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In Turin, a breaded cutlet is called grissinopoli

Curiosity, featured, Italian culture, Turin

July 4, 2024

Should you happen to be in Turin, and fancy a nice, breaded T-bone veal steak, you must find a traditional restaurant and order a grissinopoli. Yes, that’s right, in Turin we do not eat a Milanese cutlet but a grissinopoli. The Savoy-city version of the traditional breaded cutlet has been given this name because it is breaded with a substantial layer of crumbled breadsticks, grissini.

It is undoubtedly a main course for hearty eaters: in fact, this very thickly cut steak, made from the meat of a very young calf, is first coated in beaten egg and then fried in clarified butter. The outcome is a soft steak, with a very crunchy crust.

The name grissinopoli comes from the somewhat derogatory name given to Turin by writer Emilio Salgari (the creator of the legendary Sandokan), who called the Piedmontese city the capital of breadsticks. On the other hand, in Turin breadsticks were invented by court bakers to create a more easily digestible bread for their frail King Victor Amadeus II.

Restaurant Alba (via San Pio V, 8), in the San Salvario area, was the first to prepare and offer a grissinopoli to its patrons. Over the years, however, this dish has become popular in several city eateries, prepared in their own variations.

In the area of San Salvario, a true heaven for food lovers and fans of Turin’s famous aperitivo, you can sample a grissinopoli in the following restaurants:

Bottega Baretti – via Sant'Anselmo, 28
La Società dei Carbonari – via Silvio Pellico, 7
Il Bistrot della Bottega del Gusto – via Sant'Anselmo, 4F
Gran Torino & Co. – via Silvio Pellico, 2/Bis

Closer to the city centre, you can try:

La Madama della Rocca – via della Rocca, 4
Ristorante Monferrato – via Monferrato, 6
La Ristonomia del Bertola – via Bertola, 41E
La Cantina VB – via delle Rosine, 1

Another restaurant worth trying is Snodo (corso Castelfidardo, 22) inside the former OGR (Officine Grandi Riparazioni) historic factory building. If, after trying Turin’s grissinopoli, you‘d like to prepare it at home, here’s award-winning chef Marco Sacco’s version.

Want to discover other things to do in Turin?

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