…only cleaner, classier and much more tasty!

In my usual fashion, I’ve returned to Milan with my trusty Rough Guide, around which most of my previously-mentioned planning has focused. Having read this thoroughly in parts (and briefly in others) I’ve identified my ‘vital few’ – the things and places I want to see whilst I’m here – and now have colour-coded page markers. Yellow is transport (tram plans, metro networks, bike hire and Lago Maggiore Express info); blue is maps (Lombardia, Milan city centre, and Porta Ticinese); pink is food (Luini for lunch, La Biciclette for apertivo, La Libera and/or L’Osteria del Trento for dinner); and orange is nightlife (Corso Sempione, Corso Como, Porto Venezia and Ticinese). These are all places I didn’t go last time I was here and which, according to my Rough Guide, are worth a dabble.

If anyone reading this ever goes to Milan, you should try Luini. It’s down a side street away from Duomo and can really only be described as a cross between Thomas the Baker (for those in the north) or Greggs (for those in the south) and Subway, except the food is Italian, the kitchen is open there in front of you, and the food is to die for. There is a queue, but only just out of the door and it appears to be moving pretty quickly. Outside, there are no elegant tables with parasols, no armchairs with cushions and no waiter service (quite the contrast from the establishments a few feet away towards the Duomo). Instead, people are standing in small groups or sitting on the kerb, dressed in skirts and suits, eating their Luini straight from the paper. The busyness (with apparent local workers, rather than just tourists) suggests something good is going on in there, so I venture inside.

The queue is indeed moving quickly, thanks to a suited gent inside directing you, like a Clarridge’s doorman, to the next available attendant behind the glass counter. Beneath said counter is the calzone. The flavours are typical – mozzarella and spicy salami; onion, olive and tomato; spinach and ricotta – but the smell is incredible. As well as the savouries, there are various sweet-looking pastries, each looking slightly different (giving me comfort that they are from the kitchen behind, rather than out of a box from a factory down the road.) But I stick to just the savoury and opt for a spicy salami and mozzarella. And there’s only one word for it really, delicious. Right then, looks like I picked the wrong day (week, country…) to try and cut out carbs…

Ciao Ciao xx