When we drove up to Osteria Jodo, an hour north of Venice, my friends and I had no idea what fun and delights awaited. The “osteria” (country style traditional restaurant), beside the road in the midst of farms and fields on the outskirts of the town of Maser, looked humble but inviting.
We settled in for lunch at a table on the outdoor patio. It was still too warm for the big fireplace with an old style spit to be warming the cozy interior.
As we looked at our menus, two locals rode in on horseback and called to the waiter to bring two glasses of Prosecco.
The next thing my friend and I knew, we were riding around the parking lot while the men had their aperitivo.
The only cost was posing with them for a photo after.
Once the cowboys had ridden off, we ordered a bottle of organic Ronchi di Cialla Ribolla Gialla DOCGfrom the nearby region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. The Rapuzzi family has the only winery in the DOCG sub zone of the Valley of Cialla that backs up to the border with Slovenia in the Colli Orientali. (Read my post.)
Ribolla Gialla is Friuli’s oldest native variety. Grown in the limestone rich flysch soil of the Colli Orientali at Ronchi di Cialla, the wine was light, crisp and dry, a perfect pairing for an early fall lunch of…salad of local greens dressed with balsamic vinegar and oil.
Risotto with Fresh Porcini Mushrooms
Tortelloni with Porcini
And a luscious bowl of gelato with the last blueberries of the season.
Afterwards, chef and owner, Marco Bonotto, came out to talk with us. Having trained and worked in other restaurants in Europe and Italy, he returned home to Osteria Jodo. It was truly unexpected to find such an interesting wine list and such lovely local dishes (traditional but updated to be lighter).
Photo here with our waiter and his assistant.
Osteria Ristorante Jodo
Via Caldretta, 152
Maser (TV)
Tel +39 0423 565886
(Closed Sunday evening and Monday)
