy
This is strange for one reason: this restaurant, inside a very beautiful hotel with Spa called Engel (Web Site Here) is located in Nove Levante that is not a famous location in Trentino Alto Adige but visiting this place is it possible to understand that is so near to Bolzano (20 minutes) that probably, lot of Johannesstube & Engel Hotel customers are people that live near Bolzano &, during the weekend, visit this beautiful place. I think that this could be “guarantee trade mark” & it is! This place is near the Dolomites (for more info click here) & are also visible from the Hotel. So, from Nova you can visit the great city called Bolzano with its cathedral (web site here) but also with the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology with Ötzi – the Iceman (for website click here) who is a Neolithic man (now obviously mummy) whose life came to an abrupt end has been preserved along with much of his clothing and possessions intact. But Bozen (Bolzano) is one of the main centre of the Wine Strasse (South Tyrol Wine Street - Web Site Here). Nova Levante is also near the Carezza Lake (web site here) that is a small emerald inside the Dolomites heart! It’s so romatic & is a place to be visited! Hotel Engel is a very beautiful hotel with interesting wellnes & spa services.
The restaurant Johannesstube is inside this wonderful hotel (Web site here) & is awarded by Michelin with one Star!. The chef is Theodor Falser who seems to be so humbly even if he is a “star chef” in a reat place like Engel hotel. The only thing that I don’t like so much is that the stube where the Johannestube clients eat is not a real historical Stube like others that you can find around South Tyrol & my Blog! But this is not so relevant now because the dinner was really interesting with very good foods & special products.
Here there are my choices:
- Strozzapreti: Pulled Chamois Ragu – Ragout or Italian meat souce with local mushrooms & walnuts pesto (really interesting also because the chef use a very strange roots)
- Deer Spare Ribs: Blueberry Glaze – Celeriac Purèè or mashed celeriac – wild almond
- Mair’s BBQ: Beef Entrecote or rib steak dry aged for 40 days and turnip broiled inside salt
- Five chocolates Topinambur: (70% Amedei Chocolate, 64% Manjari Chocolate, Topinambur mousse, 40% Jivara chocolate, 32% Dulcey Chocolate, Gianduia chocolate).
The wine was one of my best choice in south tyrol: Lagrein Taber from Bozen (web site).
After this dinner I take a visit to the Hotel bar that offer a great selction of Gin that are really interesting also because the barman, called Mario Esposito is a real star! He suggested me to taste: Gin Mare (Web Site) No. 3 Gin (Web Site) & an home made Gin infused with orange..all of them with the number one Tonic Water Called Fever Tree Mediterranean (Web Site). For closing my gourmet night I tasted also the best Grape wine ever: Rochelet So great food, great wine & great everything. Johannestube & Engel are places where people who like to be relaxed & looking for top of foods & drinks, they have to go!