On a whim I booked a place on the Afternoon Food Tour with Beer tasting in Milan. It was to take place in the other area of Milan I had wanted to see, the Navigli District.
I made my way down there in the late afternoon to the meeting point. It was about a 20 minute walk from the Duomo and as I got closer I noticed the change in streetscape from the glitzy area around the Duomo to the more relaxed vibe, and some great street art, further away. We met by some Roman ruins, as you do in Italy. Our guide was a local who was obviously passionate about the area and the food. It was clearly going to be a great night.
Our guide first took us to a bar where we talked a little history and had an aperitivo, some of us with beer, others with spritz. She gave us a lot of detail about the local beer culture, most of which I cannot remember, but the beer tasted good 😀
Our next stop was the local covered food market. After visiting the one in Florence I was excited to visit another and knew it would be a highlight. We tried a couple of things there. Meatballs and another beer, then some cheeses. Fresh mozzarella was delicious. It was curious to see that you could buy bread by the slice.
Nearby to the market we stopped at a street food stall that did seafood. Our guide explained that despite being in central Italy Milan had a great seafood history and that this stall was one of the best. We all got to eat a cone of various fried seafood that was utterly delicious.
Next we got to spend some time in the canal area and learned some of the local history before our next stop at a small shop for panzerotto, a little like calzone I guess but deep fried. By now I was bursting at the seams but it was another delicious dish. We had some local wine with it and some of the group were initrigued, and bought, a drink they had there which we were told was the equivalent of 12 shots of espresso! The canal area was so picturesque with the reflections in the canal. Yes, I am that person, the one who is always trailing behind the group taking just one more photo…
Our final stop was another bar that had a huge menu of craft beers. I can’t recall which one I had but it was very nice and being served in flower pots was a bit of a novelty. Our guide left us here after our drinks to enjoy the rest of our evening. Gelato on a slow walk back to my hotel, via the Duomo, was all I had left in me after a long day, with another ahead of me.
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