Restaurant: Madonnina del Pescatore
Location: Via Lungomare, 11, 60017 Marzocca di Senigallia AN, Italy. +39 071 698267
Date: June 21, 2015
Cuisine: Italian (2 Michelin stars)
Rating: Awesome high end
The second of Senigallia’s Michelin two star duo (not in any particular order) is:
We got to try these with only one night in between for close comparison.
Located a few miles south along the coast, Madonnina is on a slightly quieter stretch of beach than Uliassi — but also enjoys a lovely view.
The sea is visible beyond.
2013 Azienda Agricola Bucci Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore. Again we order this reliable and reasonable fresh local white.
An amuse of parmesan semi-freddo ice cream sandwich!
The menu. We went for the “close to tradition.”
Americano cocktail solido e viaggio intorno all’ alice. Another amuse, a prosecco foam with fruit gelee.
More amuses. I can’t remember exactly what. The right was a crisp with anchovy paste.
Bread.
roast beef : tonno bianco tataki, il sugo della fettina di mia madre salsa di sedano rapa e topinambur al forno. White albacore tuna.
insalata di polpo, gelatina di pane e aceto, la sua maionese. octopus salad, bread, jelly and vinegar, mayonnaise. Very very tender octopus.
ravioli al “plin” di pesce, salsa porro e curry, spinaci e sogliola. ravioli “pliny” fish , leek and curry sauce , spinach and sole. Little pastries of pliny fish.
2012 Fattoria La Monacesca Verdicchio di Matelica Riserva “Mirum”. 90 points. Quite a fruitier expression of this wine. Good ripe fruit, light touch of sweet and waxy core, nice mineral side and firm acidity. This as always is a nice, expressive and complex wine and always a joy to come across it.
carpaccio tiepido di spigola, purè al lime, salmoriglio e salsa di rucola. warm carpaccio of sea bass , mashed lime , seasoned salt and rocket sauce.
spigola di amo arrostita, salsa di fagiolini ed insalatina alla senape. Bass,roasted potatoes , sauce and green beans salad with mustard.
lasagna ai frutti di mare in bianco con salsa di cocco e prezzemolo. lasagna with seafood in white with coconut sauce and parsley. This was sort of a giant ravioli/lasagna. It was soft and delicate and rich and rather delicious with hints of thai type flavors.
guazzetto “al forno” di pesci, molluschi e crostacei. A version of the classic seafood stew.
A version with no shellfish.
tiramisù con gelato al caffè, mascarpone liquido gelatine al borghetti e pane del giorno prima. tiramisu with coffee ice cream, mascarpone liquid borghetti jellies and bread from the day before. A bit like a tiramisu gelato.
vulcani attivi. Volcanic activity. This interesting presentation of chocolates had a number of chocolates named after particular volcanos and placed on the map where they belong. The flavors were themed after the regions, for example with the “Vesuvius” having tomato and mozzarella in with the chocolate!
A granite of grappa with a final chocolate.
Alex had his own tasting of Penne Pomodoro.
Parmasean.
And vanilla gelato over chocolate cookie.
Overall, we had a fabulous meal at Madonnina. I’d pretty much place it and Uliassi at the same level, and they draw off the same base regional cuisine. They do differ in style. Madonnina is fancy, but somewhat more direct in its translation of the dishes, a bit less experimental. This resulted in a 100% “good dish” rate, which almost no highly experimental place achieves. These were really nice dishes that fundamentally tasted great (and very Italian).
Service was also fabulous. Attentive and reasonably speedy (as 2 star places go) with no late meal stall. It’s very common for elegant places to really slow down the pace around the last entree through dessert and check — just when you are getting tired!
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