by I ate my first meal in Italy at Ristorante San Giorgio. My Air Force buddy took me there when I arrived in Aviano from Germany that evening after a long train ride. He referred to it as “Spaghetti House.” I was initially suspect that it was going to be no Italians, all GI’s, and lackluster food. I was wrong, so very wrong. When I came back to Aviano nine months later, I didn’t want to stop to put my bag down. My friend picked me up at the train station again and the first worlds of my mouth were “Spaghetti House, now!” San Giorgio is my most beloved restaurant in Italy, and serves my favorite dessert……in the world.
Food
Oh, where do I start? Everything at San Giorgio is fab. Let me just run through the meal I had the first time I was there. Since I had nothing to eat from when I left Bavaria that morning, I went for the full traditional Italian dinner. You Italy aficinados know the drill: antipasti, primi, secondi, more food-i, have yet another plate of food-i, and dolci.
Antipasti
Leading off was duck breast prosciutto. That’s right, salted, cured, full-fat duck breast sliced thin and laid out on a bed of arugula so you could lie to yourself and call it a salad. It was perfectly salty and unctious. The paper thin slices just dissolved on the tongue like tabs of culinary LSD, and this trip was just beginning.
Primi
Next up was a favorite of mine, pasta carbonara. Tomatoes make me break out, so San Giorgio’s wide selection of non-red sauce pasta options already made me smile. This dish just kept the food high going. Beautifully tender noodles coated in peppery, creamy egg would make anyone happy. The crispy pancetta brought texture, salt, and tang to the party. My buddy and his wife were smartly sharing an order of butter and sage gnocchi. I tried a few. Think savory butter potato marshmallows with an accent of herbs. So good. At this point, something inside me started saying “too much food, you ordered too much.” I didn’t care. It was a full on bender at this point, and I wasn’t going to stop.
Pasta Carbonara at San Giorgio 
Butter Sage Gnocchi at San Giorgio
Secondi
Two of my favorites, crispy fried polenta and grilled Italian sausage, made up my “main” course. They were both exemplars of their form. The polenta had great crunch and wasn’t too greasy and the sausage was bursting with fennel. However, I was jealous of my buddy’s wife, she ordered the best fried shimp I have eaten outside of my parents’ restaurant back in Florida. Fried shrimp seem so simple, but can go wrong so easily. These were fresh, breaded lightly, and fried in clean hot oil. The only thing they didn’t have was the nostalgia factor of a family member making them for me. Other than that….perfect, absolutely perfect. She’s lucky I didn’t eat all of them. They were the first thing I ordered when I came back the next time.
Polenta and Italian suasage at San Giorgio. A great main course. 
Fried shrimp at San Giorgio. An even better main course.
Dolci
I think I initially ordered another course but vaguely remember cancelling it. Seeing how I was pretty much intoxicated on food at this point, it’s surprising I had such self control. Well, I really didn’t. Minutes after waving off whatever -i ending that was, I went ahead and ordered dessert. It was the right choice. San Giorgio served up finale like no other. Panna cotta served with fresh berries and whipped cream. Simple yet sublime. It was just sweet enough. The creamy vanilla was balanced by the tart berries. Whipped cream and a cookie provided some textural variety. It was so good that it even broke the will of my hosts. They took a bite of mine, ordered one each for themselves, and then two more to take home. I’ve eaten many wonderful desserts before and after, but this remains my favorite.
Service and Ambience
Oh does it matter? The food here was so good that I would return even if the waiter insulted my family. The service is typical for Italy; relaxed to the point of sluggish, and direct questions from the servers. Our guy on my first visit was polite enough and helpful with the menu. He even gave us some complimentary shots of Limocello. The only odd mark was the host seemed to seat all the non-Italians (Aviano has a large-ish US military presence) in one room and the Italians in another. Strange, but whatever, give me some more of those shrimp!
Final Thoughts
My sample size of food in Italy is not particularly large, but San Giorgio gave me the best meals I ate there. I didn’t find anything better in Rome, Venice, Palmanova, or Padua. Someone somewhere knows of better food in Italy. I’ll believe them when I experience it. This is my favorite restaurant in Italy, hands down. If you know someone stationed at Aviano Air Base, use visiting them as an excuse to go eat here. Hopefully you will walk out of there wishing there were bucket sized portion options for the fried shrimp and panna cotta.
