La Stalla

Via Ermeo delle Carceri 8 (1.6km/1 mile east of town) Cuisines: Italian

About

Now this is what a countryside trattoria is all about. It's a series of former livestock stalls made of stone walls and low-beamed ceilings thoroughly blackened by and still filled with smoke. The smoke rises tantalizingly from the open wood-fire grill and will have your mouth watering long before you secure a seat at one of the wobbly long communal tables. It's noisy, it's chaotic, it's not for the fainthearted, and it offers what just may be one of your most memorable Umbrian meals, especially if you squeeze in with the traditional Sunday lunch crowds. Start with the assaggini di torta al testo, small samplers of Assisian flatbread split and stuffed with prosciutto and cheese or spinach and sausage. Next up: the trittico, a scooped-out wooden platter laden with a trio of the house specialty primi, usually strangozzi, gnocchi (both in tomato sauce), and bigoli (a ricotta-and-spinach log dusted with Parmesan). For secondi, you have a wide range of choices: bistecca di vitello (grilled veal), spiedino di cacciagione (grilled game), or spiedino di maiale (grilled pork). Their salsicce (sausages) are out of this world. The conversation, generous imbibing, and general good mood can carry on for hours after official closing time.