Gambero Rosso presents the new Lombardy Guide 2024, with the best of Milan and the other provinces

Without losing its unmistakable class, Lombardy is rediscovering itself as a region that is increasingly attentive to sustainability and green, even in the kitchen, positioning itself in third place for the presence of agritourisms in Italy: this is the surprise that the new Lombardy Guide 2024 which brings together 1,100 addresses in Milan and other provinces where you can enjoy a quality food and wine experience. There are many confirmations in catering and just as many novelties in a varied offer which, without losing sight of the traditional dishes, to which one of the 5 categories of Special Awards is dedicated, is enriched with new shapes, even in contrast with the trend, and the colors of an increasingly international and ethnic restaurant capable of satisfying all tastes. And the numbers of excellences tell the story with: 9 Tre Forchette (partner of Consorzio Franciacorta) , 1 Tre Bottiglie, 1 tre Cocotte, 3 Tre Mappamondi (with the entry of Ba Restaurant) and 6 Tre Gamberi (partner of Consorzio Valtenesi).

The journey that the Guide, now in its 32nd edition, offers ranges from haute cuisine to the more traditional trattorias, from bistros and grills to pizzerias and street food, up to the best establishments where you can shop more carefully and capable of enhancing the excellence of the territory. But in a region that has always been known for its capacity for innovation, efficiency and economic development, the rediscovery of naturalness through an increasingly visible spread of urban vegetable gardens, agricultural bakeries and out-of-town structures attentive to the environment is even more striking: only Brescia , the industrial city par excellence, has 400 " and this says a lot about how much the rediscovery of the agricultural world has now become a trend, outside but also inside the cities, with full knowledge of the facts or as a pure marketing operation ", comments Valentina Marino, editor of the Guide . A trend also confirmed by the unexpected presence in the city of Milan of 2 of the 6 Green Prawns in the Guide, a new symbol that distinguishes places that concretely operate on the basis of environmental sustainability: Joia by the master of vegetable cuisine Pietro Leeman which skilfully mixes fantasy with a perfect technique and the Un Posto bistro in Milan , a rural oasis a stone's throw from Porta Romana, with a restaurant and vegetable garden that invites you to take a leisurely break.

The Guide is also a beautiful journey among the best shops not to be missed in Milan for quality shopping, from meat, cured meats, fish to fresh pasta and delicatessen products up to tea and coffee from the finest roasters. And it is precisely due to the commitment that the Milanese city has dedicated in recent years to the valorisation of a rich heritage of food and wine culture through a redevelopment of local markets where it is possible to savor the freshness of seasonal and often zero km products, that the Lombard capital received the Milanesità Special Award , one of the 4 categories of Special Awards included in the Guide.

Among the other provinces, Brescia once again stands out: in the year in which it was nominated together with Bergamo as Italian Capital of Culture, Leonessa shows its character, its liveliness and desire to emerge also through the multiple expressions of cuisine resulting the province, after Milan, with the largest number of signs, 131, which tell of the richness and specialties of the territory. In Lodi, however, the new features are concentrated, 7 out of the 11 venues included in the Guide.

But it is the Special Awards that provide a real snapshot of the peculiarities that characterize the cuisine and flavors of this region: Milaneseness , News of the Year, Ambassadors of the Territory, Champions of Tradition and Best Proposal by the Glass at the Restaurant .

The Special Prizes

Special Milanesità Award

• Municipality of Milan for the valorisation of local markets

Special Novelty of the Year Award, sponsor Krombacher, in the city of Milan goes to:

• Spores,   a youthful proposal aimed at a niche audience, lovers of fermentations and natural wines;
• Verso , a restaurant with a unique environment and an absolutely market-oriented proposal with sea, land and vegetables that find expression in dishes that are exemplary in terms of intensity and precision of cooking;
• Silvano , a former bakery of which the large oven remains in this modern osteria-winery in Viale Monza furnished with vintage lamps, wrought iron display cases, tram doors and an offer that includes every food;
• Dirty , an unconventional cocktail bar with complex proposals that play on the extreme chords of acidity and umami.

Best Proposal by the Glass at the Restaurant , sponsor Enoteca Esselunga

• Il Luogo Aimo e Nadia , every visit to this couple's place, in the kitchen and also in life, is a source of wonder and surprise and humus in which thoughts grow. The winery is led by the competent Fabio Piras, in love with the stories of the winemakers.

Special Champion of Tradition Award, sponsor of the Oltrepò Pavese Quality Wine District, where the recipes of the following places in the city of Milan stand out:

• Milanese yellow risotto: L'Alchimia belongs to the "living room" of Milanese catering. The growth of chef Giuseppe Postorino is evident and without losing the thread of taste and the good hand in Piedmont-Lombard classicism, he deals good blows on the creative front.
• Milanese cutlet: Trattoria del Nuovo Macello holds high the flag of Milanese tradition and market cuisine by offering some city cults.
• Ossobuco: Arlati since 1936, an icon of the city's restaurant scene, in vogue for almost ninety years, offering reliable cuisine in the revival of Milanese classics.
• Cassoeula: Piazza Repubblica , is the best in the city, even in the version with goose, together with other classics that are a guarantee, such as the schnitzel or the Milanese rice cake.
• Mondeghili: Trattoria Sincera , an osteria in the heart of Lambrate, conceived by a group of young people, with a sign that is a sort of programmatic manifesto.

Special Award for Ambassadors of the Territory , sponsor Isos by Campo dell'Oste

• Trattoria Sincera, Milan
• Osteria del Treno, Milan
• Osteria al Gigianca, Bergamo
• Osteria dell'Orologio, Salò (Bs)
• Tira Mola and Mesda, Como
• Caffè La Crepa, Isola Dovarese (Cr)
• Antica Osteria Casa di Lucia, Lecco
• Antica Osteria del Cerreto, Lodi
• Hostaria Viola, Castiglione delle Stiviere (Mn)
• Osteria del Cavolo, Monza
• Bazzini, Canneto Pavese (Pv)
• Green Lantern, Villa di Chiavenna (So)
• Crotto Valtellina, Malnate (Va)