Off to the starred service stations of Enilife and Niko Romito for an unprecedented concept of refueling and refreshment on major routes. First opening at the EUR in Rome
There is good news for those who like to stop during a trip to take a tasty break, with a fast service: it has left “Alt Taste Station“, the project he sees Niko Romitoone of the masters of Italian cuisine, together with Enilive (new brand of Eni Sustainable Mobility owned by Eni). The objective is to develop a network of roadside refreshment points in Italy and Europe, in over 5,000 Enilive Stations. It starts from Rome, on 20 September, in the brand’s historic service station in Viale America all’Eur. It is there that the two golden arches are replaced by the red banner of Alt, with an arrow reminiscent of that of the ‘diners’ along the US ‘interstates’. And the most classic travel catering – immortalized in hundreds of films – the interiors are inspired by the seats in front of the large service counter.
A LOCATION ‘ON THE ROAD’
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It is therefore not a restaurant disguised as fast food, but a real street venue, which prepares service catering according to quality criteria. The red Alt sign is the brand of a project that was born in 2018 in Abruzzo, in Castel di Sangro, where Romito – in the photo – also leads Reale (three Michelin stars and 16th place in the world for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants) : it was the resale for bread from the adjacent laboratory, later transformed into a real roadside refreshment point. Alt’s project was immediately in the spotlight, as it appeared like madness: a three-starred chef who opens a service station. But Niko Romito’s creative and entrepreneurial approach he transformed that first place, born as a bet, into a prototype. Which for its proposal is perfectly suited to the needs in particular of electric cars: longer stops than those required by endothermics, therefore the possibility of sitting at the table in a nice place, with a high-quality and well-finished menu. Enilive’s goal is to achieve 100 openings in three years starting from the main Italian cities.
VERY ITALIAN MENU
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“For Alt I imagined a street catering model because the streets belong to everyone. I wanted to work on an offer of popular cuisine, with easily understandable dishes, which had an almost domestic meaning and a creative, quality approach. I created what I myself would like to find when I travel and travel for work: a menu that, from breakfast to dinner, can satisfy the traveller, the motorcyclist, the family in transit, those who stop for a business lunch in an informal atmosphere or those who want to take away a snack, some good bread or something light” explains Romito. The proposal will therefore be identical across the entire network, very Italian and with lots of street food, with a menu capable of covering breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner with simple, familiar and very popular proposals. They range from pizzas and focaccias, to the famous ham and cheese toast, from whole fried chicken (the result of a long study and an innovative frying process to obtain juicy meat in every part of the chicken and uniform cooking), to sweet bombs and savory, one of Niko Romito’s fetish foods.
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