In the middle of the big buildings that make Milan grow vertically, there is a small gastronomic resistance. Tomaso has been there, unaffected by gentrification and real estate speculation, since 1961. Like the trattorias of a time, it is open only at lunchtime – in the evening by appointment – and three generations of Licia, her son and her husband have worked there. They subdivide between lounge, kitchen and cash desk. They clean up, make coffee, bring 10 dishes at the same time. They take orders, on scattered sheets of paper with pencils. Two great workers. The queue that grows outside is always symptomatic of a genuine and good place. You eat like at home, maybe worse, maybe better. It depends on how you’re used to it. The formula is all inclusive at 12 €. Spaghetti with ragu or tomato sauce, roast veal, bollito and green sauce, vegetables as a side dish. When the food finishes Licia puts a sign at the door: “food finished”. Irrefutable. They tell me that until a few years ago the magicians of the city used to gather here every Friday: illusionists, magicians, for the after-work that announced the weekend. Tomaso is that real and genuine place that reminds us where we come from. Mute gastro dudes.

Translated by @silaskin