Campo De Fiori

I rarely love italian restaurants outside of Italy. Even less I expected to find such a gem in the ski village. This is Italian food at its most authentic, highest quality and great variety. There is a dish I once saw in Anthony Bourdain's "No reservations" episode about Sardinia called "spaghetti alla bottarga" which is almost impossible to find not only in the US, but even in continental Italy outside of Sardinia. It uses a pretty simple, rustic ingredient called "bottarga", which is essentially a cured fish roe. It is sometimes referred to as poor man's caviar, and the last place I would venture to use it would be a pasta dish (and I love experimenting in cooking). However, it worked amazingly well with al dente spaghetti with some oven roasted tomatoes and sauteed garlic and chilies. Everything we tried at the restaurant was superb: from beef carpaccio to their very extensive list of grappas. Pasta dishes were all cooked to perfection and a vibrant, big and noisy, high-ceiling open space of the restaurant was reminiscent of old school cantinas you can find all over central Italy.