s of Novara, or _Gianduiotti_, which are
chocolates or nougat from Alba or Cremona where they make violins as
well as sweets. You should drink the wine of the country, Barbera or
Barolo, Nebiolo or Freisa; and I expect, if you really persevere
through half the dishes I have indicated, that you will be glad of a
glass of Moscato with the fruit. Take your coffee at the Cafe Romano if
you long for "local colour."

Milan

In the town of arcades, white marble, and veal cutlets I generally eat
my breakfast at one of the window tables of the Biffi, from which one
sees the wonderful crowd--well-groomed officers of the Bersaglieri, the
pretty ladies, the wondering peasants--that goes through the great
Galleria; but if there is no window table available, and the head waiter
fails to understand why he should give a table retained for a constant
patron to a bird of passage, I go to the Savini, also in the great
arcade, where I think the food is rather better cooked, but which has
not the same tempting outlook. In the evening, if it is a cold day, I
dine at the Orlogio, at the corner of the great square, a restaurant
which some men find fault with, but where I have always been well
treated; but if the day is hot, I as often as not go to the Cova, near
the Scala, where a band plays after dinner in the garden. Such is my
usual round, with a night-cap at the Gambrinus if I have been to one of
the theatres; but I am penitently aware that my circle is a small one,
and I am told that I should take the De Albertis and the Isola Botta
into my list. Wherever one dines and wherever one breakfasts there are
certain Milanese dishes which one should order. The _Minestrone_ soup is
a dish which is not only found all Italy over but which is popular in
Austria and on the French Riviera as well; but the _Minestrone alla
Milanese_, with its wealth of vegetables and suspicion of Parmesan, is
especially excellent. The _Risotto Milanese_, rice slightly _saute_ in
butter, then boiled in capon broth, and finally seasoned with Parmesan
and saffron, is one of the celebrated Milanese dishes, but the simpler
methods of serving _Risotto, al sugo, al burro_, or _con fegatini_ suit
better those who do not like saffron; or better still is a very
well-known dish of another town, _Risotto Certosino_, in which the rice
is seasoned with a sauce of crayfish and garnished with their tails.
Then come the various manners of cooking veal, the _Cotelette a la
Milanese_