Seafood is the strong suit. One great pasta dish contains tiny sprial-shaped trofiette with pesto, tomatoes and baby calamari. Those choices can be followed by either grilled fish dressed with the local olive oil, or pesce all ligure, a whole fish poached with olives, pine nuts and herbs. The wine list features such favorite local whites as Pigato and Vermentino. In the autumn, these truffles, which come from the nearby hills, appear in almost every course of a meal.
Autumn also brings wild mushrooms and the wine harvest.
About an hour south of Milan, in the Lombardian town of Maleo, is Albergo del Sole. Francesca and Mario Colombani run this fabled little hotel and restaurant, which are in a building that dates back to 1464. As delicious as the food is, the selection of red wines is even more impressive. There is a superb cellar and you can discover wines that you may have heard about but never tasted. Lombardy produces some of Italy's most exquisite cheeses, including Taleggio , Gorgonzola and grana Padano , so a cheese course is recommended.