I’ve had some of the best food this year in Sicily, with similar prices. Impossible to imagine getting this kind of quality food for the same prices stateside, or even in Germany.
Not looking to start yet another tedious discussion about the different economies here. Just swooning 
The post confirms I need to head back to the Langhe, especially again in the Fall during truffle season ( We have a second place, about 3 hrs away, in the Cote d’Azur). Everything looks great and the prices I agree are very good, even lower than in coastal Liguria. It is interesting, though, to see the food themes run through from the coast into Langhe and even Torino… the farinata, the plin, etc. We stayed in Cherasco the last time and thorough enjoyed the collection of restaurants.
If you are in the general region, I wonder how a visit would be in late June-early July (before an annual conference at Lake Garda). Practicallly speaking, that is the only time I am likely to be able to get there. Is it humid in Piedmont as in the Po valley? We tried that area a couple of times and it was just too hot for the food to be fully enjoyable.
FWIW an employee told us June is the best time. Avg in Alba is 74° / 60° that month.
The one benefit of summer is that you can turn on the A/C. Its forbidden after a certain day. We had to downgrade our room in Turin to a room where we can open a window. It wasnt very hot, just stuffy, in some restaurants as well. 60° felt much warmer than in NYC
I had plans to revisit Cherasco, mainly for the chocolate stores but ran out of time. Good collection of restaurants I agree. Pane e Vino the only place that didnt answer my email.
Verduno nearby also has a good collection for such a small village. I emailed Agnulot, a one woman show, and she was booked for the entire week 2-3 months in advance
Much of Sicily, and Piedmont are years if not decades behind the rest of the country.
But you can find places like this just about everywhere outside the major cities. Maybe not in every European country. This is the menu of El Lechuguita in Ronda, Spain. The four of us had a shameful, delicious feast with drinks and the cost was less than 50€ total
Thanks for posting about your trip. My husband and I stayed in Alba for a week on our honeymoon back in 2011. The food was a revelation and your report is bringing back great memories.
Jen, while it’s humid all year 'round in Piemonte, June is a great month up in the mountains. Where I am in Entracque, just above Cuneo, the weather is great.
Ziggy, watch the locals. There a light meals all over Piemonte. For whatever reason, when tourists come to it, they go for the heaviest stuff possible and ignore the many light and easy-to-eat choices that surround them. I’ve said it here before and I’ll say it again; check the bar menus!
Langotto (Novello) - Places that dont meet expectations are more painful in the Langhe. Owner/chef very hard at work to get a Michelin star, but not sure if it’s working. She liked the food more than me, so not a total bust, and I was a little under the weather which didn’t help. Maybe not a fair critic. But we both agreed on the negative ambiance. A partition separating us from fun, a large group that took over most of the room. And the rest of the three tables on our side were separated not even like Covid times.
A very proud young French trained chef runs the place with his wife. He often comes out to explain what we are eating. His descriptions and pouring special sauces often would result in surprisingly one-note results, like the Spaghettone with snails. Some dishes were fine like the signature Tartare thats topped with a combination of local and not local sauces. It comes with a postcard explaining the dish. By the main course (pigeon cooked two way), appetite totally gone, due to illness, not the food.
With that said, she liked the pigeon and rest of the food much more, the views during lunch are amazing (we went for dinner), and the reviews are very strong, so…
Yeah, but then the bars give you freebies and you end up eating another weekly dose of Salumi and cheese 
Our light meals were mostly sandwiches or bar food (salami/cheese, off menu salad). Ask for salads that are not on the menu. In the small towns its more limited. I havent seen any soups anywhere in Piedmont.
Ah well, we all have meals like these once in a while! Doesn’t look like Italian food either… Glad the missus liked it.
Its a mashup of Piedmont and French, which is why I picked it. Just to mix things up a little.
Not to mention that one can easily make a light meal of the free food served with aperitivi!
The tartare looks gorgeous, but I’m so sorry you were under the weather & couldn’t enjoy the meal — although it might’ve been worse had the meal lived up to both of your expectations!
Hope you feel better for the next one 
I did, thanks. Next day I was back to normal.
Ziggy, it may well be that my corner of the place has a special affinity for salads, but when I took a day trip to Barolo back in June, I had an on the menu salad for lunch and didn’t turn any heads. Indeed, when I’m there, I have salad at a bar at least twice a week.
Soup is another story. I have no idea when you don’t see it, but it may well be why ramen and other Asian soups are so popular there.
Osteria L’Oca Giuliva (Castagnole delle Lanze)
Recommended by the nice folks at Cascina Carlót winery. A ghost town during lunch time, because the entire town is inside L’Oca Giuliva. Even competing businesses recommend it according to some reviews. Three of the four dishes were pretty good especially the Tajarin with ultra meaty mushrooms. We couldn’t get enough of the mushrooms on this trip. Salad, yay!!! And another fine Vitello Tonnato. The lone miss was Gnocchetti with cheese and wine reduction that should be reduced to nothing. That combination just didnt work.
Mushroom pasta and vitello tonnato! I think I know which Italian region to visit next 
Maybe when you feel better you wont want soup, and what I am about to recommend goes way beyond your average soup in heartiness, but we really enjoyed this traditional place near Novara a few years back for lunch after arrival at Malpensa for an early spring Tuscan trip (would be good on the way back, too)
The paniscia is terrific. And the rest of the food and wine we had and the authentic atmosphere was very relaxing.
looking out from the medieval village onto modern agriculture
I just had to reprise.
