Pat's Trek to Portofino

Our nephew Patrick is a veteran hiker with both the Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails checked off. When he realized that we were staying next to an Italian National Park with mountainous sea-side trails he was up before dawn for a 6-hour / 7-mile hike from Camogli to Portofino. The first 40 minutes alone was a continuous flight of stairs to the Church of San Rocco - just a warm-up for what turned out to be a pretty strenuous up-and-down hike.

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We caught up with Patrick in Portofino (a train and a bus for us wimps). We strolled away from the central port area to find a hidden sea-side restaurant, Strainer, on the outer edge of the port. We were the only patrons and got the full attention of the chef and his associate.

​We started with "Prosciutto crudo di Parma" and "Caprese con mozzarella di bufala". We followed up with plates to share:  "Petto di pollo al limone" and "Trofie al pesto"  - Patrick's new favorite.  

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But the star of the show was "Tagliolini con tartufi bianchi e neri". The chef finished the dish table-side, tossing the pasta in a hollowed out ring of Grana Padano cheese and garnishing it with dozens of truffle shavings.  A tasty truffle treat at a mere 48 euro.

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