La paesana In Acquaviva picena

10/02/2025: We came in during the off season so it is understandable that the atmosphere couldn’t be the same as it is in summer but it still felt a little sad. There were only two restaurants open that Sunday afternoon and the second one was full and needed reservations, so we walked across the village to get to this place. Luckily no reservations were needed and we got a table right away. The server was nice and kind and brought us a high chair for our son after we asked for it. We wanted to order pizza but were told that it wasn’t the right time, that it had to be other items from the menu so we ordered water, a starter of deep-fried stuffed olives, gnocchi with tomato sauce and pappardelle with lamb ragù. I ordered an ice tea from the menu but was told they didn’t have it. The food arrived fairly quickly, which was nice. The starter was good but to pay €7 for about 7 stuffed olives and a small pile of bland potato chips seemed a little too much. The gnocchi were really tasty, buttery soft and fresh. The sauce was a simple pomodoro sauce so there wasn’t much to it but the lamb ragù was a big disappointment—the pasta was fine but the sauce didn’t taste like much and there wasn’t pretty much any meat to be found, only three meatless bones. The americano was awfully burnt. The total price wasn’t bad but the food just wasn’t what we hoped for. The women’s restroom has a lock but can’t be actually locked. 🔒

06/02/2025: Kind. Economic. Familiar. Traditional artisan cuisine. Optimal!!!!