Editor’s Note: “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy” is available now on CNNgo and Discovery+.
You’ll no doubt be hungry after watching the wanderlust-inducing “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy.” Every episode is chock-full of mouthwatering regional specialties prepared by chefs all over the country. For those wanting to follow in Stanley Tucci’s footsteps, below is an episode-by-episode guide to all the restaurants — including local hangouts and Michelin-starred establishments — the actor visited during the show’s second season.
The Italian Riviera is widely considered to be the most glamorous and picturesque coastline in Europe. Portofino and Cinque Terre, located in Liguria, are two of Italy’s most visited destinations. With its steep cliffs and wild countryside softened by sporadic villages of candy-colored houses, this idyllic strip of mountainous land has breathtaking views. The harshness of the land has made the people inventive. It’s Liguria we have to thank for pesto, one of Tucci’s favorite things.
Portofino is run by Carlo Cracco — one of Italy’s most famous, Michelin-starred chefs. His menu features dishes that are linked to the land. For Tucci, he cooked the traditional Ligurian dish of ravioli-like pansotti pasta with a mixture of greens and herbs called preboggion and walnut sauce.
Il Genovese is known for its pesto, which is crushed by hand in an ancient mortar. Chef Roberto Panizza, known as the King of Pesto and the founder of the Pesto World Championship, made Tucci a pasta dish to showcase the delectable green sauce. He added green beans and potatoes to the pasta to make it extra creamy.
Antico Forno della Casana makes some of the best focaccia in the region, according to food writer Laurel Evans. The bread with its signature dimples is a working-class staple that originated in Genoa. The local trick is to eat it upside down so the salt hits your tongue first and the rest of the flavors follow.
The Cook is the hot new restaurant of chef Ivano Ricchebono that is situated in a 14th-century palazzo in Genoa. Ricchebono specializes in seasonal and local ingredients. Tucci came to try corzetti, a Genoese pasta, and cappon magro, an ornate seafood dish.
Ittiturismo, built into the cliffs of Cinque Terre, is both a family home and their restaurant. The head chef is the son, Pietro Galletti, who cooks the fresh fish foraged by his father, Guido. Tucci joined the family for lunch on their terrace. They feasted on pasta with fish sauce and fried anchovies stuffed with cheese and herbs then covered in breadcrumbs.
Puglia is famous for its fragrant olive oil, beautiful vegetables, delicious cheeses and flavorful durum wheat. Frequently called the boot of Italy, this southern region represents the nation’s culinary scene at its most fundamental — simple, fresh, locally produced cuisine. Despite being one of Italy’s poorest regions, Puglia is coming into its own, and Tucci discovers that there’s a newfound pride in its gastronomic roots.
At Urban Bistrot in Bari, chef Celso Laforgia cooks up pasta all’assassina (assassin pasta). The spicy and charred dish is made by putting the pasta in a pan with olive oil and spices — but no water — until it’s burnt and crispy.
Antichi Sapori in Montegrosso is known for transforming simple, humble ingredients into world-class cuisine. Such is the case with its signature dish, burnt grain orecchiette in a fava bean cream served with burrata cheese and charred black olives.
Trattoria Bere Vecchie, tucked in the labyrinth of alleyways of the hilltop town of Cisternino, is a butcher shop that doesn’t just sell meats, it cooks them on the spot. The shop is run by young restaurateur Vito Zurlo. Tucci tried bombette (rolls of pork stuffed with cheese, herbs and red pepper) and gnumareddi (lamb wrapped in intestines).
Caseificio Dicecca is a one-of-a-kind cheese bar, where cheesemaker Vito Dicecca created something unprecedented in this region: Apulian blue cheese. He served Tucci focaccia with burrata, which Dicecca’s mother use to make for his school lunches.
Ristorante Vitantonio Lombardo is an abandoned cave in the ancient town of Matera that’s been turned into a Michelin star restaurant. Chef Vitantonio Lombardo whips up dishes with inventive names like “I dropped the Egg in the Garden” and “Drone View of the Murgia.” For Tucci, he made “Poverty and nobility with a red wine sauce.”
Sardinia is the most remote region of Italy. Cut off from the Italian peninsula, this island has developed its own customs and cuisine. In ancient times if you didn’t know fregola, you weren’t wife material Fradis Minoris gets its supply of fresh seafood daily from the surrounding waters. When Tucci swung by, chef Francesco Stara made fregola ai frutti di mare, a local staple. At Luigi Pomata, chef and owner Luigi Pomata is known as the king of tuna. Raw seafood, including tuna, takes center stage on his menu.
Al Forno, located in the medieval city of Alghero known as little Barcelona, is a small bakery. Tucci ordered panada — a type of Sardinian savory pie said to have received its name from empanada, a similar pastry dish thought to have originated in Spain.
Mabrouk is a former 16th-century monastery converted into a restaurant. Chef Antonietta Salaris works with the local lobster that’s known to be some of the best in the world. She makes the regionally popular lobster a la Catalana.
Arimani, in the ancestral village of Battista in northern Sardinia, is a culinary school, so here you must cook your own lunch before feasting. Chef Simonetta Bazzu has devoted her life to preserving Sardinia’s traditional cuisine and ancient recipes….
