Rainy Wednesday

Last Wednesday we ladies agreed that it really was too rainy to walk and headed straight to lunch at a new restaurant in town: Le Griglie. The restaurant picks up on the fad - several years old in North America but not common in Italy, at least in small places like Chiavari - for cooking in visible kitchens, with a grill behind a plate of glass (though most of the action seemed to be going on behind closed doors in the other part of the kitchen). The décor is international contemporary. Sure, we do get tired of the checked tablecloths and flasks trattoria atmosphere, but on the other hand I found it somewhat disorienting to be in a restaurant that could be anywhere in the world, visually speaking: it reminded me of the Red Tomato off Broadway in Vancouver, and reminded Krista of any number of restaurants in Montecarlo...
The lunch special is a bargain at €14, offering a choice among several pasta courses and secondi (both meat and fish). Portions are plenty big enough, at least for us ladies! The wine list is quite extensive.

Let me slip in a quick word about another new restaurant in Chiavari: Taj Mahal in Piazza Cademartori, which I had occasion to try the other night with Krista and a gang of girlfriends (unfortunately it does not open for lunch and is therefore beyond the scope of ladies who lunch). It may not be up to par with the Indian restaurants of London, Vancouver or other places with a tradition of international cuisines and a large population from the Indian subcontinent, but it makes a refreshing change when you get fed up of choosing between pansoti alla salsa di noce and trenette al pesto and want to try something truly different. The set menus are a bargain, with more than you can eat for €15 in the vegetarian version, €20 in the meat-eaters' version, and the Indian ice creams are tasty. You even get an opportunity to taste Indian wine, though I will refrain from expressing an opinion on that until my nose is less stuffed up!!!