Thursday, September 8, 2011

Roialto - Aperichic


This bar is a great place to have an aperitivo in Milan, and in Italy, Milan is known as the city of the aperitivo.  The idea is to meet with friends in a cool spot after work, from around 7:30 to 9pm, in one of the many thriving bars and sip, quaff, or guzzle, depending on your drinking habits, while mingling, chatting, and eating a little something off of little plates.  Theoretically, the aperitivo is meant to be an appetite-stimulating pre-dinner (that sometimes leads to a pre-discoteca...), but often these aperitivi end up substituting a proper dinner, especially if you go to a place like Roialto.
Here you will enjoy a very cool decor with comfortable chairs and couches, high-quality food stations with hand-sliced Italian salumi and prosciutto, a cheese board, and other tempting nibblers (a.k.a. potential appetite-spoilers), strategically placed throughout the bar.  I confess to happily making this meal-substitute on a weekly basis...

Check it out:  Via Piero della Francesca 55

www.roialtogroup.it


Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Giacomo Milano - More Than a Culinary Institution


Giacomo Milano is synonymous with refined quality:  With several locations in town they cover a lot of territory:  a restaurant specialized in seafood, a bistrot, a fine tobacco and perfume shop, and a patisserie all to be found in one block...they certainly cornered the neighborhood of Via Sottocorno.
Each restaurant or shop has a carefully chosen retro decor, giving a glimpse of a historic Milan that has been somewhat eclipsed by a more more glitzy, design-oriented modernism.  Good food, good wine list, good setting...just add the good company...

More recently, Giacomo has opened a restaurant right on Piazza del Duomo, Giacomo Arengarario, inside of the new museum dedicated to 20th century Italian art, Museo del '900.   The view of the Duomo is unparallelled, perfect for a lunch break downtown, and the art deco decor is sleek and elegant.

www.giacomomilano.com

Il Salvagente - Fashion "Lifesavers" in Milan

If there is one shop in Milan that every model comes to know sooner or later, it's "Il Salvagente" or the "lifesaver", and they do live up to their name in a fashion emergency.  These people are legendary in fashion circles. Their outlet is a regular supplier for all the stylists in town for fashion shoots.  They carry an incredible array of top brands, from Chloe' and Balenciaga, to Dries Van Noten and Margiela, and many, many more...at incredibly discounted prices.

This is the kind of tip I'm not so sure I should be sharing...

Go do a fly by in Via Bronzetti 16.

www.salvagente.it

Cavalli e Nastri: Chic Vintage in the Heart of Milan

Photos via www.cavallienastri.com

Let me assure you, this is not your average vintage shop.  You will find no dusty, faded, wilted worn or dismal pieces in this exquisitely selected collection.  This whimsically named shop, Cavalli e Nastri  (or "Horses and Ribbons") is just what you needed if you're looking for vintage Hermes, Gucci, Chanel, YSL, they've got 'em all.  You'll find fabulous prints, mint-condition bags, costume jewelry, and even home furnishings in their three Milan locations.

Hit their shop in Via Brera 2 for starters...fashion stylists beware, you will leave with a lighter wallet!

Check out their website at:
www.cavallienastri.com

Jennipie - Pretty "Petit Four" Lingerie - Oh la la!

photo via www.jennipie.it

I've always had a thing for cupcakes, and what girl doesn't like a little lingerie?  The next time you're in Milan, pop over to this fabulous little boutique, tucked away in Corso Magenta.  It feels like you've entered a romantic pastry shop, full of pastel colors, cupcakes, and flowers, but really this little gem of a shop sells frilly panties, silky babydolls, bathing suits, and super-feminine accessories.

These scrumptious little confections make the perfect gift in their little pastry-box packaging.
So make the trip, this place is pure flirty, girly fun...

Go check out their website, you'll see what I mean!
www.jennipie.it

Monday, September 5, 2011

Pink Champagne and Peck

www.peck.it

Sometimes a girl just feels an irresistible urge to throw a last-minute, over-the-top dinner party.  Last Wednesday was one of those days for me.  While enjoying a leisurely morning stroll, I happened to pass by Peck, one of my favorite gourmet wine/cheese/specialty food shops.  I couldn't stop myself from entering...and charging my credit card with a frightening sum for such a fanciful little whim...but that's how it goes when you enter this place.

I created my menu around a fantastic bottle of pink champagne, a rose' from Provence, and a luscious little bottle of Recioto di Suave for desert.

After eating fresh arugula salads topped with walnuts and summer figs, a variety of creamy and pungent cheeses, oven-roasted suckling pig leg (not for me, I'm vegetarian, but for my friends), roasted potatoes, basil zucchini and rice-filled tomatoes, we finished off with dainty homemade pistachio cupcakes topped with pistachio glaze.

...not a bad way to end an anonymous Wednesday night.

Welcome to The Chic Trotter

This week promises to be a great start to my blog, since Thursday is Vogue's Fashion's Night Out in Milan, my hometown.  All the best shops in this shopping capital of the world will be open all night for fashionistas to browse, window shop, and pick up on the latest trends for this fall while enjoying a nip of something refreshing to drink.  I can't wait to put on my heels...