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Dining in Europe > Como The majority of the Lake areas specialities are fish dishes. A popular favourite is risotto served with perch. The fish is filleted and then rolled in flour and shallow fried in butter and sage or bread crumbed. The crisp hot fish is then laid upon a bed of thick risotto or rice seasoned with the butter and sage used to cook the fish. Como has lots of places where you can try the regions specialities. Botticelli is a particularly elegant restaurant which serves fish soup, courgette flowers stuffed with bread and boraggine ( herb eaten like spinach) and "Doge" peppered beef steak. Alternatively you can try the Trattoria del Gesumin which serves tagliatelle (a kind of pasta) with salmon, timbale and barley soup. The Don Lisander offers sea food and over forty different kinds of pizza (available by slice). If you want to try "agnolotti" (a kind of ravioli" with aubergine and bufala mozzarella or gourmet turbot then go to the Imbarcadero, a restaurant with views over the lake. The Barchetta restaurant in Piazza Cavour serves tasty saffron risotto and "gremolata" ossobuco (stewed shin of veal). They also have great antipasta like smoked trout or fish paté. Theres also a restaurant about one and a half kilometres walk out on the road towards Brunate. The Baita Bondella offers regional specialities like grilled polenta, missoltit (one of the Lakes fish) and smoked whitefish, just to name a few. The San Marino restaurant is over on the western banks of the lake in the town of Laglio. There you can try warm salad with pike or pappardelle (a kind of pasta) with mullet. Argegno is a town which became famous thanks to its position commanding the entrance to the Val d'Intelvi. To get there you follow the road towards Menaggio and the town is the next after Brienno. La Griglia is one of the few restaurants where you can taste genuinely homemade pasta. They have main courses of game, cooked meats, local bacon and polenta mixed with braised meats. Its also worth taking a look at La Brea which serves both local and French-Swiss style cookery in a rustic atmosphere. Its also worth paying a visit to Sala Comacina, a splendid old Roman village which has recently been opened up to tourism because of the large number of villas which line its coast. On the Isola Comacina there is a high quality restaurant which is called theLocanda La Tirlindana. If you are looking for an appetising place to stop near Lanzo in the Val d'Intelvi then we recommend the Ranch Augusto. They serve polenta with rabbit, salmi of roebuck, roast quail with rice and much more besides. La Darsena restaurant is on the main road across Tremezzo, known as La Regina. You could try their "lake symphony". In Tremezzo itself there is the Tremezzo Palace Grand Hotel. This serves typical dishes of the area with many fish specialities. During the nineteenth century, many "crotti" started to emerge. These were spaces which had been carved out of the rock in order to provide a cool place to store wine and food. These were now turned into "osteria" (a kind of Italian pub). Today, you can go to the "crotti" to enjoy a glass of wine and some fresh locally-produced charcuterie. In the summer, people sit and eat under the trees and in the winter everyone huddles around the fireplace. There is the Crotto Bongiasca in Pianello Lario near the Barca Lariana Museum. Alternatively there is the Crotto dei Platani in Brienno. There they serve cavedano (one of the lakes fish) mousse, perch and pike salads with apple vinegar, spaghetti with whitefish sauce, agoni (another of the lakes fish) au gratin as well many other delicious local specialities. In Como itself there is the Crotto del Lupo and over to the western side of the Lago di Como there is the Crotto del Misto in Lezzeno where you can try homemade cooked meats. Translated by C.J. Bennett Entertainment in ComoComo was founded in the first century B.C. by Julius Cesar. It was conquered by Barbarians, the Spanish and the Austrians and thus keeping for itself some aspect of the dominant culture each time. Thanks to this troubled past, Como offers a large number of museums and monuments. The lakeside is dotted with with villas very typical of the Lario region, for example Villa Olmo. Walking along the lakeside, after crossing Piazza Cavour and the public gardens, you reach the Tempio Voltiano. In the old city, surrounded by walls, is Piazza del Duomo, which brings together all the styles which were popular at various times during its construction, thus it includes Gothic, Rennaissance and Baroque elements. Near the Cathedral is the Broletto with its municipal tower. Other than the walls themselves the old city is also surrounded by small mediaeval districts. From Piazza Vittoria, past Porta Torre leads to Basilica di Sant'Abbondio, an example of Romantic architecture in Lombardy dating back to the XI century. Como also has numerous works by Giuseppe Terragni, leading figure of rationalism, amongst which the Ex Casa del Fascio. There is also an abbundance of places of cultural interest in the province (Basilica di San Vincenzo a Cantù, Villa Carlotta, Santa Maria delle Grazie di Gravedona, Abbazia di Piona). The nightlife in Como is rather more mysterious and coveted than the Como of monuments, museums and shops. Tourists that come to visit this magical town on Como lake, collect information on what to see, how to spend the day in the sun and how to find a hotel to spend the night in. Probably because the city offers so much to do in the day, by evening most are tired and ready for a rest and remember that a starlit stroll by the lakeside is just as pleasant as a good beer or a bop in the disco. However you may still feel in need of a little more excitement, and so to uncover the Como that provides entertainment even from this point of view. Going out at about 11pm we immediately find ourselves in Piazza Cavour with a view of the lake and from where small cobbled streets which lead through the city begin. We can stop for a cocktail here in the Piazza, at the Bar Touring, then going down Via Juvara, we can dive into an American atmosphere in the Hemingway Pub. Finally we can go to Discoteca Charlie in Via Sant'Abbondio, just outside the walls, and by now its already 3am! Other options are the Caffè Milani, near the station, or the El Merendero tavern near the street leading to the funicular to Brunate. If you are staying at the International camp-site ti is easy to get to the Welcome Bar, famed for its aperitifs. The Brianzola province has an ample selection of discos and all night bars for night owls and people who love music as much as they love the small hours. From Como it is easy to get to Erba (Centrale Music Pub,Caramel), Cantù (Silver and Gold, Lo scudo dei Reds), Capiago Intimiano (Tortuga), Tavernerio (Jummins), or Merone (Rock Sound Cafè), or even Orsenigo (Kuku Tango). There is also some nightlife, north of Lario in the tourist areas of Domaso (Pub Crazy Games) and Avedona (Enoteca del Porto). Finally, you shouldn't miss Casinò di Campione, fifteen minutes from Como. Its definately worth a visit especially if you have never been to a Casinò, even if it is just to take a peek at this world made up of coloured lights, mettalic sounds and eyes full of life and excitement. Dining in Europe > Como
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