Como’s Duomo, begun 1396.

During the past few days, I have been drifting in and out of a food coma between meals and roadside naps. This is not the ideal condition for writing and I have a feeling the next few posts will be light on the text and heavy on the photos. It’s just as well, as I am still trying to digest the food culture of Como and I’m not quite sure what to make of it yet. Here are a few highlights, food and otherwise.

Pastificio Braglia on Via Vitani has an amazing assortment of stuffed pastas: casoncelli, ravioli, tortelloni, and pansotti. They are served at Rino next door and Nostradamus (strongly recommended by my buddy Adrian) across the street.

Cernobbio is just a 10-minute boat ride from Como. It is so easy and affordable to get around the lake with public transport. We wanted to check out Bellagio by boat, too, but the weather wasn’t looking so hot…

…which, of course, left plenty of time for the local beer before the boat back to Como. Specifically, Birrificio Italiano‘s Bibock and Tipopils made nearby in Lurago Marinone.

Back in Como, we took a stroll through the beautiful Villa Olmo and along the lake before popping over to Birratrovo, an excellent beer shop that stocks more than 300 craft beers from all over the world.

With all that walking and drinking, we had worked up quite an appetite and, at the suggestion of Umberto over at Birratrovo, had dinner at Antica Trattoria Da Angela (UPDATE: NOW CLOSED) .  The risotto was great and the service was excellent and it was close enough to the hotel for us to roll home and rest up.

The next morning we took the Funicular up to the village of Brunate above Como and set our sites on the snow-capped peaks of Swizerland, which, we immediately decided, must be our next destination.