Dining: The Naples Truffle Takeover

One of the best things about fall? Truffles. Truffles, truffles, truffles. In Italy, there are entirely festivals dedicated to these highly revered mushrooms, but here in Naples (Florida, not Italy), we have Campiello Naples (1177 Third St. S.) A longtime dining favorite on Third, Campiello is offering a new Taste Italia Tour menu this month featuring three amazing truffle and porcini dishes.

We couldn’t resist trying them—as well as several of Executive Chef Mike Dalton’s new house-made, extruded pastas—last week. The options include Piedmontese beef tartar with white truffles from Alba, risotto with porcini mushrooms (slow cooked with onion, garlic and mushroom stock) and egg pasta ribbons with white truffles from Alba (my favorite—an egg-based noodle with Italian butter).

You can also opt to add shaved truffle to any dish from the regular menu, so we also sampled the house-made, cream-based garganelli with chicken, prosciutto and peas with shaved truffle on top. It was one of Jesse’s favorites of the evening.

In addition to Campiello, for the second year in a row, Osteria Tulia (466 Fifth Ave. S.) is hosting Truffletopia beginning in November and continuing through spring. Choose from tartufo bianco d’Alba (white truffle; $35) and tartufo nero (black truffle; $25) as a supplement in your favorite Tulia signature dish.

Not sure which to pick? The white Alba truffle is sourced from the Piedmont region in Northern Italy and is best known for its garlicky flavor and earthy aroma. Rarely cooked, they’re typically shaved raw onto dishes like pasta or risotto. They’re one of the most expensive foods in the world and can cost upwards of $3,000 per pound. The black truffle hails from France—most often in the Périgord and Provence—are usually cooked and have a pronounced but less dramatic odor.

Campiello
1177 Third St. S., Naples | (239) 435-1166
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