A Taste of the Best Food Italy Has to Offer

FOLIGNO, Italy, Dec. 31, 2009 — -- Italy's central Umbria region is home to many beautiful cities and towns; each with their own rich traditions. Todi, Perugia, Assisi, Spoleto all come to mind. But Foligno, on the plain that runs south from Perugia below Assisi, is a commercial town without much charm.

Badly damaged in an earthquake more than a decade ago, you can still see temporary construction efforts to keep some buildings standing. Perhaps the only other important tourist item is that it has direct fast-train service to Rome. Most people visiting Umbria would give Foligno a miss.

But if you love excellent Italian food, there is a very good reason to stop and seek out Bacco Felice, a small restaurant on Via Garabaldi in Foligno's old town.

Salvatore Denaro is the owner and chef. He is an eccentric character with a passion for food. Originally from Sicily, he has adopted Foligno as his home base. From here, he searches the best ingredients from the Umbria region and beyond.

Step into the restaurant and you might be a bit taken aback that his delicious dishes are prepared in such a tiny place. The front room is stacked with bottles of wine, grappa, and oil. So much of the room is taken over with cases that only two little tables can fit.

Walk toward the back and you will pass the tiny kitchen where pots simmer away on the small stove and where, on a wood fireplace, Salvatore roasts chicken and meats. The space is so tiny that no more than two people could fit in the kitchen at once. But because Salvatore does all the cooking, that is not a problem.

Beyond the kitchen is a larger room covered from floor to ceiling with graffiti. It looks a little like the inside of a major city subway car, but the scrawlings are testaments to Salvatore and the food. Old newspaper clippings fill the rest of the space; articles from around the world that praise the restaurant.