Posto Sinceri, an ode to the taverns of a Milan that resists

Far from the sequins and glitter of cosmopolitan Milan, there is another city, forgotten and little told, whose foundations are well rooted in the family management of activities related to catering. A real and true Milan that speaks to the heart and with a straight voice, without the typical anglicisms of the pseudo managerial faunas that populate the trendy clubs. A Milan that prefers bianchino to the mixologist, which does not know brunch, but the menu of the day of the restaurant written strictly by hand, which makes beaded paneling and dated wood paneling survive the minimal architectures equal to themselves.

Welcome to honest places, those out of the spotlight, those of bowls, small trattorias and bars with wooden tables, on which endless card games are played. A universe teeming with life that coexists hidden side by side with the glamor of the eternal Milan to drink. Sincere places in Milan – this is the name of the book – is a project born from the love of a collective, which wants to remain anonymous, towards those activities that still smell like home.

A family in all respects, but extended, with customers who are not demoted to stale furnishing trappings, but ennobled to conversing relatives who tell a story, theirs, every day. Places where you don’t feel like an unwanted guest, but part of something important, where you can contribute to the story of life’s daily beauties and miseries without being judged for not fashionable clothing, an unenviable silhouette, or a wallet without ringing bellows. Like at home then, even if far from your own.

And it seems to us like entering these houses thanks to the stories steeped in real life. Stories of ordinary humanity that mix with the smell of the dishes in the atrium of the premises. There are funny stories, such as those of Mrs. Isa, owner of the “Casottel” restaurant, outlined as the grandmother of the collective imagination, with a bun of very bright white hair that will animate, unwittingly, a daring run towards the waiter to grab the last dish of cassoeula. The absurd ones, of the open-air chicken coop in the “dehor” of “La Villetta”, the name of the place that will reveal itself in the eyes of our authors only at the end, looking at the receipt.

And there are also sad stories, as in any self-respecting house, such as those of the restaurant with adjoining bowls club, “Da Mimmo and Enzo” with the departure of the first, discovered during a sunny August day. Not a local guide then, but an intense and vibrant story to discover the places that do not appear because in the end they do not want to appear.

It matters little whether you will read the book canonically or jump from one sincere place to another like a handbook. Reading will be pleasant, satisfying and at times melancholy, like life, like love. “They are places destined to disappear, it will be inevitable” – the authors tell us. “The new generations are not attracted to this kind of life. For example, Roberto from the restaurant “L’Aida”, the third generation of this business, confessed to us that his son is not so inclined to continue. It is a real shame that things have to end like this. These realities should be protected, not only for the places, but for the life that lies within them, but we understand that it is impossible. That’s the reason for the book, you had to leave a testimony. Humanity is alive. It’s time to live humanity “