"After a tortuous drive through the mountains to get there, we were relieved to find the trattoria open and ready to serve. We were asked how many courses we wanted and we agreed upon the antipasti and primo to start with, though we were hungry enough to go for the whole menu. I’m so glad we didn’t! It was quite fun not knowing what dishes were to arrive next and the first plate of prosciutto and grilled aubergine was delicious and manageable. Next came a fantastic tasting fried parcel of cheese and zucchini, a bit like an Indian bhaji. Next was pecorino, pears, and a wonderful sour cherry jam. These were only three of the eight dishes that made up the antipasti. I used to think it was strange to complain about being given too much food, but eight dishes as an appetizer, at least three of them including cheese, and others with fried potatoes, eggs, and chickpeas, is just too much. By the end of the antipasti/arrosticini, we were completely stuffed and we tried to skip to coffee, but we were firmly told that the pasta was about to arrive. The pasta, or “primi” was an enormous platter of rather mundane cheese (again) stuffed ravioli packed onto a platter with long, thick ropes of doughy pasta that seemed surprising even to the local family at the next table. The sauce was a plain tomato sauce. After a couple of tastes, we pushed it aside and said we couldn’t eat any more. I wanted to taste the local Amarena liqueur and we ordered it and grappa with our coffee and were given generous amounts, too much to drink and drive. I have rarely felt so unpleasantly full after a meal, and that is the long lasting impression I will have of this restaurant. Some of the antipasti were exceptionally good, but others were under seasoned, overcooked, or too greasy or heavy. The atmosphere of the restaurant was charming and rustically Italian. The service was comically brusque, bordering on rude. If a huge amount of pretty good food is what you’re after, and at a very reasonable price, this is your place, but we found much better food elsewhere in Abruzzo."
