Lunch deals at a "tavola calda" in the larger Pescara area (1 of 2)
I didn't even know about this place. I saw it occupying several adjacent openings between columns in a corner location in an indoor shopping mall named Centro Commerciale Il Delfino. It was close to lunch time. I asked a nearby merchant what they thought of it and got sort of a shrug. Yet I kept on looking at this place - Sarni Ristorazione - and saw a few packaged lunch specials and that there were decent prices attached to this "pranzo italiano."
Sarni is also a company that has gas stations with attached food service in autostrada service areas. Here, I learned that they also have stand-alone restaurants in shopping centers and in neighborhoods. This one is such a location.
I looked at the "pranzo di terra" combination, which means "lunch of the land," meaning that there's no fish, but meat or poultry. That said, the lunch deal is composed of a meat or poultry entree, a plate of pasta (that does not have fish), a side, a bread roll, and some base mineral water.
First, the ladies who work at this Sarni are very helpful. After a few times of getting mostly the same things, they knew that my side of choice was the spinach and that they'd have to prep it a little. Along with that, I usually had a chicken breast, which they prepare and is very tender, along with a plate of pasta, of which there are various choices, one of which ought to satisfy a person.
You pay at the end of the counter and then take a seat. With you comes the buzzer that tells you when meat or poultry items are ready. You sit in a well illuminated area and the tables are cleaned fairly regularly.
If it sounds cafeteria style, it is. The Italians call this concept a "tavola calda," which literally means a "hot table." When I was a kid, I thought this was so funny. I thought that they were referring to the actual tables being hot. So I would then say, "La tavola calda, dove ti siedi e ti bruci il culo." That means, "the hot table, where you sit and burn your rump." I didn't get in trouble and I would periodically make this remark upon mention of a "tavola calda." My parents just gave me the look that I was being ridiculous.
You've got a lot here at this Sarni Ristorazione in the shopping center. There's a variety of good food, portions are hearty, prices are fair, and the employees are reliably pleasant. It's far from fine dining, so the clientele is mostly local area folks. Note that if you come in later during the window of time for lunch, they may run out of the meat/poultry/fish or type of pasta you might have had your eye on. read more