La Primula

With origins dating back to the late 1800s, La Primula, located in San Quirino, has a history of foodie excellence. As the only Michelin-starred restaurant in the whole Aviano/Pordenone area, La Primula reigns above all as the go-to gastronomical queen. Walking into the its “compound”, it feels unpretentious, tucked away in a sleepy town. The portico is beautiful, accented with quality wicker furniture, high glass tables(for your prosecco flutes!), tall evergreen potted trees, and a pretty green lawn. Since I went with a group from work, we spent a solid hour talking, drinking DOCG Valdobbiadene Prosecco, laughing, drinking more….. etc. The dining room I was placed is well-appointed with white chairs, white linened tables, and white walls. There is a glass wine rack toward the end of the room showcasing over one hundred different Italian wines. As we settle into our tables, Marco, the maitre d’, explains the dishes he is about to start serving us. Our first dish came out and everyone was floored. It was so beautiful and delicate. Marco tells us its pumpkin flowers stuffed with summer vegetables and cheese with light tomato sauce. The cheese is covered with poppy seeds. It’s very soft, creamy, accompanied with a slight tang and perfectly compliments the vegetable medley inside the pumpkin flowers. Second course is a zucchini lasagna topped with San Daniele prosciutto. Anyone who knows me well knows I love prosciutto. This prosciutto was the best I had EVER tasted. Being paired with the zucchini lasagna just put it over the top. It was a comfort food that I had never been comforted by. The dish was light because of the vegetables yet filling from the lasagna and thinly sliced pieces of hog heaven. I loved this dish. The third and main Course was Roasted Suckling Pig with potatoes and tomato gratin. It was a simple dish highlighted principally by meat and potatoes but it was rich. The meat was doused in a suckling pig jus. The pork was tender and lined by a fantastic belt of pork fat that could easily win a pork cracklin’ contest. This dish was solid. Our last dish and the Dolce course was a lemon Bavarian Cream cake made with prosecco served on top of a strawberry sauce. Although it didn’t look like anything special, it was super tangy. The lemon and the strawberry sauce were paired superbly. The meal was quite satisfying, the decor tasteful, and the event was a success. I enjoyed all 3 hours of it. If you are ever in the mood for a food “experience”, take your significant other out for an anniversary dinner or something. La Primula is a PRIMO choice.