Al Pont de Ferr
On the Naviglio Grande
Cuisines: Italian
About
This is one of the more culinarily respectable of the dozens of restaurants around the Navigli, with tables set out on the flagstones overlooking the canal (regulars know to bring tiny cans of bug spray to battle the mosquitoes in summer). The paste e fagioli is livened up with bits of sausage, and the ricotta-stuffed ravioli inventively sauced with a pesto of rucola (arugula) and veggies. For a second course you can try the tocchetti di coniglio (oven-roasted rabbit with potatoes), porchetta (pork stuffed with spices), or vegetable cous-cous alla Trapanesi -- or just sack the whole idea of a secondo and order up a tavolozza selection of excellent cheeses. There's a surprisingly good selection of half-bottles of wine, but most full bottles start at 15€ ($20) and go senselessly higher. On the whole, portions could be a whole lot larger, but you gotta love a place whose menu opens with the quip, "Good cooking is the friend of living well and the enemy of a hurried life."
