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La Casa Gialla is located in the country, a mile or two outside Prata di Pordenone, Italy. It's open for lunch and dinner six days a week.

La Casa Gialla is located in the country, a mile or two outside Prata di Pordenone, Italy. It's open for lunch and dinner six days a week. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)

La Casa Gialla is located in the country, a mile or two outside Prata di Pordenone, Italy. It's open for lunch and dinner six days a week.

La Casa Gialla is located in the country, a mile or two outside Prata di Pordenone, Italy. It's open for lunch and dinner six days a week. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)

La Casa Gialla, outside Prata di Pordenone, Italy,  literally lives up to its name - yellow house. It features a main dining room that sits about 80  people and has more room upstairs when it gets busy.

La Casa Gialla, outside Prata di Pordenone, Italy, literally lives up to its name - yellow house. It features a main dining room that sits about 80 people and has more room upstairs when it gets busy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)

One recent offering at La Casa Gialla, outside Prata di Pordenone, Italy, was risotto with mushrooms and smoked cheese.

One recent offering at La Casa Gialla, outside Prata di Pordenone, Italy, was risotto with mushrooms and smoked cheese. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)

One recent appetizer at La Casa Gialla, a restaurant that relies on local ingredients,  was prosciutto, toast and radicchio.

One recent appetizer at La Casa Gialla, a restaurant that relies on local ingredients, was prosciutto, toast and radicchio. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)

A recent appetizer choice at La Casa Gialla was one of its standard offerings - polenta with cheese and mushrooms.

A recent appetizer choice at La Casa Gialla was one of its standard offerings - polenta with cheese and mushrooms. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)

A first-course option at La Casa Gialla during a recent visit was pasta with bacon and zucchini.

A first-course option at La Casa Gialla during a recent visit was pasta with bacon and zucchini. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)

Ravioli filled with pumpkin was a recent first-course offering at La Casa Gialla, a restaurant outside Prata di Pordenone, about a 20-minute drive from Aviano Air Base, Italy.

Ravioli filled with pumpkin was a recent first-course offering at La Casa Gialla, a restaurant outside Prata di Pordenone, about a 20-minute drive from Aviano Air Base, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)

Rarely does a restaurant live up to its name as thoroughly as La Casa Gialla.

Indeed, much of it is yellow (gialla in Italian). And it used to be a farmhouse.

Many Americans don’t live far from the restaurant. But it’s easy to miss unless you’re looking for the group of circular lights in the parking lot while driving between Prata di Pordenone and the Sacile Est exit of the A28 autostrada. There aren’t a lot of other houses around, much less any other businesses.

The former house, which has been a restaurant for about three decades, has been operated by the Cadamuro family for the past 13 years.

The offerings change so frequently that the restaurant usually doesn’t bother to update the written menu — which can be a problem if you don’t understand the wait staff’s Italian. You’re likely to discover that some of the menu choices aren’t available.

Of course, many people have their favorite Italian dishes, and La Casa Gialla prepares many of the local standards. Then again, you might want to try something new. Just about anything is good. But be sure to know the names of anything you might be allergic to or just can’t stomach (stomach, for instance). If your Italian’s weak, the sounds for pig, cow or duck generally translate well.

One of the restaurant’s specialties is tagliatelle pasta with anatra (duck) sauce. It’s generally available all year. So is an appetizer: polenta with cheese and mushrooms.

But many of the other offerings change with the seasons, occasionally in subtle ways. Since the dishes are prepared from ingredients available in the surrounding area, when something runs out or goes out of season, it’s crossed off the menu and replaced by another item judged to be of sufficient quality.

Americans are not frequent customers these days — though a plaque or two indicate it has hosted functions by the 31st Fighter Wing — and those who show up about 7 p.m. might have the place pretty much to themselves.

That might make it a good spot for a romantic meal, though maybe not on Valentine’s Day, when the place is packed.

harris.kent@stripes.com

La Casa Gialla Directions: Address: Via Fornaci 86, Prata di Pordenone, Italy. The restaurant is on the SP50, which ends in Prata and serves as the main access road to the Sacile Est exit off the A28 autostrada. The SP50 is easily accessible from the SS13 and starts in the traffic circle in the industrial park west of Vigonovo.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 7-11 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays

Clientele: Local Italians.

Menu: Changes depending on the season. The written menu is often out of date, and customers usually rely on the wait staff to tell them what’s available.

Food: Local dishes featuring ingredients available nearby.

Phone: (+39) 0434-621-152. Reservations generally are not needed except on holidays. Website: www.ristorantelacasagialla.it

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Kent has filled numerous roles at Stars and Stripes including: copy editor, news editor, desk editor, reporter/photographer, web editor and overseas sports editor. Based at Aviano Air Base, Italy, he’s been TDY to countries such as Afghanistan Iraq, Kosovo and Bosnia. Born in California, he’s a 1988 graduate of Humboldt State University and has been a journalist for 40 years.

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