Luini in Milan is an institution and during a trip to the Lombard city I advise you not to miss this little place. Try not to go at lunchtime because the queue is always very long.
Milan, the city of fashion par excellence, is constantly a destination for fashion addicted and victims of big names oriented to grab the unique pieces of the fashion district, of students and ordinary people with the hope of concluding real deals in the shops of Corso Vittorio Emanuele, especially during the sales period. Going in and out of shops requires a certain amount of energy, but the recharging time must be reduced to the bone so… what to do? Where to go to find the right snack? From Luini, in the center, logical.
This artisan bakery-oven opened in 1888 in the same place it is today, as the sign shows. It was not until the late XNUMXs, however, that the property passed to the Luini family and the fame grew more and more until it reached the immense popularity of today. Today Luini is synonymous with panzerotto in Milan, with Puglia in the heart of the Milanese capital.
To all intents and purposes it is a bakery-rotisserie located in a side street of Corso Vittorio Emanuele, via Santa Radegonda, which comes out on the left side of the Duomo and the Rinascente. It has the widest offer of good Italian "take away" food that you can imagine: fried panzerotti as per the Apulian tradition, baked for those who want to keep an eye on the line without sacrificing taste, sweets for those who cannot unless you go from salty to sugary or for those who interpret them as a closing of the meal, and more focaccia, half-moons of pizza, mini calzones, braids with a sweet dough.
I could never list all the varieties that are baked continuously throughout the day, so I invite you to visit the site and get peckish before you rush into town! About ten meters from the entrance to the oven, the hours already begin queues for access at the counter where all the delights of the Apulian tradition are displayed and much more. It seems to stand in line to enter the trendiest clubs in the city, to the theater, to the museum or to an unmissable event, complete with "bouncers" that assist the passage in and out of both entrances. If people are willing to be so patient, there will be a reason.
As you get closer and you can peek with your eyes, even the nose has its awakening of the senses, thanks to the scents of which the street is flooded. A few steps and you just have to order, taking your time appropriately, regardless of the pressure of the people still waiting. I have tried the authentic Luini fried panzerotto with ricotta and spinach, to which I, however, preferred the baked panzerotto with mozzarella, tomato, olives and anchovies. The latter, in fact, is much more decisive in flavors, lighter, moderately fragrant and less dry.
Breaking with all the calorie control rules in vogue in the summer, I also bought the chocolate panzerotti. The sensation given by the explosion of the filling in the mouth was one of pleasantness and surprise at the same time: the good intentions of sticking to an impeccable diet jumped instantly, but who would have thought that the filling would have been like this rich, greedy and overflowing ?! In the economic evaluation, the quality-price ratio was awarded a plus and an equally exceptional one was also awarded the emotion that awakened me just bitten: the adrenaline that every child, with a sly look, felt when caught with his hands in the jam. Except that at that moment, adult and child, it was always me.
I owe a small anecdote to a Milanese friend: still today, as in the nineties, the boys who miss school do not fail to stop by Luini and delight in one of the freshly baked delicacies, so that the game is worth the candle.
