Italian Restaurants – Page 4

Ravenna – The Basilica of San Vitale, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Lunch at Al Cairoli, and Dante’s Tomb

March 23, 2019 mmm-yoso Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Italian Restaurants, Italy, Sandwiches, Travel

We'd had such a great time in Emiligia-Romagna, from the Castles, to the "Devil's Bridge", to our amazing food tour, there were so many memorable experiences. And even though we had but two more nights left in the region, I had one more ace up my sleeve. Our Airbnb was very inexpensive, so I decided to book an overnight stay in Ravenna, a short hour train ride from Bologna. I'd read a bit about the city, which was once the capital of Western Roman Empire. When Theodosius I died; he split the Roman Empire into to halves, one of his sons, Honorius and he moved the Imperial Court and Administrative offices there in 401 because it was easily defended.

Well, enough of the history lesson, no?

The train station in Ravenna is but a short walk into the heart of the city. The vibe is relaxed and friendly; the city is pedestrian friendly and there's obviously a lot going as we passed this while walking past one of the many piazzas on the way to our hotel.

Our hotel; the Casa Masoli was close to everything we wanted to see; the woman running the place was warm and friendly and even made dinner reservations for us at a place she highly recommended. The prices were quite affordable; we got the Teodora e Giustiniano Suite for like a hundred Euros. The building has long history and our suite was amazing! And quite unique; it's like we entered a time machine and travelled into the past. From the Venetian four post beds and antiques lining the room….

To the huge bathroom with a marble bath tub!

To the rather dramatic sitting area.

The woman pointed to a part of the high ceiling and told us…."this is where a bomb landed during World War I"!

We had also arrived early and expected to drop off our bags; but our room was ready!

And so were we. The first order of business was head on out to the bookstore located at Via Giuliano Argentario 22 and purchase a combined ticket for five of the sites. And, it right down the street from our first site; the Basilica of San Vitale.

Commissioned by Bishop Ecclesius in 527; the church was still unfinished when Ravenna fell to Justinian I in 1540. It was then that the mosaics were done and the church completed in 1547. From the exterior, the building really looks rather staid and simple, but the octagonal plan and the use of terra-cotta bricks was revolutionary in those times.

It's upon entering the interior where you really understand the importance of this structure……

The amazing Byzantine Mosiacs are second to none and just amazing to see. It is rumored that San Vitale was used as the model for the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul. And even though we've been to the Hagia Sofia, twice this really made an impression on us.

It is undoubtedly, one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited.

I'm wondering what the dome would have been like had the intended mosaic design been carried out. The painting on the dome is from the 18th century.

I mean, the mosaic on the ceiling of the presbytery is dramatic enough.

There's actually a tape that goes "ssshhhssshhh" when folks start talking too loud in the place. We actually loved it!

For a wonderful article on the history and mosaics, check out this site.

Across the courtyard is the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, named after the daughter of Theodosius I. There are three sarcophagi in the structure; it is said that these are of Galla Placidia, who is said to have been placed in sitting position, Galla's son, Valentinian III is to her right, and to her left is that of Emporer Constantius III, her husband. Though because of study and dating, it is no longer thought to be so.

Some say the mosaics here outshine those in the Basilica and I can see why.

It was an amazing visit; something I wish everyone could see.

From here we headed to the next thing I wanted to see. While on one of the many wonderful pedestrian side streets, we decided to stop for lunch here.

It was a quaint shop; the upstairs was a dining area and the bottom floor like a very comfortable café.

the main reason we stopped is because the place served a small menu for lunch that featured Piadine. We'd been wanting to try an Italian version since having on Malta and I knew that this flatbread is traditionally from this region.

The Missus thoroughly enjoyed her Verdure Gratinate Squacquerone (a nice lightly acidic fresh cheese) – basically roasted vegetables in a nice, warm flatbread.

I had the Prosciutto (of course) Arugula Squacquerone version. Which was just enough for a light lunch.

This, along with two espressos was perfect since we still had a bunch of places to visit and didn't want to get filled up. It was also a nice change from all of the rather hearty food we'd been having over the last couple of days.

Nicely priced as well.

Al Cairoli
Via Benedetto Cairoli 16
48121, Ravenna, Italy

We headed straight down the street. Past all of the locals chatting, having espresso, eating lunch……

Via Benedetto Cairoli had become Via Corrado Ricci and we had arrived at this piazza. This is the Piazza San Francesco.

We'd gone a street too far. We would return here to visit the Basilica di San Francesco later on….there's something really cool in the church. But for now, I was focused on this place right around the corner in an area called "Zona del Silenzio" (Area of Silence). Remember when we visited the Basilica di Santa Croce in Florence? I noted that Dante's tomb "monument" was located in the church, but he wasn't interred there? Well, here he is.

On January 27th 1302, Dante was exiled from his home in Florence. He ended up in Ravenna in 1318 and wrote Paradiso, the third and last part of his Divine Comedy. When Dante died in 1321, he was entombed and hidden in what is now named the Basilica di San Francesco not to be found until 1865. Thus began what some say is a 700 year "battle" over the remains of Dante, which is quite a story in itself.

So many stories…….

And it was barely past noon!

Yes, there's more to come.

Thanks for stopping by!

Bologna – Trattoria Tony

February 21, 2019 mmm-yoso Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Italian Restaurants, Italy, Travel

After exploring San Petronio Basilica and having a snack at Sfoglia Rina we wandered around a bit. There is quite a bit to see in Bologna and we only scratched the surface during our time here. We were ending our trip to Emilia-Romagna in Bologna and we still had two more fairly busy days ahead, so we decided just to take in the city a bit and wander around.

When visiting the city; you really can't miss "Le Due Torri"; the Two Towers one of the symbols of the city. It is said that there were once over a hundred of these towers in the city which were used to symbolize wealth, power, and for a more practical purpose; to protect and watch over the owners holdings. Today there are about 20 of these left.

We headed down bustling Via Rizzoli and took a random right on Via dell'Indipendenza, then took another left and ended up at what looked like a church.

This is the Chiesa dei Filippini Madonna di Galliera e Filippo Neri….wow, talk about a mouthful. Curious, we decided to take a look.

The structure was badly damaged by bombs in 1944, but was painstakingly restored to its current state and reopened to the public in 1999.

It was a fun stop for us; a nice little respite on this walk.

It was time for us to check into our apartment; so we headed back.

Down this somewhat ominously named street.

The street of "discontent"?

As we got close to the apartment; we noticed a crowd around his window.

So we took a look…..and saw….well, what looked like a stream?

Apparently there once was a whole system of canals throughout the city….most of which are now underground. This is one of the few places where you can catch a glimpse of Bologna's "hydraulic" system that once powered the city.

We relaxed a bit and took a short nap. We decided to stay fairly close by for dinner and just randomly chose this little Trattoria.

The place soon filled up with people who looked like they were headed home from work; the odd family, students, and well, us….the token tourists.

The menu had all of the regional standards. We read that this little trattoria has been here since 1968.

Soon enough the paper bag of bread landed at our table.

We never really enjoyed the bread in Emilia-Romagna; it's hard, dry, and pretty much tasteless. Though we did try the one that looks like it belongs at the end of a medieval weapon.

The Tagliere Salumi e Forgaggi was quite good; especially the Parmesan Reggiano; it was obviously aged a bit because of all the tyrosine crystals.

The mortadella was the best of the salumi.

This time it was the Missus who went with the Tortellini en Brodo.

The pasta was nice and tender; the filling well flavored. The broth was a little light and needed salt.

You do not get Spaghetti Bolognese in Bologna….in fact, there is no such dish in Bologna…except perhaps at a tourist restaurant. What you do get is the tagliatelle al ragù.

Hand made fresh pasta; with a slow cooked meat based sauce. The pasta was quite nice; good pull and texture. The meat in the sauce was rather hard and chewy. I enjoyed how the pasta was dressed as this could be on the rather rich side.

Overall, an okay dinner, it was also perhaps one of the cheapest meals we had on this trip. And, as you can tell, we didn't leave hungry.

Trattoria Tony
Via Augusto Righi 1/B
Bologna, Italy

We headed off to bed rather early…..tomorrow was going to be quite a busy day for us with lots of food involved.

Stay Tuned!

Clearing Out the Memory Card – Revisits to Tribute Pizza and Aqui es Texcoco

February 16, 2019 mmm-yoso Italian Restaurants, Mexican Restaurants, Pizza

Just clearing out the memory card of places I've posted on numerous times.

Tribute Pizza:

It had been over six months since we'd been to Tribute and the Missus had burnt out on pizza (if you notice that visit to Tribute was "pizza-less"). But finally She was ready to have some pizza again recently and requested a visit to Tribute.

We did the usual….the Sea Salt Foccacia with 'Nduja

The Meat, Cheese, and Veg Board….with all the veggies. Loved the venison salumi and Drunken Goat ("Queso de Murcia") is another cheese we enjoy.

I'd forgotten that the board came with focaccia as well.

Since it was Happy Hour; we also ordered the Biancoverde; which turned out to be just too much food.

But the Missus enjoys cold pizza…… And we enjoyed our visit.

Tribute Pizza
3077 N Park Way
San Diego, CA 92104

Aqui es Texcoco:

Another place I hadn't been to in ages….like almost a year! Since the Missus's work schedule changed, we didn't have time for breakfasts on weekends anymore or were just too tired when Saturday came around.

I finally got back right after Christmas. And it was as good as ever.

Which was relief since it seems that many of our "regular" spots have been starting to disappoint us recently.

Aqui Es Texcoco
1043 Broadway
Chula Vista, CA 91911

Hope you're keeping warm and having a great weekend!

Modena – Cotechino from Bar Schiavoni

February 7, 2019 mmm-yoso Caffeine Fix, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Italian Restaurants, Italy, Sandwiches

Our train for Bologna wasn't scheduled to leave until after 1pm, so the owner of our apartment was nice enough to let us check out a bit later than scheduled.

After relaxing for a bit we headed on out. There was still one item I wanted to try before we left Modena and the Missus wanted to do some (more) shopping. We headed on back to Mercato Albinelli. But stopped to check out the cathedral on the way.

There was a lot of restoration work going on in the cathedral, so we just had a quick look and headed down the street to the Mercato.

Which was very quiet on this morning.

Right out the doors of the Mercato is Bar Schiavoni.

This little coffee and sandwich "bar" was doing some pretty good take-out business. The seating is all streetside on foldable chairs and tables. I got us two espresso and ordered something else….

When I told my Italian coworkers and friends that I wanted to try Cotechino Modena, they looked at me oddly and wrinkled their noses. But since, I was in Modena, I wanted to make sure to try this IGP (Indication Geografic Protected) sausage made of minced pork "parts" in the pork rind. The look totally reminded me of Spam®….which of course has its own…ahem,,,,designation of authenticity! The Cotechino was quite porky, rich, with a clove-wine-nutty flavor; it's almost oily, but the nice crusty bread and the sauce which featured capers and vinegar really did a great job of cutting the richness.

I'd gladly have it again….perhaps next time alongside Cotechino's "son", Zampone. The Missus and I shared a sandwich which was more than enough for the both of us.

Bar Schiavoni
Via Luigi Albinelli 13
Modena, Italy

After our "breakfast" we headed over a few blocks to a leather shop we saw the day before.

While it was closed the last time we passed by; this time it was open.

The young lady working here was amazing. She went through all the products; showed us the process, told us the story of the business, which was founded by the previous owner in 1979. She and a partner interned at the shop and when the owner was ready to retire; took over the business. She walked us outside and showed us where the canals used to run (where the street is now) for all the tanners on the street. It was an amazing story!

The Missus bought a bag….a wonderful hand made leather backpack…with a story.

Before we paid; the young lady asked us to follow her upstairs, to the workshop and showed us the ceiling. She told us that this was the original ceiling of the building; which goes back to the 15th century! Most places have it painted or covered over. But here was the original.

She told us; "when I first walked up the stairs and saw this for the first time, I knew it was the place for me!"

We loved this place and hope to return someday.

La Vacchetta Grassa
Corso Canalchiaro 42
Modena, Italy

Yes, we hope to return to Modena someday….with that backpack in tow, and perhaps some stories of where it has been!

Thanks for reading!

Modena – Osteria Francescana

January 15, 2019 mmm-yoso Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Fine Dining, Italian Restaurants, Italy, Memorable Meals, Travel

You could say that even though I as surrounded by great works of art at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam I was distracted. You see, while we had planned on visiting Florence, I had really wanted to check out Emilia-Romagna. And so we made plans; but one of the key elements to this was trying to get reservations to the restaurant proclaimed to be "the Best Restaurant in the World", Osteria Francescana, which in fact has now won that title more than once. So there I was, on my smartphone, surrounded by the works of Van Gogh, on the first day on the month at 10am trying to get reservations. I managed to get us dinner reservations; not on the exact day I desired, but a day later. It kind of messed up my planning a bit, which turned out to be a blessing since I tweaked my plans to include Ferrara for a night which we really enjoyed.

And so, after having already had an enjoyable time in Modena, we headed off to dinner at Osteria Francescana.

Things start off when you walk up to the colorful, but discreet doorway to the restaurant….and ring the doorbell?

And are greeted by….a Security Guard? Actually a fake security guard, a life-sized, and quite real looking statue.

Let me just say; the service was flawless, just the right balance of professional, yet amiable, there's nothing stuffy about the place. Dishes were brought out perfectly timed, yet you felt relaxed. The wine pairing we had with our tasting menu was excellent according to the Missus; yet only one of them was from Italy.

There's also something I like about the austere, yet tasteful dining room; well spaced, lighting sets a good mood. Yes, you can tell, Osteria Francescana has three Michelin Stars.

The bread was interesting as it had a really nice texture, but was quite plain in flavor.

Ah, this was really traditional bread, no salt added, which went nicely with the olive oil.

Soon after; the dishes started arriving.

Starting with the Aula in carpione, "re-imagined fish and chips" (above). A crisp enrobes a small fish topped with a fish flavored ice cream. Nice umami tones; for some reason this really reminded me of the flavor of various Japanese snacks…..so perhaps that's why we weren't really blown away by the flavors.

Next up were the Cuttlefish and Caper puff topped with a very tasty tomato powder.

The macarons were really mild in flavor and seemed to be a case of perhaps getting a bit too out there. The parmesan crisp added a much needed milky-saltiness to things.

Talking about reminding me of Japanese drinking snacks; the "Sardine that is not a Sardine", eel cream inside a fish skin bread, really tasted like Japanese fried fish skin snacks.

Which kind of made us crack up.

The "Tribute to Normandy" was an interesting play on a place and a theme. There's an interesting, yet clean and refreshing flavor to this "oyster" which is topped with a nice apple granita. The texture is interesting as well. According to the story, Massimo Bottura first had an oyster when he was a teenager in Normandy. Along with the oysters, he had lamb and cider. So this is a dish that celebrates that time; the granita is apple (cider), the foam, which was a bit too salty, is oyster water, and the oyster…is not an oyster, but lamb tartare.

Next up was an interesting dish….I mean literally, the plate looked charred as did the "paper" that topped the sole prepared three ways.

The edible "paper" was made out of dehydrated sea water, then scortched…it made for a dramatic affect and the fish was perfectly cooked, but the dish proved to be much too salty for us.

One of Massimo's signature dishes; "An Eel Swimming up the River Po".

I can sum up the flavor of the Eel in one word; "anago"….it tasted totally like anago. I did enjoy the polenta cream flavored with onion, but the apple jam really clashed with the sweetness of the eel.

"Green over Brown, over Black: camouflage rice". Basically three risottos in one, a porcini (brown), vegetable (green), and oyster (black).

We fond the risotto to be too hard for us and though on occasion you'd get a nice bite of all three working in harmony, it was just a bit too much going on.

"From Cervia to Modena – Leeks, Shallots, and Black Truffle".

Wonderful combination of pungent-sweet and earthy flavors. Great "nose" on this dish as well.

The "Crunchy Part of the Lasagne".

Think of it as a fried noodle cracker on top of Ragu Bolognese, which nice a velvety.

"Suckling Pig, Tender and Crunchy".

Like the sauce stenciled piggies? The pork was fabulous; skin perfect, meat tender, nicely seasoned. The sauces ruined the wonderful pure taste of the swine. Bad thing was; you get three pieces, so don't make too many mistakes with sauces!

About this time, the Chef came out to chat and take a zillion selfies with customers. He is quite energetic, friendly, and really knows how to work the house.

Much like our experience at Azurmendi, we were kind of at a loss when the chef came to our table…….so we chatted about, well, what else…food! I mentioned how amazed we were at the Emilia-Romagna's bounty, it was more then we expected. When Massimo asked me what I was most impressed with….I'm sure he expected something like Balsamico, Prosciutto, or Parmesano-Reggiano. So when I said that culatello had been a revelation to me; he smiled widely, patted me on the shoulder, and said something to one of the Servers. He walked into the kitchen and brought this out to the table himself.

"It is our own Culatello…aged 46 months" he said. He smiled tapped me on the shoulder and said, "enjoy"…… Man, it looked really lean, but it had such a deep, cheesy-porky flavor, and just melted in my mouth that I almost uttered a profanity. So, I now have a story…… the cranky old man can now say, "did you hear the one about when Massimo Bottura served me salumi?"

I have an even better one. "Did I tell you about the time we spent a grand for dinner and the best bite I had was a salad?" Yes indeedy. This is called the "Caesar Salad in Bloom". It is amazing layer of various crunchy textures, flavored powders, various herbs and edible flowers, mounted on a leaf of lettuce.

It is to be eaten in two wonderful bites….I have a thing about textures; this was a symphony of varying degrees of crunchiness, along with bitter-sweet-sour-pungent…. We were amazed at the complex mélange of tastes on a singe leaf of lettuce. By far our favorite item of the evening. (of course for me it was the culatello….but that wasn't on the menu).

Did I mention that Osteria Francescana serves "popcorn" for dessert?

And of course more dessert for the Missus.

So, was it worth almost a thousand bucks for dinner? I often say that at this level it can sometimes be more about the experience. The presentation are like works of art; there is playfulness, transformation, and creativity. Whether that makes for an amazing meal is truly a personal opinion. The service was among the best we've had. The personal touch was amazing. So, while I don't think we'd do this again; I'm glad we did.

Do you really need the address of Osteria Francescana? Ok, here it is….. And no; I haven't seen "A Chef's Table"….

Osteria Francescana
Via Stella 22
41121, Modena, Italy

And yes; Modena is stunning at night……

Modena – Mercato Albinelli and Lunch at Trattoria Il Fantino

December 26, 2018 mmm-yoso Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Italian Restaurants, Italy, Markets & Grocers, Travel

In the end we were kind of sad that we only spent two evenings and one full day in Modena. We really enjoyed the relaxed and friendly vibe of the city.

We woke in the morning and decided just to take it rather easy. We'd visit the Mercato Albinelli, wander around and bit, have some lunch, then take a nap. Our location and the apartment was beyond awesome; modern, clean, and right around the corner from the main street in Modena, via Emilia. A just short walk; maybe a half mile or so down the street is Piazza Grande and the Duomo, Modena Cathedral.

Head down via Luigi Albinelli and you'll run into Mercato Albinelli.

Which is quite a traditional market. It was pretty quiet on this day as we browsed the aisles.

With all the standards. We really wanted to check out all the hand made pastas and weren't disappointed in the varieties…..

And we got a nice little treat when we were ogling the pasta at this stand.

The really nice woman saw us checking out the pasta and suddenly appeared with two tortellini on toothpicks for us to try. She smiled and passed it to us over the counter….the Missus and I looked at each other since the pasta wasn't cooked. But we couldn't turn down this kind gesture and ate it…..it was delici- yoso!!! Tender, cheesy, some nice savory-saltiness from the salumi…..man, it was good! The shop owner obviously knew we weren't going to buy anything, but just wanted us to try her product. It made our morning.

We ended our visit by having some espresso at a little shop around the corner from the mecato.

The name of which escapes me. But it was a nice little break.

We then walked back to Piazza Grande. The cathedral really stands out; as does Torre Dell'Orologio, the clock tower.

When you walk along the south end of Piazza Grande to the west and Corso Duomo; you pass through a really neat building that crosses over the street.

This will being you around to the front of the cathedral.

Right down the street is another Piazza. this one is the Piazza della Torre; the Torre Ghirlandina, the bell tower of Modena. Which rises 290 feet above the city. work started in 1167 and was completed in 1319. It is considered one of the symbols of Modena.

The cathedral, Piazza Grande, and the towers is considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We should have spent more time exploring; but I'm certain we'll return one day.

The statue in front of the tower is of Italian writer Alessandro Tassoni who was born in Modena.

At this point, the Missus was off shopping…….

She enjoyed exploring the shops in the area…… Meanwhile, I just took in the sights.

This is the Church of San Giovanni Battista.

This is the Monumento a Ludovico Antonio Muratori a famous historian.

This church is the Chiesa del Voto.

Before we knew it; it was almost past lunch time….well, at least lunchtime for us, it was edging past noon.

Where to go for lunch? Well, there was a place fairly close to the apartment I had on my list. I'm not sure where I first heard of the place. Located on a tiny side street, Via Donzi we found Trattoria Il Fantino.

The clock had just struck 1230 and the place had just opened.

The folks here were very friendly. I'd read that the ribs were a specialty, but we decided on just some pasta since we had major dinner reservations.

The Missus picked a real winner; the Strigoli con Funghi Porcini e Speck, only 9 Euros.

Strigoli, sometimes called stridoli….which I was told meant something like "fat worms", were noting of the sort……worms that is. This wonderfully toothsome and substantial pasta had an amazing chew. You weren't looking for anything stretchy here, the closest I've had in terms of texture is the Strozzapreti at Maestoso. Nice woody-earthy tones from the porcini; the speck added a touch of saltiness to the dish. Very nice.

You know what I got, right?

The Tortellini en Brodo of course! I just couldn't get enough of this dish. Bless the hen who gave her life….and by the deep chicken flavor of the broth her soul for my pleasure. The Tortellini had just the right amount of cheese and salumi. It was cooked perfectly.

And as a digestif…..well some Nocino – walnut liquor.

The place had totally filled up by the time we were half way though our meal. We'd lucked out as they had to turn people away……

This was a very nice meal; friendly service, priced right. I'd like to return to try out those ribs….and another bowl of tortellini en brodo of course!

Trattoria Il Fantino
Via Donzi 7
Modena, Italy

We were enjoying our time in Modena.

Pesto Craft Kitchen (SDSU area)

December 10, 2018 Cathy Italian Restaurants, Pizza, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! welcomes you back to reading about food in San Diego. Kirk has been working a lot of (weekend) overtime and Cathy is writing a few posts., like this one.

Customized, wood fired oven pizzas have been a restaurant phenomenon since about 2014. I've written two posts about Pieology and one post about Blaze. Pesto Craft Kitchen took over what originally was the location of Social Life Neapolitan Pizza in 2016. Pesto offers more than customizable pizza and salads.
The menu is visible when you walk in (this is an old photo with old prices because I apparently could not take a clear picture of it in the last year). (Use THIS link to see current prices on the website)
You walk along the ordering line.
A decadent snack served here are these delightful 'garlic knots', you can purchase 4 or 8 as an appetizer.
You can sort of see the fire in the oven through the protective glass.
There is an extensive selection of wines and beers.
We started with the calamari fries ($9.95) These are served with a roasted garlic spicy tomato sauce. Meaty strips of squid, breaded with a herb-y coating. A large portion, apparently meant to be shared or this could be a low-carb meal.
When we do enjoy a pasta dish, baked is preferred.In this case, four cheese ravioli ($13.95) which had craft pesto and was topped with marinara and mozzarella. The pasta, cheese fillings, pesto, marinara and even the side of toasted garlic bread were each distinctive in fresh flavors. This was a filling meal…yet we wanted more.
I went back in line and ordered a smoked ham calzone ($9.95)
Mozzarella and ricotta are the cheeses, the wood fired crust had the char that gave the crust flavor and crunch. The cheeses, the bit of marinara sauce…this was wonderful. We had a bite in the restaurant and took the rest home for dinner. A great day of meals.

Pesto Italian Craft Kitchen 6011 El Cajon Blvd, Suite A San Diego, CA 92115 (619)265-2700 Website Open Sun-Thurs 10:30-9:30, closes at 10:00 Fri-Sat

Modena – Ristorante da Danilo

November 29, 2018 mmm-yoso Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Italian Restaurants, Italy, Travel

Trains are interesting in Italy; it seems like they are always late. Our train from Ferrara to Bologna was 15 minutes late; which made me worry, since we had a 14 minute transfer time in Bologna for our train to Modena. I shouldn't have worried since our Bologna connection was 25 minutes late!

We arrived in Modena and made our way to the lovely apartment which was located right the edge of downtown Modena. It was spacious and the interior had been upgraded. The owner was not able to meet us; but her dad, a jolly and friendly gentleman did. While he spoke no English; he did a great job of showing us around and even wrote down a dinner recommendation for us!

I actually tried calling the restaurant for dinner reservations; but as soon as they heard English, they hung up on me!

We freshened up and took a short stroll…..I didn't take too many photos; only a few of Piazza Roma and Palazzo Ducale.

We also did a bit of shopping; checking out a Balsamic Vinegar (after all; this is Modena) shop and wandering around a bit.

Returning to the apartment, we took a short nap, and then decided to head out for dinner. In spite of being hung up on; we headed off to Risorante da Danilo to see if we could get a table.

Which we did. Initially, our Server was a rather serious, not very friendly woman…….we both gave her a hearty "buona serra" and got a one-second smile before the edges of her mouth returned to their locked downward position. The Missus and I just couldn't help but crack up. After seeing some of the rather demanding non-local customers during our meal; I could understand how folks here could become a bit jaded.

And of course, some Lambrusco makes everything better, no?

We started our meal here in the same manner as other meals in Emilia-Romagna….with Salumi and of course Culatello. I just couldn't get enough of the stuff.

The prosciutto was quite good, meltingly tender, with a nice funky-cheesy finish. The culatello wasn't of the best quality, but was sliced nice and thin. And of course the torta fritta; here it was a bit thicker; making it more crunchy than crisp, though it was still wonderful with the cured meats. The Pecorino was on the "young" side but had a nice milkiness to it.

The Missus it seems, just couldn't get enough of the funghi in the region and went with the Papardelle con Funghi Porcini.

Man, the pasta was perfectly al dente, soft, yet with a pleasant stretch. The porcini added such a pleasant earthy-savory, almost sweetness to things. As with all the pasta in the region; it was nicely coated, but not drenched…..you had the means of really enjoying the flavors and pasta evenly.

While the Missus couldn't get enough porcini…well; I just couldn't get my fill of……tortellini. En Brodo de Cappone of course.

The tortellini were wonderful; slight savory-cheesy bliss, the perfect pasta….each tiny little morsel made by hand. Which is why it's usually the most expensive pasta on the menu. The broth was light but had a nice poultry flavor….that old hen surely gave her life for a noble cause.

Simple, pure, and basic seems to work the best in Emilia-Romagna.

By this time our Server had warmed up to us. We were enjoying our meal and were low maintenance, eating things as it should be…..she was actually smiling and stopping by to see how we were doing. The Emilia-Romagna warmth and friendliness was perhaps dormant at first…..but it could not help but push itself to the surface in the end.

We really enjoyed our dinner here.

Ristorante da Danilo
Via Coltellini 31
Modena, Italy

We strolled through Piazza Roma again.

Past the Monument to Ciro Menotti.

And into the Modena night…….

Ferrara – Trattoria da Noemi

October 10, 2018 mmm-yoso Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Italian Restaurants, Italy, Travel

After exploring Ferrara for a bit and then a short nap, we awoke hungry. Since it was Easter Monday, a holiday, we were lucky to have been able to get reservations for dinner. Our B&B was right outside the city walls, so we left a bit early and just enjoyed sitting alongside Ex Chiesa Di San Romano, which was now the Cathedral Museum, facing Piazza Trento e Trieste. It was a beautiful night!

It seems that much of the crowd we saw during the day had left.

Soon enough, dinner time had arrived. Ferrara itself is an ancient city, the first recordings of a settlement in the area was in the 6th Century BC. Thus the city, a UNESCO World Heritage site, has city walls and warrens of alleyways. Down one of these is Trattoria da Noemi. There was quite a line in place when we arrived and folks were being turned away. Like I said, we were lucky to have gone earlier in the day and snag some reservations. The only thing we had really eaten for the whole day was some salumi, so we were starved.

The Missus ordered the Fiori di Zucca fritti ripieni di mozzarella – fried squash blossom stuffed with mozzarella to start.

These looked fairly dense, but were surprisingly light, the breading nice and crisp. The cheese added a bit of density to things and just the slightest bit of milky acidity.

You know what I ordered as my primi, right?

Yep, Culatello of course! This was Culatello di Zebello, so tender, almost sweet, with a touch of milkiness. In case you don't know what part of the pig is used for this…think of the name…."culo". The torta fritta here was light and crisp, a perfect match for the piece of….ahem, you get it right?

We had noticed an entire section of "special" pasta on the menu. Can you guess what was special about these?

The Missus ordered the Fagottini ripieni di faraona al tartufo. These tender "little bundles" were filled with Guinea fowl, which was quite mild, we expected something more gamey. The hand made pasta was quite tender. And this is the way pasta is in Emilia-Romagna, it shines on it's own, not drenched in sauce and in this case, topped with fragrant black truffle. All the ingredients shine.

I had wanted to try pasta al zucca (pasta stuffed with pumpkin), so I ordered the Cappellacci di zucca burro e salvia al tartufo. Stuffed pasta in the shape of a "hat".

Of course I got it topped with truffle. The pasta is finished in sage butter; which wasn't enough to balance out the sweetness of the pumpkin….this was just too sweet for us. The pasta was quite tender, with the slightest pull.

We had enjoyed our meal with a couple of glasses of wine.

The meal was enjoyable and we attempted to make reservations for lunch the next day, but the place was booked solid.

Trattoria da Noemi
Via Ragno 31
44100 Ferrara, Italy

We awoke the next morning and had a light breakfast. We went back to our room to relax until check-out time. Our train didn't leave until after 4pm and we didn't have to do anything other than return out rental car. The folks running the B&B kindly allowed us to park our car in their lot after we checked out. We decided to take another walk around the city.

Things were fairly quiet. We just wandered the various alleyways and streets taking in the charming cobbled streets and warrens that circled the town.

Things started picking up as the clocked edged toward eleven. Many places were closed; I guess to recover from the Easter rush, all the other were booked, and even take out panini places had an hour wait….for paninis to go!

We decided that lunch just wasn't in the cards for us and just decided to return the rental car. When determining our route and timing for the rental car return, I noticed that our rental office in Ferrara was just a ten minute walk to the train station.

The woman at the rental office was so warm and friendly!

As I walked back out to the street, I noticed this place next to the rental office.

We got a couple of Americanos and shared a sandwich to kill some time. What was really interesting were the three guys sitting on the other side of the al fresco "palette", they had obviously gone thru a couple of beers each. One of the guys had that "glow" if you know what I mean….his face was bright red. He finished beer number who knows…..got up…shook his friends hands….and got into a delivery van and drove off! Sheesh….

We got up, returned our cups and saucers…..and took the short walk to Ferrara Train Station.

We'd had a fun time in Ferrara. I'd randomly picked Ferrara because of an extra day we had between cities and noticing how close the rental car office was to the train station. Part of this was driven by some dinner reservations and other things. Ferrara entertained us and exceeded our expectations. We just might return some day…..though I'm going to make sure it's not around a holiday!

Next stop….Modena!

Ferrara – The Cathedral, a Walk Around the City, and Al Brindisi, the oldest Wine Bar in the World, aka Copernicus Slept Here

October 6, 2018 mmm-yoso Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Italian Restaurants, Italy, Travel

It was probably not the best plan on my part. I had thought Easter Sunday might be a problem and was kind of worried about finding places open. We did luck out with a gigantic meal at Osteria Carducci in an almost sedate Piacenza. Which pointed out two things I didn't know about Easter in Emilia-Romagna; folks in the big city head out to smaller towns; like Ferrara, to celebrate and enjoy life. Two, the Monday after Easter is a holiday and places would be packed. We searched for a decent place for lunch but every place was booked, or just served stuff like pizza and panini. We did manage to snag reservations for dinner.

We decided to just go ahead and check out this charming city; remember the amazing Street Performer?

Ferrara Cathedral dominates Piazza Trento e Trieste considered to be the center of the city. While there was a lot of restoration work going on, we decided to check out this structure which dates back to the 12th Century.

The interior is quite grand in a rather foreboding kind of way; as it is rather dark.

There were services going on; so we decided to just take a quick look around…..

It would be interesting to see the Cathedral after all the restoration work is complete.

As we slipped into the quite street behind the Cathedral we saw this place.

Al Brindisi….where did I hear that name before? Then in a rare example of my brains cells all firing at the same time, I remembered. Al Brindisi is said to be the "Oldest Wine Bar in the World".

Like 583 years old! So now for the name dropping; Copernicus studied at the University of Ferrara in 1503. While matriculating, he actually had a room right above Al Bridisi.

So, if it was good enough for Copernicus; it must be good enough for us.

Being a bit later in the afternoon; we just decided on some Culatello (of course) and a couple of glasses of wine. A red for the Missus and a white for me.

Along with the Culatello, we were served the famous and typical bread of the city; Coppia, which means "couple" has a unique shape, two strands of rolled dough are connected like a cross, with four "legs".

This was fairly dry and crumbly, though very "yeasty"…..it's not something we'd search out.

The Culatello was decent, not quite melt in your mouth, but still satisfying.

There is a definite porky-cheesy flavor to culatello which I really love.

So, are you ready for our Al Brindisi story? It's about the Missus's red wine….first of all, it was turning a bit skunky to the nose….

It tasted like it was on its way to becoming a nice vinegar. We motioned our really nice Server over and explained to him that the red wine was going south. His response? He flashed us an uneasy smile and said "SOOO-rrreeee". And walked away never to be seen again! You couldn't help but laugh!

Oh well, we cut our losses…this red was really inexpensive.

And we now have a story about the oldest wine bar in the world, right?

Enoteca al Brindisi
Via Guglielmo Degli Adelardi 11
44121, Ferrara, Italy

After our snack we headed out and stretched our legs.

Ferrara was indeed an "interesting" town…..looks like this fellow is trying to sell his books?

Just a few blocks from the center of town; things were a lot quieter. This is the Piazzeta Sant 'Anna

This was once the sight of the first hospital in Ferrara, dedicated to Saint Anne.

We headed away from the city center……just taking in some of the wonderful structures along the way.

That's the Chisea del Gesu above, a Jesuit church built in the 16th century.

You kind of get the idea that they measure time in centuries here. In need of a nap before dinner we headed back, past the Castello Estense di Ferrara.

Past all the busy craft booths.

It was time for a nap….and then dinner!

Thanks for stopping by!