Food Wine the Italian Riviera and Genoa

Most food guides for Italy suffer from the “too-much, too-little” syndrome. The territory is vast, yet for each city and village they rarely provide enough information. This guide focuses on a manageable territory–Liguria–and covers it in depth with an emphasis on understanding the local culture through its food. This is not an encyclopedic volume but a renowned food writer’s highly selective guide to Liguria’s authentic small eateries, culinary traditions, wine, wineries, food artisans, and gourmet shops. (The “big” restaurants are covered in a short and amusing sidebar that lists the places that everyone knows and can read about in any guide or on the Internet: a tip of the hat to the great toques, but many other suggestions are given so the reader can dine elsewhere. In Italy, the restaurants Michelin rewards with multiple stars have little to do with regional or local food.) Recommendations center on “where the locals eat.” The book is also lavishly photographed, perfect for the armchair traveler. There is a glossary of food items and unusual specialties, as well as a typical Ligurian menu, detailed indexes, many sidebars, and a map.

Learn all about the savory Ligurian flatbread called farinata (and where to buy farinata baking pans), garlic (raw in local dishes, braids, the pink heirloom variety from the village of Vessalico, and the village’s annual garlic festival), pesto mania (and a profile of the hothouses of the western Genoese suburb of Prà that produce what most Italians and 99.9 percent of Ligurians claim to be the world’s best commercially grown basil) and which restaurants serve authentic mortar-and-pestle-made pesto, as well as dozens of other regional topics.

David Downie is a native San Franciscan, but has called Paris home since 1986. His travel, food, and arts features have appeared in more than fifty magazines and newspapers worldwide, including Gourmet, Bon Appétit, and Town & Country. He has been contributing editor, European arts editor, or Paris correspondent for Art & Antiques, Dorling-Kindersley Publications, Appellation: Wine Country Living, Departures, and Salon.com. His books include the Irreverent Guide to Amsterdam; Enchanted Liguria: A Celebration of the Culture, Lifestyle and Food of the Italian Riviera; and the critically acclaimed Cooking the Roman Way: Authentic Recipes from the Home Cooks and Trattorias of Rome. He is the author of a quirky crime novel, La Tour de l'Immonde, published in Paris.

Alison Harris has worked throughout the world shooting photos for travel books, cookbooks, advertising campaigns, book covers, and magazine stories. Her latest books, Markets of Paris, The Pâtisseries of Paris, and Chic Shopping Paris, are published by The Little Bookroom.