Dungeness Crab: Or how I know I’m not in Umbria anymore.

Dungeness crab season opened on December 1. They don’t have anything like Dungeness in Italy. You can buy lovely, tasty little crabs from the Veneto, but you need to be in North America to eat Dungeness. We ate our steamed crab with a rice vinegar ginger dipping sauce; it’s a tasty way to compliment the richness of the crabmeat. 

P.S. No, we didn’t spend all weekend celebrating the end of Prohibition. But we did spend a lovely Friday night at Death & Co. enjoying the work of a good mixologist. It’s a treat to be around people who know how to mix a good cocktail.

The Italians certainly have a wine culture, but they are a little shaky on the cocktail front. In case you are in Italy, and are wondering what is a “cocktail nazionale”, it's a Negroni. That’s it; they have exactly one cocktail in their national repertoire. There are some decent cocktail bars in Italy, don’t get me wrong, but at your basic run-of-the-mill local bar, it’s a two ice cube Negroni and be glad you’re getting that!
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