Casa Del Ferroviere - CASTROVILLARI

Tagliata is an Italian dish consisting of slices of cooked beef in a balsamic sauce with lots of rocket and topped with shavings of cheese, usually Grana Padano. It is my favourite Italian 'secondo piatto ' and I have eaten it all over Calabria where I live. Sounds simple enough but, believe me, there is a range of things that can go wrong, usually to do with the beef itself, where and when it originated, fresh or frozen, the amount of fat and gristle and how it was prepared and cooked. Until I ate at the Casa del Ferroviere, I thought I had already found the best Tagliata closer to home ... but not so. The Casa del Ferroviere is definitely top of my Tagliata ratings. I knew it was going to be good when the waiter asked me how I would like the beef cooked and I was not disappointed. The rest of the meal was excellent too ... I ate my Tagliata with some roasted potatoes and accompanied by a wonderful local red wine. I planned to stay in Castrovillari for only one night but decided to stay one more so that I could return to the Casa del Ferroviere for another Tagliata meal. The Casa del Ferroviere is a very unassuming place, not the sort of place that tourists and visitors always gravitate to because it seems to cater mainly for locals ... but then, if you find where the locals eat, that 's where you usually find the best food and a great unpretentious atmosphere.