One Day in Milan Suggestions
 

We have two days and one night in Milan before flying home. We are going to try and get tickets to La Scala for one evening.
Any suggestions for a memorable "last supper" before we had home. We'll be all packed so wantt to dress relatively casual and have good food at a reasonable price.

That would be two nights and one full day.

Okay, what kind of food do you like? Milano, unlike a lot of Italian cities, does seem to have a lot of different Italian restaurants of regional specialty, in other words, you can choose from quite a variety of Sicilian, Piemontese, Veneto, Roman cuisine restaurants-take your pick.

I also suggest to people too, if you're looking to save money on food in Italy, Milano is the best place to do it, one, because they have such great happy hours, with the emphasis on THE COCKTAIL. NoBODY does happy hour like the Milanese! You go to a bar (preferably in and around Brera-like Bar Brera-a real institution) you order your 2 for 1 drinks, and then, here's the thing: you have an entire buffet dinner to go with your happy hour-which lasts until 9:30pm-FOR FREE. It's really rather amazing! And we're not talking little sausage cheese tidbits either-we are talking full pasta, meats, fish, antipasto-the whole thing-gratis, along with your cocktails.

So, that's one thing you can do. I know of a couple of restaurants-very small trattoria, where I had a very good meal-they have a local Milanese dish, very fresh sliced cooked octopus and boiled potatoes-that surely would not be to most people's liking. I loved this simple dish, because I love octopus-so it was perfect for me, along with a salad. I saw that dish on a number of menus-so I took it to mean that it was local, since I've not seen it elsewhere.

Anyway, my one suggestion would be NABUCCO-in the aforementioned Brera district, (don't know the street) this is a well-known Milanese restaurant, with a lovely outdoor terrace- Milanese specialties, the veal, the risotto. Really good risotto (seafood risotto is one of my special favorites, like #2 after octopus). All pastas house-made. They play jazz music (jazz is a staple in Milan) and there is candlelight-it's a good place to go in Milano. They serve until late as well, which is good for the after-theater crowd.

What's happy hour? Pardon my ignorance. I didn't get how it works. I mean this whole cocktail thing with free food?

The other day I posted a recent New York Times article on great eating in Milan; you use it to supplement the information posted above by Girlspy.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/04/01...l/01Milan.html


Milan is a great city and I do not understand why it is so often overlooked by leisure travelers.

Yura-"happy hour" is actually very popular in Italy these days, and they call it "happy hour" in English as well. It is the time of day for the "aperitivo" but in Milan it goes from 6-9pm-where you either get reduced prices for alcoholic beverages, or you get two for one, and during that time period, (in this country at least) you may get served little appetizer bits of food.

However the Milanese have taken happy hour to a whole new level, and virtually all their great bars (particularly in the Brera district) literally offer an entire meal during the happy hour period to go with the drinks, FOR FREE, so that is why I say, you don't really have to spend anything on dinner in Milan, if you don't want to-just go to the Brera district and a free meal with your cocktails!

That NY Times article that ekscrunchy referred to is excellent for Milan eatings.

BTW, one of the featured restaurant in the article, Trattoria Milanese, is terrific and has always been a "go to" for us when in Mailan.

We are also planning a trip to Milan, onto the Lake Como area and return from Zurich. The whole trip will be 1 week including travel time. Can anyone suggest an itinerary and also info on trains from Milan to the Lakes and onto Zurich.
Also seeking info on reasonable priced hotels. This will be the first week of June. Will we beat the summer crowds?

Thank you ekscrunchy for the link to the Milan Restaurants.

Happy Hour sounds fun, but probably not right for this trip.

I'm looking for some classic Milanese cooking. Risotto with Saffron and Breaded cutlets. These were favorites growing up in our Italian family here in the states....

If you're looking for classic Milanese, that's exactly what Nabucco is all about. Click on their menu, and you will see it is classic Milanese cuisine.

www.nabucco.it/ht_i/percorso_i.html

Thank you Girlspytravel--
the menu looks amazing. Unless the rest of the world comes back with a no go, this sounds wonderful!

Thanks ......mmmmmm.....hungry.......

Grantham-I think you'll be very happy with Nabucco's -and do try to get one of those nice outdoor terrace tables, so you can people watch in the lively Brera district- of course afterwards, you might want to do a cocktail in any of the many bar/restaurants in this area. Fun place, and VERY Milanese!