Pasta is a side show in northern Italy -- rice, polenta and beans are the regnant food trio in the region`s dishes. Rice, since its introduction by the Arabs in the 16th century, has been grown with great success throughout the area, especially in Lombardy. Arborio, used to make risotto, is perhaps the most well known Italian rice, but is only one of many varieties. This is also pig-friendly country, and the hams and sausages are superb. Pork and polenta were traditionally dubbed the king and queen of the peasant table...and an inseparable, if dubiously regal, couple they were. Polenta, or corn-meal mush, is as old as the Etruscans, who didn`t use corn, but buckwheat and other flours, and has long been denigrated as the despised food of poverty. Anyone, however, who has recently been served a pair of perfectly braised quail in wine and herb sauce atop a grilled slice of polenta knows that it has been resuscitated. No longer banished to the maid`s quarters, polenta has taken center stage. The perfectly neutral taste makes it a most pliable cooking item. Much like pasta, it can take many forms and host many other foods. Beans, the third in the trio, can be found in the hundreds of amazing soups for which this region is renowned. The game in the hills goes down smoothly with the many types of wild mushrooms and the wines of Piedmont and Veneto.