I’ve visited Alba, Italy, during the annual white truffle auction, so I’ve witnessed firsthand how the earthy, intoxicating scent of the prized fungi seizes the imagination of gourmands from around the globe. Alba white truffles are in their prime for only a few short weeks and nothing compares to the flavor of the fresh, delicate shavings. Taste what all the fuss is about during Barolo Grill’s annual truffle festival, or Festa di Tartufi, held the first week of November.

Executive chef Darrel Truett knows the beauty of restraint, for without it the ethereal qualities of the truffle are lost. Dishes such as plin alla fonduta con tartufi bianchi (Piemontese pasta stuffed with fonduta and topped with white truffle shavings) have graced the special menu in the past. Burgundy black truffles, or tuber uncinatum, have also shared the spotlight, adding their own unique but slightly less aromatic qualities to dishes like porcini black truffle flan paired with goat’s milk braised veal cheeks. Truett is still tweaking next week’s menu but promises an equally stunning display of the truffles’ magic with dishes such as braised pork cheeks served with chestnut purée, drizzled with truffled demi, and topped with shavings of both white and black truffles. Reservations are still available but going fast for the dinners that run November 4 to 8.

Tip: If you prefer to buy fresh truffles, place an order at Cured in Boulder for an astounding deal on both Alba white truffles and black truffles from Perigord, France: Whites run $8 per gram while blacks go for only $1.50 per gram. Most tubers weigh 20 to 80 grams.

Barolo Grill, 3030 E. Sixth Ave., 303-393-1040

Cured, 1825 Pearl St., Boulder, 720-389-8096

—Photo via Shutterstock