San Marino: September 2019
Bit of a late start to the day as Sam's flight was horribly delayed the night before. Began with a quick stop at McDonald's for an Italian menu item, the BBQ chicken burger. Decent enough, then onto the motorway towards lunch and then San Marino.
Cuicina Framboise in was a charming little place in the little town of Brisighella. The octopus salad was Sam's favorite, the slow cooked beef cheek was very good, and the baked tomato had an intense flavor that was by far the best dish on the menu, possibly of the whole trip. The town itself had a 20km trail race earlier in the day that would have been fun through the kilometers of grape vines. (Alas, didn't even think to look it up beforehand!)
Another hour, through both the motorway and side streets, lead to the Republic of San Marino. It seemed like a typical Western European mountain town until you entered the old town itself, where the full-on tourist trap experience takes hold. It's a beautiful old town best known for a trio of towers at the top of the town, a funacular that connects the old town with the base of the mountain, and the usual old world accountriments. There's even a crossbow range!
Ended up a bit off on timing and only toured one of the two towers that is open to the public, and sadly sunset got clouded out. That worked out okay as we were able to leave early for the beach town of Rimini, and wander the beach before dinner. San Marino itself is small enough that we don't feel like we missed too much, although another hour or two spent in San Marino honestly wouldn't have hurt if you arrived while both towers were open and wanted to hike out to the (closed) third one.
Turns out Guido is a 1* with the best dairy-free, gluten-free dessert that Sam has had. The best or second best item by far being the oyster selection that both Sam and I had added to the meal. The spaghetti with oysters and the sliced cuttlefish with cheese were particularly unique although not worth a 1* rating despite the overall good execution. A fish broth that tasted just like silky smooth clam chowder was probably the best item on the menu for me, perhaps the only dish truly worth the trouble. Entire amuse bouche selection was a miss, and the rest being indifferent to merely average-ish were a serious fail from a Michelin starred establishment.
Wrapped up a long day, complete with more than a few moments of wishing for a faster car as lots of European metal (oddly, zero Italian exotics) blew by in the fast lane.