14 July 2007

The Canoli Brothers of Vernazza

These are the twin brothers Gianluca and Massimo, masters of pastry and owners of the infamous eatery Il Pirata delle Cinque Terre. Yes, you guessed correctly: "the pirates of Cinque Terre". Don't worry, they only get fierce when talking about all of the people who ignore their maginificent pastries because their shop doesn't have a view. After sampling more than a few of their pastries, their homemade hot chocolate (liquid pudding), and their fresh pineapple slushie (puréed pineapple mixed with water, ice, and sugar), I must agree with them. The fact that so many visitors to Cinque Terre miss this little shop is a small-scale tragedy. So that is my plug. If you are ever in Vernazza, you must stop in for a pastry.

The morning we left Vernazza, we stopped in for pastries and hot chocolate. We were sitting outside at a table, waiting for our hot chocolate when one of the brothers brings out to little bowls of whipped cream. When asked if we should eat it now, he replied, "Don't eat this cream, yet, or you will ask me to marry you. You must wait for the chocolate." And he was right, if we hadn't had that chocolate, we would've.

4 comments:

Sarah said...

sounds delicious! I want to go!

Anonymous said...

Is it just me, or does "Canoli Brothers" sound like a couple of punks in Weehawken, New Jersey?

On the other hand, "The Pirates of Cinque Terre" ... well, let's just say that sounds swoon-worthy even without the picture and the whipped cream!

Anonymous said...

I just came back from a trip to Vernazza with my husband and we spent a good portion of our time eating there. We were in town for 3 days...ate 2 dinners at Il Pirata & 2 breakfasts. I loved them and Massimo just cracked us up. We traveled all over Italy and upon coming home all we can seem to talk about are the Canoli brothers!

Jen said...

That's wonderful! We never did get to have dinner at their restaurant, but they did bring out a dessert from the night before for breakfast one morning. :) Isn't Vernazza lovely? And made so much more so by the Canoli brothers.