San Marino

Today, we decided to go to San Marino. San Marino is the 5th smallest country in the world, situated between the Emilia Romagna and Marche regions. We could see the Adriatic sea from the top of the San Marino. It was very hilly.

Because Bologna is not close to any coastline, we decided to try a seafood restaurant, called Il Piccolo. The restaurant is adjacent to a small hotel. The meal started with a complimentary glass of sparkling wine (maybe prosecco?). It was a warm day, so it made a nice treat. Because we liked it, we ordered additional 1/2 liter.

The appetizer was octopus salad.

Extremely tender octopus but it needed a bit more acid

This was followed by two pastas, gnocchi with shrimp and sushi (?) with salmon

The gnocchi was very well prepared. I tasted something like cumin in the sauce. I would say this restaurant is a bit more fusion style compared to traditional Bologna restaurant.

When I saw "sushi" in the menu, I thought sushi means raw. I guess "sushi" refers to a sushi roll. The salmon was wrapped by black pasta (I guess squid ink pasta?) and served with potato puree-like sauce. Perhaps the black pasta was supposed to be Nori (seaweed). It was an interesting dish.


The main dish was grilled branzino.

A very fancy presentation like California cuisine. The fish was very well prepared with crispy skin and the right amount of salt. The onion was way undercooked so that I couldn't finish it.

Desserts were my first panna cotta (with mixed berry sauce) since I came to Italy and poached peaches with Cointreau & pepper gelato.

I found all the deserts we've had in Italy were much less sweet than those I've tasted in the US. I really like it that way.

We were nicely full, and then the waiter brought complimentary after-meal-drinks. Not just one but two. One was limoncello and the other was the licorice-ish drink from the other night. And the portion was very generous.

I thought that's it. Then....

Really? I'm full.....


Dinner was light. I needed to give my stomach some rest. So, we tried fast food pizza with beer.

The pizza dough was more like focaccia. But the beer was only 1.20 Euro.


Tomorrow, we are going to Chianti for wines!

 

Balsamic Vinegar

Before we drove to Modena, we explored the city center of Bologna. Here are some of the pictures I took in the market area. Bologna doesn't seem to be very touristy so these must be for local residents. They all look amazing!

                                          Chili bouquets?

                                          A "Ragnini" is a little spider

                                          Huge eggplants

We found a local deli with a cafeteria inside. We gave it a try. A half order rigatoni and grilled veggies and water came to 9.50 Euro.

After lunch, we headed to Modena to visit the traditional balsamic vinegar producer, called Acetaia Marisa Barbieri. We arrived 15 min before the appointed time. Where was the "factory"? I saw some residential buildings. At the intercom, I saw the name of Acetaia. So it must be here? Really??? We pushed the intercom, but nobody answered. So, we just waited hoping someone would show up. Right at the appointed time, someone spoke from the speaker and let us in. I guess we were in the right place. A woman came down and gave us a mini lecture on the patio. Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale de Modena is not just balsamic vinegar made in Modena. The procedure of the balsamic vinegar making was passed down within the family for generations. Many makers don't intend to sell the vinegar as a business. So, a very small amount is made. In order to be certified as traditional balsamic vinegar, it has to be approved by balsamic vinegar masters and packed into bottles with a specific shape.

After the lecture, she took us to the attic of the building. It was pretty warm. We saw a bunch of small barrels. There was a very strong smell of balsamic vinegar. I was surprised that I didn't smell it until we got in the attic.

We had tasted two kinds of vinegars, at least 12 years aged and at least 25 years aged. They were both amazing. The 12 year old vinegar is 40 Euros and 25 year old is 70 Euros.

                                              We got the 25 years. It's worth it.

After we left, we headed to the Balsamic Vinegar museum in a nearby town called Spilamberto. It was a very small museum with 2 Euro admission fee. Well, after visiting an actual Acetaia, not much to see. But a nice cozy place.

We came back to Bologna and had dinner at Osteria Al 15. When we arrived a bit after 8:00, nobody was there. But they asked if we had a reservation. Do we really need one? But by the time we left around 9:30, it was pretty full. I guess Italian's dinner peak time is 9:00 to 10:00?

Finally we had Lambrusco. It was interesting.

We had maccheroncelli with pesto-like sauce and Tagliatelle with mushrooms for the pasta course. The pasta wasn't fresh but tasted good. For meats, we had two pork dishes. Very disappointing. Super tough meats.

 

The meal ended with some licorice-ish liquor.

Lots of food again...

Parma and Modena

This morning started with the free breakfast buffet at the hotel. They provided various kinds of croissants. Very flaky and buttery, nice... The best part is the prosciutto and pancetta. They serve it crisp like bacon and ham, yummy.

Today, we went to Parma and Modena to gather information. Parma is known for Parmesan (of course) and prosciutto. Modena is known for balsamic vinegar. The Emilia Romagna region is a heaven for foodie people. Also, Lambrusco is a specialty of Modena. Lambrusco is a red sparkling wine. I was trying to get the contact information to visit producers of these various products.

Unfortunately, we needed more advanced notice to visit the cheese and ham producers and Lambrusco producers are closed for summer. However, a woman at the tourist information center helped us to schedule a visit to traditional balsamic vinegar producer for tomorrow!

We had a lunch at Giallo Parma SRL in Parma. They had prix fix lunch for 12 Euro. 3 choices. Mine came with pasta, cipollini onions and roast beef. It was a good deal.

Again, the pasta was very al dente..


The dinner was at Ristorante Papa RE in Bologna. Because we were both tired, we chose a restaurant close to our hotel. It was very good! We chose a tasting menu with two dishes and one dessert. It had to be the same dishes for both of us. The pasta dish was Gramigna with sausage, which is also a regional specialty of Bologna. Gramigna is a long and thin macaroni with a little curl at the end.

 

I know it looks a bit gross. But it was very tasty!

The second dish was braised beef cheek.

Again, it doesn't look appetizing but it was very good actually.

Desert was Mille-feuille. It had a bit more cream than usual.

Also, we had an additional complimentary desert (we had complimentary zucchini soup too)

Lots of good food. We are going to visit a Balsamic vinegar producer in Modena tomorrow!

First day of the culinary trip to Europe and Morocco

This is the first day of my culinary trip! The first destination is the Emilia Romagna region of Italy. We arrived at Bologna airport in the afternoon. Our first meal in Italy is at Ristorante Tony. We were seated at the restaurant a bit before 8:00pm and it was pretty empty. But the restaurant started to fill up around 9:00. Two of the dishes we ordered are traditional Bolognese foods, Tortelini in broth and Tagliatelle al Ragu.

                                                                       Very al dente....

 

It looks like the food is covered with aspic and you can't see what's inside. But this is tortellini in broth.

Good food but I have to try it at different restaurants to compare. More to come!