Gold? No. The streets of Torino are paved in chocolate

Travelling on the 15^th of August in Italy, well for lack of a better word, sucks. Everyone goes on vacation. Shops close down, people shut up their homes, and they all head south. On trains. Where am I trying to go on the 15^th of August, on a train no less? Why Sicily, of course, the most southern part of Italy. You can’t get much more south without scampering over Tunisia’s boarder. With all this competition, it becomes very hard to get your hands on a ticket, even with a Eurail pass. I took the bus into Torino, found my way to the train station, and arrived there in plenty of time for the 11:00 am train. What happened when I try to get my ticket? No dice. They were all sold out. They were all sold out for the 1:00 pm train as well, same for the 4:00 and the 6:00. The only train with seats open was at 9:00 at night.

Great.

I dropped my bags off at the left luggage office and headed to the info center to get a map. Maybe I can just waste 12 hours of my day at some café. Of course, there was a huge line at information. I’ve come to the realization that nothing is ever easy, but everything somehow works out. Waiting on line, a pamphlet caught my eye. The Streets of Chocolate. I need not look any farther. This 27-page booklet contained all the historical cafes, pasticcerias, confecterrias, and gelaterias that made Torino the chocolate capital of Europe. I therefore had a new quest: to seek out the best chocolate in Torino. I was definitely up for the challenge.

First stop: Confecterria Roma gia’ Talmone. I crossed the threshold of this shop, stepping out of the 21^st century hustle and bustle of the Torino traffic, and entered a 1920s café, complete with wood paneling, wait staff in ties and vests, and old fashioned cappuccino machines. I ordered their “famous” cappuccino and sat outside to do some people-watching, my new favorite pastime. While I was enjoying the relaxing and charming atmosphere, I was on a mission. There was no time for dillydallying.

Onto Caffe Mulassano. It’s located in a glass and marble covered pedestrian walkway, surrounded by art deco inspired décor. The sign for the shop was a dark wood with bronze inlayed letters. It was looking like this was to be a wonderful choice. There, I ordered a chocolate croissant from an adorable old man behind the counter. It came out toasted. Why? Well, Caffe Mulassano had the first toaster in Italy. Brought over in 1925, they made the first Italian hot paninis. Didn’t know you were going to get a history lesson when you signed on to this blog, did you? However, the whole toasted bit didn’t really live up to my expectations. On the bright side, what it lacked in taste, Mulassano made up in style. A little hole in the wall, the shop had about 4 tables made of marble and cast iron, mirrored walls behind the counter, carved wood paneling, and a hammered tin ceiling. It is times like these that I wish I had Jane Austin or The Great Gastby under my arm.

Next stop: Gelateria Pepino. Since it was about 10:00 in the morning, I wasn’t really feeling gelato. I ordered biscotti and rested my feet. (Before this stop, I walked about a mile out of the way to check out a confetteria called Baratti and Milano. Unfortunately it was closed until the end of August. Holidays are taken very seriously in Italy) The biscotti was fine, but I wanted to really taste Torino. I wanted to discover it’s local favorites that put Torino on the map. Have no fear; this quest is far from over.

After a small detour of sitting under an overhang for about 30 minutes because torrential downpours, I made it to Caffe Al Bicerin. This is what I was looking for. Bicerin is a type of hot coffee, mixed with chocolate and topped with whipped cream. The drink is served in a traditional bicerin glass, which is clear so you can see the layers of drink. As the name suggests, this caffe is where bicerin was invented. It was a little pricey, but worth it. The 5-euro drink warmed me up and gave me a much needed caffeine boost. The mocha flavoring was nothing like a tall mocha latte at Starbucks. The dark chocolate Caffe Al Bicerin uses gives this drink a bite. At the caffe, I met a couple of really nice French university students and a hysterical waitress, but that’s a different post.

I walked down some original Roman roads, built under Augustus (um, this is quickly becoming the best day of my trip) to find the Mecca of chocolate: Pasticceria Caffetteria Tamborini. This is where I found Gianduiotto, a soft hazelnut-chocolate candy molded into wedge shapes that resemble cigarette buds, hence the name. Gianduiotto comes from the word givo, cigarette bud, in Italian. Here’s some history of Gianduiotto: When the Piemont region was conquered by Napoleon, cocoa powder was hard to come by, so Torino chefs ground up toasted hazelnuts to supplement the depleted supply of cocoa powder, thus creating an entirely new flavor that became extremely popular. What sprung from necessity has turned into a vogue delicacy that has been a popular staple ever since. Tamborini lived up to the hype. I got two bags full, enough to last me, well, the train ride to Sicily.

My last stop before heading back to the train station was Pasticceria Peyrano Pfatisch. Apparently it is one of the most famous pastry shops in all of Torino. I got an assortment of chocolates: pralines, walnut-chocolate, some other chocolate filled with something delicious, and another chocolate I could not pronounce but looked delectable.

I walked pretty much all of Torino, back roads and main streets, cobble stone and pavement. I put to use the Italian I’ve learned and discovered tasty bits of history along the way. With the day’s mission accomplished, I was a very satisfied passenger on the 8-hour night train to Rome, then the 14-hour day train from Rome to Palermo. 22 hours of riding in a cramped train was not what I wanted to be doing. At least I had chocolate!