Mom’s First Michelin Star Meal

Doing the research and getting excited about what will happen is always a big part of the enjoyment of a vacation. Local restaurants and foods make up a big part of that research. While looking into Umbria Kuah discovered Ada. We have been to a few Michelin star restaurants but this one looked special.

First they were casual and welcoming to families. While I love the nice atmosphere of many Michelin star restaurants I don’t want to have to pack extra clothes and shoes to visit them. I try to keep my suitcase light, although my husband may argue that I’m not always successful at it.

Secondly their menu looked a bit lighter than many other restaurants and featured vegatables. I often end up feeling disgustingly full at the end of a Michelin star meal. I believe this is in part due to feeling I have to finish everything on each plate, which may be my own hangup. I’m also a picky eater which means on some courses my husband ends up eating both my portion and his portion. The The smaller course menu for Ada looked perfect. Not too much food and everything I could eat.

Here is a translation of the menu:

MENU OPTION: Percepire Feel

TIME | MATTER | ORIGINS

Artichoke | spiced eggnog | blackberries

Leek | smoked butter | porcini mushrooms

Felicitti monograin spaghetti | roots jus | yolk | chamomile

Jerusalem artichoke | Cannara onion | celeriac | grain

Ciaramicola | ricotta from monte cristo | passion fruit | black sesame

You had to select the menu you wanted when making the reservation. My mom was a bit disappointed when I told her I had opted for the smaller menu. She had wanted to try some of the meat dishes and the smaller menu was mostly vegetables. I explained to her that while the menu may look small there would be lots of food not listed on it. I told her most likely it’ll include an amuse bouche, bread, and chocolates at the end. I also let her know that she will be able to enjoy the meal better as it wouldn’t over stuff her.

The restaurant was located in center of Perugia. This meant that we would have to park a bit away and then walk. After some research we chose a parking lot that had escalators to top of the city. Then we would have a bit of a walk down to the restaurant, walking downhill is much easier than uphill. It turned out that even with the escalators there was a lot of uphill walking. I did enjoy getting some movement in before the big meal.

One of the escalators dropped us off in the middle of a fortress. It was fun to explore but unfortunately we didn’t have too much time before our lunch so we only saw a bit of it. Then at the top we walked through the center of historical Perugia. Like all of the towns in Umbria we have visited this one was super cute. It does seem that many of the town now have more upscale chain stores rather than local shops. While I like the local shops better I can understand that the towns have to put in what sells to survive.

The restaurant’s decor was perfect. It was simple and elegant. It highlighted the history of the building while incorporating some pops of color and more modern furniture. The tables where nicely separated giving everyone privacy. After being sat Kuah and my Mom ordered a glass of wine and I got some sparkling water. We weren’t given a copy of the menu, which I would’ve liked even though I had chosen it. It’s hard to remember what it is you picked.

The meal started with the amuse bouche. Rather than just a bite this was a very intricate course. There was a beet drink. Then a mini samosa, mini eggroll, cabbage taco and cod in a sauce. After this they brought us a wonderful sourdough and some olive oil. Kuah loved the strong flavor of the olive oil. We weren’t able to buy the same one in the US but we got one from the same brand to enjoy.

The artichoke with spiced eggnog and blackberries was a dish I had been looking forward to. This was one of the most balance artichoke dishes I had in Italy. While many restaurants highlight dishes made completely of artichoke they tend to be one note taste wise. Getting a bite of the artichoke with the eggnog and some blackberry was a great combination of textures and flavors. It was such a wonderful start to the courses.

This was followed by leek, smoked butter and porcini mushrooms. This dish wasn’t for me but Kuah and my Mom loved it. I was finding the presentation of the dishes to be wonderful. My Mom was super immensely impressed by the service we were receiving. Like many Michelin star restaurants they seem to be able to intuit want you want before you even ask.

Next we had the felicitti monograin spaghetti, root jus, yolk and chamomile. This was another dish I absolutely loved. The pasta had a great chew and the sauce was perfectly rich. It was the perfect sized portion to really enjoy without being overwhelming. I also really enjoyed trying a pasta with a completely different sauce then I have tried before.

The last savory course ended up being very surprising to me. It was Jerusalem artichoke, cannara onion, celeriac and grain. Not being a huge fan of onions of celeriac I didn’t expect to like this dish. It ended up being on of my favorites.  It was in a sauce made of malt and soy that tasted just like a rich meat jus. The mixture of flavors and textures made an amazing bite.

Next was a palate cleanser. The one strange thing about this palate cleanser was it had a trout caramel. It tasted really fishy and I did not like it. Kuah and my Mom did enjoy it and Kuah got to eat mine and his.

The dessert course ended up being different than what was listed. We had tarte tartin quinces and ginger ice cream. The brulee on the quince was perfect. It was not too sweet and had a nice mix of textures. Then came the chocolates. They had a variety of flavors and were a fun end to the meal.

We were all full but not crazy full at the end of the meal. Thankfully we had a bit of a walk back to the car to help our digestion. This was the Michelin star restaurant I would most like to visit again.

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