Summer in Bologna is like a chocolate box, sorry Forrest. Rich and tasty, but ends always too soon.
Here’s my guide for the best places to enjoy and never miss any crumb of it.

You’ve drunk all the water of Nettuno fountain.
Jump between the shadows of the porticos.
Spend a full day through crypts and ice caves (yes, we have a lot of them).

But it’s hot, still.

Summer in Bologna can be very hot.
The good news is that you can find an escape in the green. 

Giardini Margherita is our Hyde Park.
People jogging in the evening, a small lake and a light, unexpected breeze.
From 2014 it also hosts my favourite place to spend a summer night in Bologna.

Le Serre dei Giardini Margherita are former greenhouses brought back to life by Kilowatt association. Photos hardly describe the atmosphere of this place. Enjoy one of the best aperitivo in Bologna, listen to live music or just relax between rosemary and thyme. 

Rudere is the next big thing.
Literally translated as “the ruin”, Rudere is another example of regeneration of a forsaken place. Free-grill, live music and craft beer on a hill with a view on San Luca Basilica. Not bad, uh?

Not exactly a place for aperitivo, but once you’ve tried Scaccomatto agli Orti then it’s hard to not talk about it.
An oasis of peace and harmony hidden behind a gate.
A secret vegetable garden where you can have dinner under fig trees.
A chef, Mario Ferrara, who greets you with a smile and surprises with his dishes.
Fixed menu that changes every evening. Be sure to book in advance.

Info

Le Serre dei Giardini Margherita
Via Castiglione, 134, 40136 Bologna
leserre.kilowatt.bo.it

Rudere
Via Gaibara 1, 40136 Bologna
www.rudeosteria.it
Tel. 051 235944

Scaccomatto agli Orti
Via della Braina 7, 40124 Bologna
Tel. 051 263404
www.ristorantescaccomatto.com

When I was 8, I used to wait for the new collection of Panini soccer stickers.
When I was 20, for the new Radiohead album.
Now, for both of them still, but also for the program of Sotto le Stelle del Cinema.

From mid-June to August 15th, Piazza Maggiore becomes a cinema. The best cinema I’ve ever seen.
 
First Cinema Ritrovato Festival brings back to life old masterpieces, restored by the lab of Cineteca di Bologna.

Then Sotto le stelle del cinema enlightens the biggest screen in Europe with old Italian movies, the hidden gems you’ve missed in the last season, and some unique events like silent movies with an orchestra. 
All movies are in original language, with English subtitles if Italian. 

June is also the month of Biografilm Festival: a month of previews, small productions and documentaries that enrich the park of Cavaticcio day and night. After the movie, you can have some street food in a park and enjoy live music near the old Cavaticcio canal. 

If you speak a bit of Italian, or you’d like to learn it, Arena Puccini is another open-air theatre to consider.
Not only because of the selection of movies, mostly last season highlights.
The park around it called DLF (former after-work railway area) now hosts beach-volley playing fields, a nice restaurant and the great pizza of Pizzartist. 

Info

Cinema Ritrovato
June 23rd – July 1st 2018
Piazza Maggiore, Bologna
festival.ilcinemaritrovato.it

Sotto le stelle del cinema
July 2nd – August 15th, 2018
Piazza Maggiore, Bologna
www.cinetecadibologna.it

Biografilm Festival
Parco del Cavaticcio, Via Azzo Gardino, 40122 Bologna
Tel. 051 219 3111
www.biografilm.it

Arena Puccini
Mid June – first days of Sept
Via Sebastiano Serlio, 25/2, 40128 Bologna
www.cinetecadibologna.it

Live music in Bologna is a big thing.
Name a rock star, a pop idol or a jazz master and you can be sure he made a walk under the porticoes.

The most important clubs move their stages outdoor during summer.
Botanique offers a wider range of concerts, but it’s also a place to get a beer and relax sitting on the grass.

Jazz lovers, we don’t forget about you. 
Via Mascarella, the street of jazz, closes for pedestrians in summer and becomes a living room.
During Salotto del Jazz Festival, hosted by Cantina Bentivoglio and Bravo Caffè, Moustache and Cinema Odeon, you can relax with a glass of wine and a dish tagliatelle al ragù while the brushes are drumming.
 
Enter the old gate of Palazzo Re Enzo in Piazza Maggiore for Round Midnight Jazz Club. A temporary jazz club with live concerts and jam session after midnight. With a view on Neptune’s fountain. Not bad, huh? 

Info

Botanique
June 16th – July 22nd, 2018
Via Filippo Re, 40126 Bologna
www.botanique.it

Bravo Caffè
Via Mascarella 1, 40126 Bologna
Tel. 051 266112
www.bravocaffe.it

Cantina Bentivoglio
Via Mascarella 4/b, 40126 Bologna
Tel. 051 265416
​www.cantinabentivoglio.it

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If I say Michelin starred restaurant near Bologna your first thought will go to Massimo Bottura’s Osteria Francescana.

And I can say you’re right because #1 restaurant in the world is a worth-a-plane place.
But it’s not the only Michelin star that you should check out if you are in Bologna.

It took me some time (and money) but here are 3 very different places that have more than a star in common.

Savigno is a small town inside Val Samoggia, about 25min from Bologna, surrounded by woods and hills full of vineyards.

Since 1934, Amerigo offers the best products of his land in a family trattoria opened by Alberto Bettini‘s grandparents.
​
You won’t find any fois gras or caviar there, but only the best local and seasonal products like mushrooms and truffles (black and white), river fish like salmerino del Corno alle Scale or deer in a cuisine that celebrate tradition in combination with innnovation.

The location is very warm and cosy and it is inspired by a vintage style  with old coffee machines and liquor posters on the walls. A jump back to the ‘30s!
At the entrance there’s a small shop to buy some products, I recommend their liquors (China China or Marasca) or Saba (cooked grape must).

Prices 
50€ à la carte, 60€ fixed-price menu

I suggest you
On the first Sunday of the month, Savigno hosts the antique market. Go for a walk and take home some vintage souvenirs

One dish not to miss
Amerigo’s egg. A sort of soufflé, soft as a cloud usually served with truffle when available, I ate it with asparagus

Via Guglielmo Marconi, 14-16, 40060 Savigno (BO)
Tel. +39 051 670 8326
Email: info@amerigo1934.it
www.amerigo1934.it

Agostino Iacobucci is a Neapolitan chef who moved to Bologna in 2008 to bring the only Michelin star of Bologna city centre.

​The setting of this elegant restaurant is the eighteenth century’s caffè chantant, called Teatro Eden, renovated for the occasion.
In Iacobucci’s cuisine you can find his origins by the usage of top-notch quality ingredients, like spaghetti of Gragnano or buffalo cheese. The chef looks far from Bologna’s cuisine, creating an original fusion between the two regions.

His savory babà is a pleasant surprise and “Naples meets Emilia” (tortelli stuffed with neapolitan ragù, Parmesan mousse, Piennolo’s tomato coulis) is a dish who talks by itself.
Everything dish is a surprise at I Portici and even if 2017 just started, I can tell that I will remember this place for my top year ranking.

Prices
84€ (meat menu), 90€ (fish menu), 110€ (tasting menu).

I suggest you
Ask to eat inside the old ice cave used by the pope. A wonderful and intimate location to eat by candlelight.

One dish not to miss
Buffalo milk ice cream, peppers and raspberries with caper powder

Via dell’Indipendenza, 69, 40121 Bologna
Tel. +39 051 4218562
Email: ristorante@iporticihotel.com
www.iporticihotel.com/ristorante-i-portici

UPDATE 2018:
From March 1st 2018 Iacobucci is no longer the chef of I Portici. Emanuele Petrosino took his place. One more reason to visit it again soon.

​It’s not easy to find a woman chef with a Michelin star.

Along with his brother Massimo (whose service will offers you the best Pignoletto I ever had), Aurora Mazzucchelli is the only starred woman chef in Emilia Romagna and she keeps her star from 2008 with firmness.

The restaurant, renovated in 2016, has now a modern and elegant style, anyway you will feel at ease.

​The combination of local ingredients and excellent products creates dishes like their famous Macaroni al torchio, smoked eel, raw oysters and spinach or the turnip ravioli, goat cheese and balsamic bubbles.

In this way Aurora shows her bravery and her skills.

Prices
Menu 65€ (5 courses) 85€ (8 courses). 

I suggest you
After lunch visit Rocchetta Mattei, an astonishing castle not far from there

One dish not to miss
​Parmesan cheese tortelli with lavender, nutmeg and almonds

Via Porrettana n.291, 40037 Sasso Marconi (BO)
Tel. +39 051 846216
E-mail: info@ristorantemarconi.it
www.ristorantemarconi.it

Ok, it’s about 1,5h far from Bologna, but I promise it does worth the efforts.

We’re in the bassa, the flat humid area near Po’ river where you go to follow one myth: culatello. A heavenly cured meat, caressed by the fog raising from Emilia land.

Massimo Spigaroli gets the best from it, like for its guinea-fowl covered by culatello and cooked in clay.
Or just try it pure, just to taste how the aging changes its flavors.

If you haven’t had enough great culatello at our Parma food tour, that’s the address you should write on Google Maps.

Prices
90€ (Tasting menu)

I suggest you
Try also the Hosteria del maiale, for a cheaper experience dedicated to the pig.

One dish not to miss
Podium of Culatelli from “White Pig” aged over 18, 27 and 37 months 
​
Strada Palazzo due Torri, 3, 43010 Polesine Parmense PR
+39 0524 936539
www.acpallavicina.com

The story of San Domenico began in 1970 with Nino Bergese.
​People used to call him “the king of chefs, the chef of the kings” for his noble background. 

Flowers, abat-jours, leather sofas and baroque music create the warm atmosphere of a time when eating out was a luxury habit. Those times have gone, but 40 years later the 2 Michelin stars are still shining.

A pristine classic cuisine that picks up local ingredients like red potatoes, pigeon and asparagus and elevates them with the skills and precision that only study, repetition and experience can build.

The dish to wait for? 
Uovo in raviolo with butter, Parmigiano Reggiano and white truffle. When Anthony Bourdain was in Bologna he went there to watch the full process. Not hard to say why.

Prices
Menu from 160€

I suggest you
Go on Wednesday if you’re born after 1970. They make the same menu for a cheaper price.

One dish not to miss
The pigeon

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No, it’s not THAT one you’re already thinking about.
​It’s called Ristretto Vicolo Coccapani and let me explain why I’ve been there 10 times in the last month and I can’t get enough.

First it was the name.
​Ristretto. Like the short coffee you take at the counter while arguing about football.
Vicolo Coccapani. It’s the name of the street where it’s set, with one of the best views you can get of Ghirlandina tower.

​Then were the rumors I heard from different people, one of which is Massimo Bottura.
He said that “after service ends at Osteria Francescana around midnight, we all go there together and he [Gianluca, one of the owners] usually wants us to taste something, so we let him surprise us”.

​But if Osteria Francescana is that bottle of Bordeaux, stored for years in the cellar, that when you finally open it, it has to be great; then Ristretto is the flask you always put on the table and that you fill with the red wine bought from a local farmer, too good to be true.
​
Usually big expectations bring big disappointments. That’s not the case.

Ristretto is open from 11 am to 1 am.
During this time you can have:

- lunch. For a seasonal daily menu with classics like passatelli, garganelli, or pastrami burger. You won’t spend more than 16€ with a glass of wine and coffee.

- aperitivo. You can get just a cocktail, or beg Marcello to prepare an insanely good tagliere with cured meat from Antica Ardenga (second only to the one prepared by Rita at our new Parma food tour), cheese and gnocco fritto.

- dinner. The prices rise a bit, like the fantasy of the chef. It won’t be easy to choose between ravioli with goat cheese, artichokes and rosemary or potato gnocchi with kale. Low lights, relaxed atmosphere, great food.

I can say for their passatelli with squids, but you can’t taste the flavour through your phone screen.

I can say for the kindness of Marcello and Emanuele, but you can’t hear their big laugh from your headphones.

​​I can say because of the perfect quality/price ratio, but you can’t imagine how great Ristretto is until you’re there.

If you’re looking for a traditional menu with taglietelle al ragù and tortellini in brodo, Ristretto is not the place.
You can find them sometimes on the menu, but there’s always a pinch of creativity in their dishes.

Thinking of that, they opened Cucina di Quartiere, a bigger restaurant just outside the city centre focused on regional food.
​Of course I’ve tried it, of course it has to be on your list.

Ristretto Vicolo Coccapani
Vicolo Camillo Coccapani, 5, 41121 Modena MO
Tel. +39 059 839 6497
Closed on Sunday

---

Summer in Bologna is like a chocolate box, sorry Forrest. Rich and tasty, but ends always too soon.
Here’s my guide for the best places to enjoy and never miss any crumb of it.

You’ve drunk all the water of Nettuno fountain.
Jump between the shadows of the porticos.
Spend a full day through crypts and ice caves (yes, we have a lot of them).

But it’s hot, still.

Summer in Bologna can be very hot.
The good news is that you can find an escape in the green. 

Giardini Margherita is our Hyde Park. People jogging in the evening, a small lake and a light, unexpected breeze.
From 2014 it also hosts my favourite place to spend a summer night in Bologna.
Le Serre dei Giardini Margherita are former greenhouses brought back to life by Kilowatt association. Photos hardly describe the atmosphere of this place. Get a drink and listen to live music or just relax between rosemary and thyme.

Rudere is the next big thing of 2018.
Literally translated as “the ruin”, Rudere is another example of regeneration of a forsaken place. Free-grill, live music and craft beer on a hill with a view on San Luca Basilica. Not bad, uh?

Not exactly a place for aperitivo, but once you’ve tried Scaccomatto agli Orti then it’s hard to not talk about it.
An oasis of peace and harmony hidden behind a gate.
A secret vegetable garden where you can have dinner under fig trees.
A chef, Mario Ferrara, who greets you with a smile and surprises with his dishes.
Fixed menu that changes every evening. Be sure to book in advance.

Info

Le Serre dei Giardini Margherita
Via Castiglione, 134, 40136 Bologna
leserre.kilowatt.bo.it

Rudere
Via Gaibara 1, 40136 Bologna
www.rudeosteria.it
Tel. 051 235944

Scaccomatto agli Orti
Via della Braina 7, 40124 Bologna
Tel. 051 263404
www.ristorantescaccomatto.com

When I was 8, I used to wait for the new collection of Panini soccer stickers.
When I was 20, for the new Radiohead album.
Now, for both of them still, but also for the program of Sotto le Stelle del Cinema.

From mid-June to August 15th, Piazza Maggiore becomes a cinema. The best cinema I’ve ever seen.
 
First Cinema Ritrovato Festival brings back to life old masterpieces, restored by the lab of Cineteca di Bologna.

Then Sotto le stelle del cinema enlightens the biggest screen in Europe with old Italian movies, the hidden gems you’ve missed in the last season, and some unique events like silent movies with an orchestra. 
All movies are in original language, with English subtitles if Italian. 

June is also the month of Biografilm Festival: a month of previews, small productions and documentaries that enrich the park of Cavaticcio day and night. After the movie, you can have some street food in a park and enjoy live music near the old Cavaticcio canal. 

If you speak a bit of Italian, or you’d like to learn it, Arena Puccini is another open-air theatre to consider.
Not only because of the selection of movies, mostly last season highlights.
The park around it called DLF (former after-work railway area) now hosts beach-volley playing fields, a nice restaurant and the great pizza of Pizzartist. 

Info

Cinema Ritrovato
June 23rd – July 1st 2018
Piazza Maggiore, Bologna
festival.ilcinemaritrovato.it

Sotto le stelle del cinema
July 2nd – August 15th, 2018
Piazza Maggiore, Bologna
www.cinetecadibologna.it

Biografilm Festival June 1st – 24th 2018
Parco del Cavaticcio, Via Azzo Gardino, 40122 Bologna
Tel. 051 219 3111
www.biografilm.it

Arena Puccini
Mid June – first days of Sept
Via Sebastiano Serlio, 25/2, 40128 Bologna
www.cinetecadibologna.it

Live music in Bologna is a big thing.
Name a rock star, a pop idol or a jazz master and you can be sure he made a walk under the porticoes.

The most important clubs move their stages outdoor during summer.
If Covo Summer Club is the Mecca of indie-rockers, Botanique offers a wider range of concerts, but it’s also a place to get a beer and relax sitting on the grass.

Jazz lovers, we don’t forget about you. 
Via Mascarella, the street of jazz, closes for pedestrians in summer and becomes a living room.
During Salotto del Jazz Festival, hosted by Cantina Bentivoglio and Bravo Caffè, Moustache and Cinema Odeon, you can relax with a glass of wine and a dish tagliatelle al ragù while the brushes are drumming.
 
Piazza Verdi is the most controversial square of Bologna.
Coen’s brother would say that the heart of University area is not a country for old men.
A​ stage for concerts and public conferences tries to change its mood, by bringing some great musicians like trumpeter Paolo Fresu. Keep an eye on it.

Info

Covo Summer Club
June 7th – July 14th, 2018
Viale Zagabria 1, 40127 Bologna
Tel. 051 505801
covoclub.it

Botanique
June 16th – July 22nd, 2018
Via Filippo Re, 40126 Bologna
www.botanique.it

Bravo Caffè
Via Mascarella 1, 40126 Bologna
Tel. 051 266112
www.bravocaffe.it

Cantina Bentivoglio
Via Mascarella 4/b, 40126 Bologna
Tel. 051 265416
​www.cantinabentivoglio.it

---

It’s expensive. Hard to find. And needs care.
But Balsamic vinegar of Modena is like a precious pearl necklace: you can’t keep it closed in the dark of your cupboard. You have to use it. For special occasions sure, but even daily, why not?
It’s just important to use it properly.

​Here are 5 ideas to use Balsamic in your home cooking.

When Orwell wrote that 2+2=5 he wasn’t thinking of Balsamic, maybe.
But the sum of two of the best Italian excellences makes an even better one.
​I still remember the face of Phil Rosenthal during the shooting of Somebody feed Phil episode in Modena, when he tried Balsamic on gelato for the first time. Pure joy.

But not all gelato fits great.
Not pistachio or hazelnut.
Chocolate maybe.
Go with egg cream, vanilla, zabajone.

“Don’t waste Balsamic on salad!” you’ve probably read online.
In Italy we don’t use dressings for salad, just salt, extra virgin olive oil and sometimes, vinegar.

I think that even a few drops of Balsamic can transform a sad salad into a rich dish.
​My perfect fit? Red radicchio, nuts, seeds and goat cheese.

I’m telling you the most important rule to use Balsamic: never cook it. Never.
Balsamic is cooked must, aged for years and years to get its unique and intense aromas. If you cook it again you’d kill most of those flavours.

Risotto is a great way to use Balsamic though. But kKeep it simple.
A good broth, Parmigiano Reggiano and butter to cream it and, only at the very end far from the heat, add Balsamic.
​A 12 years old aged (Tradizionale) would work great, less dense and fresh to contrast the richness of the cheese.

The perfect marriage.
The one who lasts for decades but refreshes its love every day. A few drops of sweet and acid Balsamic on an old Parmigiano cheese make it the perfect finger food ever.

​If you like to dig deep into Parmigiano Reggiano and Balsamic, they are the heart of our food tour in Modena

I’ve read strange things online about Balsamic. Like adding sugar and cinnamon to it.
But Balsamic is perfect as is. Please don’t add anything to it, trying to change its flavour and taste.

​If you’ve bought a good Tradizionale or Extravecchio (if you haven’t, read where to buy Balsamic vinegar of Modena) my suggestion is to just have a teaspoon after dinner as a digestive.
​Balsamic was used as a medicine in the past, so the reason of its name.

Any other ideas? How do you use Balsamic at home?
Look forward to reading your recipes.

[photos: Adam Goldberg, Citrus and Candy, Hiroko Kasagi, Pamela Ciattaglia]

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There’s just one kind of movie that I always love. Comedy or drama, teenage movie or thriller it doesn’t matter. If it’s set in Bologna I have to watch it.
​These 5 movies of different time and kind are not masterpieces, but each of them describes a piece of Bologna.
​Its history, its places, its loves.

“Women of Bologna are not able to make tagliatelle. The Ancient Romans made them first!” explains Cesare to his daughter, before grabbing the wood rolling pin out of her hands.
I forgive Aldo Fabrizi, Roman actor and director, just because his love for Bologna shines through every scene of Hanno rubato un tram.
​
This is the first film completely shot in Bologna, a real event for the city. Popular faces and common people, mostly students, were recruited as extras or ready to cut school to pry into the set.

Cesare is a roman tram driver, moved to Bologna for love. His decline starts when he runs over a pasta artisan. An unfortunate event that pushes him to make a crazy act: stealing a tram to drive around Bologna and pick passengers up. 
​
A coral painting of Bologna back in the 1950′s: when tram crossed Via Rizzoli, Maggiore hospital was in Via Broccaindosso and men used to play bowl after work.

Cameo of Sergio Leone and photography by Mario Bava, who then became the master of Italian horror movies.

Italian bar was a lot more than a place for a coffee at the counter or free wi-fi. 
Since the economic boom of 1950′s, bar had been a mythical place. For many people it was a second home, with its hierarchies, its relationships, alternative parents and brothers and unique characters. 

This comedy directed by Pupi Avati describes life inside Bar Margherita in Via Saragozza by the eyes of Taddeo, a young kid.
Taddeo dreams of becoming part of the group of friends, older than him, who assiduously frequent the bar, which he has mythologized since childhood. Between cheats and jokes, gags and disillusions you can relive an old Bologna almost disappeared.

​Bar Margherita really exists in Via Saragozza but it’s not where the movie was shot. If you’d like to visit a bar out of time Billi Bar is the place.

We all fell in love with a friend during high school.
We all ended up disappointed and misunderstood with the world.
We all read Jack Frusciante and felt we weren’t alone. At least in Bologna.

A generational teenage movie, inspired by a best-seller novel that all Bologna’s teenagers in the 90′s have read.
If the strength of the book is the honest and direct writing, in the movie Bologna is the real protagonist. 
​
Alex, played by local actor Stefano Accorsi, rides through the portico of Via Saragozza. He meets Aidi for the first time under the 2 towers, just near Quadrilatero food market. They walk at night in Piazza Santo Stefano, the most romantic square in Bologna.
If not enough the director, the writer, most of the troupe and the actors are all local bolognesi.

Title quotes John Frusciante, who left Red Hot Chili Peppers for the first time in 1992. For avoiding rights troubles, Enrico Brizzi (author of the book) decided to change his name into Jack.

Excellent soundtrack with Bjork, Paul Weller and Pulp. 

Bologna, 1977. Not an ordinary place and time.

Years of tension, protests, terrorism, but also freedom, political militancy, dreams. 
Bologna was the cultural and political centre of Italy, a boiling pan always ready to explode.

Director Guido Chiesa talks about a complex era, that today seems far away, through stories. Stories of policemen, of a thief who organizes a shot in a bank, of a lawyer who freely lives his romantic and sexual life. Then the private stories of two losers proletarians who live in Bologna’s suburbs.

​All of them are connected by the sound of Radio Alice, the first free radio that in the age of Spotify and custom playlists seems a remote and pure way of listening to music.
​
Another faded polaroid of Bologna, to watch and put between the memories not to forget.

It rains a lot in the Bologna of Quo vadis, baby? .
Instead of following my suggestions about what to do in Bologna with the rain, Giorgia, a private detective with passion for music, looks for a ghost. The ghost of her sister Ada, disappeared 16 years before in a blurry suicide. 
​
Inspired by a line of Marlon Brando in Ultimo tango a Parigi, Quo vadis, baby? is a noir movie, set in a nocturnal and rainy Bologna. 

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From Albania to Iran, from Portugal and Sicily to Bologna. These are the best foods I had in 2017 and where to find them. 

The name of Altin Prenga won’t tell you much probably. This young chef is one of the brothers who own Mrizi i Zanave (literally “fairies’ shadows”, from the novel of local poet Gjergj Fishta), a restaurant and agritourism near Lezhe, north of Albania.
Set in a beautiful countryside, between mountains of pomegranate trees and close to the sea, the place itself is amazing: cowshed, vineyard of Kallmet and happy chickens running in the barnyard. But this lands still keeps some wounds of Hoxha’s dictatorship from which they’re trying to escape and get something vital and joyful: so they transformed a labour camp just near the fields in a workshop and warehouse to store and process wild pomegranates.

​I spent a lunch at Mrizi i Zanave in November and I can assure you it’s a “worth a plane” experience. It’s hard to mention a single food because the idea of Altin is to offer the best of what his land can offer, provided by local selected producers, like olive oil, goat cheese and porcini mushrooms, taken from the woods and served as a starter. But don’t expect just simple dishes.
​The greatness of Mziri stands in the will to enhance the quality of ingredients with new ideas and techniques. So you get a blackberry sorbet stick served on its own twig, an ice bowl that hides a flower gelato or a small wild pomegranate with its fermented juice. Now that you know who Altin is, I’m sure you’re already checking the flights to Tirana.

Where to eat it 
Mrizi i Zanave Rruga “Lezhë – Vau i Dejës”, Fishtë, Lezhë 4505, Albania
Tel. +355 69 210 8032
​mrizizanave.com

I love foods that tell more about the history of a country. This is the case of Alheira. According to tradition this sausage was created during Middle Ages by cristãos novos, the Portuguese forcedly converted to Christianity, who secretly continued to respect the rules of their original Jewish faith, which had officially abolished, so that they would seem satisfied and integrated Christians. As Judaism forbids the consumption of pork meat, some of them invented a kind of sausage where pork was replaced by birds like turkey or chicken.

​Alheira was created in the north of Portugal (Trás-os-Montes region) where it’s grilled on a low heat, accompanied by boiled potatoes and an olive oil with seasonal vegetables. Further south, you can find it fried and that’s how I had it in Porto. My friend Veronica introduced me to Alheira and it first I wasn’t that intrigued. “A sausage with chicken? What a terrible idea!” I said just before biting. Then everything changed. It was so far one of the most delicious and tasty dishes I’ve ever tried.

Where to eat it
Ernesto
Rua da Picaria 85, 4000 Porto
Tel. ​+351 22 200 2600

Despite my DNA (my grandfather was a butcher), if I have to choose between fish and meat I have no doubts. Even if it’s not exactly famous for its seafood tradition, I have a long list of restaurants to eat great fish in Bologna too. Max Poggi is for sure a meat man.
Our paths had crossed a couple of times recently, at Mangirò foodie walk on the hills and at Tortellino Festival, where he prepared one of the best tortellini of the event. So I decided to visit his restaurant in Trebbo di Reno for a special anniversary.

Location is elegant, service professional but informal (waiters are young guys dressed casual, a lot different atmosphere than Osteria Francescana). Even if Michelin’s inspectors seem to look away from this land, Poggi’s cuisine has nothing to envy to the best Michelin stars of Bologna area. Through a 4 courses menu (60€) called “Divertiti” (“have fun”), paired with a Friulano white wine (22€), I had all I expect from a great restaurant. Creativity, bravery, humility. My favourite dish was the pigeon, a classic of bolognese cuisine, perfectly cooked with coal.

​One last credit? I hate Russian salad and he made me love it.

Where to eat it
Massimiliano Poggi Cucina
Via Lame, 65, 40013 Trebbo di Reno(BO)
​Tel. 051 704217

Rosaria has a red cat called “Pinuzzo”. He used to approach me for breakfast during a week in the Sicilian island of Favignana, to get some bread and cuddles. That’s how I met Rosaria. She’s not a nonna, she doesn’t have children, but looks like that. Cozy and warm, like only the women of the south of Italy can be, she opened her house (and her kitchen) to a stranger neighbour.
On my last day on the island she woke up early, bought different kind of fresh fish (scorpionfish, grouper, tub gurnard) from the fisherman and then started to prepare cuscus.

It’s a a dish of magrebine tradition, brought to western Sicily during the Arab domination. Like most traditional dishes, it takes a lot of time to be prepared. Cuscus is made with durum wheat grain, to which water is added in the ritual of “incocciatura“, the creation of tiny balls (“cocci“) on the palm of hands. Then it’s cooked in a special perforated pot, where cuscus absorbs the flavors of the underlying broth. Rosaria prepares cuscus about 3 times a year for his nephews. I was lucky enough to be invited and share one of the best lunch ever with this new family.

Where to eat it
Cantina Siciliana
​Via Giudecca, 36, 91100 Trapani TP
Tel: + 39 0923 28673

Isfahan in central Iran is a city called “Half of the world”, due to its incredible Persian architecture made of boulevards, covered bridges, palaces and mosques. I visited it in April and still keep a great memory of this land: its people, its culture, its food.
Beryani in Persian means “fried”, so nothing to do with the Indian version which includes rice. Inside Isfahan’s bazaar, between spice and copper shops, you can find a rough place that serves fried lamb meat patty, crowned with pistachio, snuggled inside a tender taftoon bread.

An old man sat next to me, showed me how to eat Iranian Beryani: just with your hands.
He cut a piece of bread, put some meat and wild herbs in the middle and then bite. To better digest Beryani he drank kashk, a preserved goat’s milk yoghurt similar to Turkish ayran. It wasn’t exactly the lightest dish ever (it took me a full day of walking to digest it actually) but for sure one of the most delicious.

Where to eat it
Azam Beryani
​Kamal Esmaeel St., Esfahan 81464, Iran
Tel. +98 31 1212 5730

Where to sleep
Nasim at Howzak House can host you in his beautiful traditional house in a great position and the best Iranian welcome

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After an hard selection, these are the best foods I had in 2017 and where to find them. 

The name of Altin Prenga won’t tell you much probably. This young chef is one of the brothers who own Mrizi i Zanave (literally “fairies’ shadows”, from the novel of local poet Gjergj Fishta), a restaurant and agritourism near Lezhe, north of Albania. Set in a beautiful countryside, between mountains of pomegranate trees and close to the sea, the place itself is amazing: cowshed, vineyard of Kallmet and happy chickens running in the barnyard. But this lands still keeps some wounds of Hoxha’s dictatorship from which they’re trying to escape and get something vital and joyful: so they transformed a labour camp just near the fields in a workshop and warehouse to store and process wild pomegranates.

​I spent a lunch at Mrizi i Zanave in November and I can assure you it’s a “worth a plane” experience. It’s hard to mention a single food because the idea of Altin is to offer the best of what his land can offer, provided by local selected producers, like olive oil, goat cheese and porcini mushrooms, taken from the woods and served as a starter. But don’t expect just simple dishes. The greatness of Mziri stands in the will to enhance the quality of ingredients with new ideas and techniques. So you get a blackberry sorbet stick served on its own twig, an ice bowl that hides a flower gelato or a small wild pomegranate with its fermented juice. Now that you know who Altin is, I’m sure you’re already checking the flights to Tirana.

Where to eat it 
Mrizi i Zanave Rruga “Lezhë – Vau i Dejës”, Fishtë, Lezhë 4505, Albania
Tel. +355 69 210 8032
​mrizizanave.com

I love foods that tell more about the history of a country. This is the case of Alheira. According to tradition this sausage was created during Middle Ages by cristãos novos, the Portuguese forcedly converted to Christianity, who secretly continued to respect the rules of their original Jewish faith, which had officially abolished, so that they would seem satisfied and integrated Christians. As Judaism forbids the consumption of pork meat, some of them invented a kind of sausage where pork was replaced by birds like turkey or chicken.

​Alheira was created in the north of Portugal (Trás-os-Montes region) where it’s grilled on a low heat, accompanied by boiled potatoes and an olive oil with seasonal vegetables. Further south, you can find it fried and that’s how I had it in Porto. My friend Veronica introduced me to Alheira and it first I wasn’t that intrigued. “A sausage with chicken? What a terrible idea!” I said just before biting. Then everything changed. It was so far one of the most delicious and tasty dishes I’ve ever tried.

Where to eat it
Ernesto
Rua da Picaria 85, 4000 Porto
Tel. ​+351 22 200 2600

Despite my DNA (my grandfather was a butcher), if I have to choose between fish and meat I have no doubts. Even if it’s not exactly famous for its seafood tradition, I have a long list of restaurants to eat great fish in Bologna too. Max Poggi is for sure a meat man.
Our paths had crossed a couple of times recently, at Mangirò foodie walk on the hills and at Tortellino Festival, where he prepared one of the best tortellini of the event. So I decided to visit his restaurant in Trebbo di Reno for a special anniversary.

Location is elegant, service professional but informal (waiters are young guys dressed casual, a lot different atmosphere than Osteria Francescana). Even if Michelin’s inspectors seem to look away from this land, Poggi’s cuisine has nothing to envy to the best Michelin stars of Bologna area. Through a 4 courses menu (60€) called “Divertiti” (“have fun”), paired with a Friulano white wine (22€), I had all I expect from a great restaurant. Creativity, bravery, humility. My favourite dish was the pigeon, a classic of bolognese cuisine, perfectly cooked with coal. One last credit? I hate Russian salad and he made me love it.

Where to eat it
Massimiliano Poggi Cucina
Via Lame, 65, 40013 Trebbo di Reno(BO)
​Tel. 051 704217

Rosaria has a red cat called “Pinuzzo”. He used to approach me for breakfast during a week in the Sicilian island of Favignana, to get some bread and cuddles. That’s how I met Rosaria. She’s not a nonna, she doesn’t have children, but looks like that. Cozy and warm, like only the women of the south of Italy can be, she opened her house (and her kitchen) to a stranger neighbour.
On my last day on the island she woke up early, bought different kind of fresh fish (scorpionfish, grouper, tub gurnard) from the fisherman and then started to prepare cuscus.

It’s a a dish of magrebine tradition, brought to western Sicily during the Arab domination. Like most traditional dishes, it takes a lot of time to be prepared. Cuscus is made with durum wheat grain, to which water is added in the ritual of “incocciatura“, the creation of tiny balls (“cocci“) on the palm of hands. Then it’s cooked in a special perforated pot, where cuscus absorbs the flavors of the underlying broth. Rosaria prepares cuscus about 3 times a year for his nephews. I was lucky enough to be invited and share one of the best lunch ever with this new family.

Where to eat it
Cantina Siciliana
​Via Giudecca, 36, 91100 Trapani TP
Tel: + 39 0923 28673

Isfahan in central Iran is a city called “Half of the world”, due to its incredible Persian architecture made of boulevards, covered bridges, palaces and mosques. I visited it in April and still keep a great memory of this land: its people, its culture, its food.
Beryani in Persian means “fried”, so nothing to do with the Indian version which includes rice. Inside Isfahan’s bazaar, between spice and copper shops, you can find a rough place that serves fried lamb meat patty, crowned with pistachio, snuggled inside a tender taftoon bread.
The old man sat next to me, showed me how to eat Iranian Beryani: just with your hands. He cut a piece of bread, put some meat and wild herbs in the middle and then bite. To better digest Beryani he drank kashk, a preserved goat’s milk yoghurt similar to Turkish ayran. It wasn’t exactly the lightest dish ever (it took me a full day of walking to digest it actually) but for sure one of the most delicious.

Where to eat it
Azam Beryani
​Kamal Esmaeel St., Esfahan 81464, Iran
Tel. +98 31 1212 5730

Where to sleep
Nasim at Howzak House can host you in his beautiful traditional house in a great position and the best Iranian welcome

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A walk under the sun in July? Too tiring? And if I tell you that you can drink and eat delicacies prepared by some of Bologna’s most famous chefs, made with prime ingredients, and walk and rest between lavender and wheat fields and old farmhouses? I bet you’ve already changed your mind. 

Forno Calzolari bakery opened in 1956 and is now managed by Matteo Calzolari, son of the original owner and partner of our food tours in Bologna. The usage of almost disappeared wheats, the quality and innovation of their bread (there’s a monthly bread with seasonal ingredients) and the will to create a quality network of restaurants and producers make Calzolari THE reference in Bologna about bread.

​Mangirò is a 15 km gastronomic walk between the hills of Monghidoro, in the countryside of Bologna, created 11 years ago by Matteo. The idea is simple: 
1. take some of the best chefs and patissiers of Bologna
2. ask them to prepare original dishes based on bread 
3. place them in natural frames between woods, fields and small hamlets around Monghidoro 
4. create a caravan of passionate foodies who would like to spend a funny Sunday together among food, wine and nature.

My first Mangirò was together with part of Taste Bologna’s team. Some people call it team building, for me is a way to share our passion and spend time together with people who I appreciate. I’d rather call it “food building“.

After being divided in two groups, coupled with two different menus with dishes based on bread, we started our walk with just one rule: share. Not only the heat, the path and the laughter but especially the food.

After breakfast with fresh milk, bread and jam, we started to discover a complete menu served directly by the chefs, hidden in six small villages. Gino Fabbri, the best pastry in the world 2016, offered a croissant at Cà del Tosco. Then Daniele Reponi, the master of Panino in Modena, prepared a crescenta with cooked ham, apricot and confit tomatoes to start our walk with the right amount of strength. The antipasti served at Fradusto and Cà di Morandone were made by Da Francesco and Quanto Basta, some of the places recommended in our foodie map of Bologna.

During the walk between woods, lavender fields and farmhouses, we stopped under the trees to listen to live music played by Orchestra Senza Spine, an association of young professional musicians.
The main dishes were prepared by 2 of my favourite chefs of Bologna: Mario Ferrara of Scaccomatto and Max Poggi. 
Local wine and beer at every stop made the atmosphere even more relaxed and cheerful.

Some secret photos of me and Caterina with Poggi’s burger (bis and tris) are already part of Taste Bologna’s history.

To spend a beautiful Sunday with friends, discovering a part of our land outside the tourist routes, finding out where food really comes from, tasting simple and delicious dishes served by the hands of the chefs with no regrets (you can pretend that at the end of the day the balance eating + walking = 0).

Mangirò takes place every year on the first Sunday of July.
Starts at 10am at Via del Mercato, 2 Monghidoro (BO)
Total walk: about 15km 
Tickets: Adult 35€, Kids 18€
Info +39 051.6555292 – +39 333 8366838
Reservations: www.fornocalzolari.it

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Yes, it happened. I finally had dinner at Osteria Francescana in Modena. I took a photo with Massimo Bottura, I ate his most famous tortellini with cream of Parmigiano Reggiano and met the fake national guard at the entrance.
​Did it worth it? Was it the best dinner of my life? Let’s start from the beginning.

How I got in
For those who don’t know it, Osteria Francescana is 2017′s #2 restaurant in the world (former #1), 3 Michelin’s stars, and the most famous restaurant in Italy so far. Finding a table at Massimo Bottura’s is not a simple game: with only 12 tables and a 3 months in advance reservation policy, you should feel lucky to at least sit in there.
​
But like in standard restaurants, sometimes people cancel and that’s what happened when Monique wrote me. She’s a passionate foodie, owner of a food tour company based in Melbourne, who spent a few time in Bologna to learn Italian.
She had to fill a table for 4 and I ended up with her and 2 other classmates. I didn’t expect my first time at Francescana with 3 strangers, but I had such an amazing time and fun.  

I also was the only Italian customer in the restaurant, which made me think a bit, but what I care most is: 

The food
I didn’t entered Osteria Francescana with the thrill of coming into a sacred place and I felt no pressure to have the best meal of my life. ​Maybe because I don’t have TV, I don’t blindly trust rankings and basically because it’s just a dinner, what I care the most is the food.

We chose together the cheaper Festina Lente menu of 9 dishes (220€), paired with the wine tasting (130€). 
At least 4 of my 9 dishes were just perfect: “Tempura of aula with carpione sorbet”, “Suckling pig tender and crunchy”,  “Ceasar salad in bloom” and “Yellow is bello” are a great combination of skills, prime ingredients and fantasy. You don’t get 3 Michelin stars by chance and in these dishes I could taste the idea of Bottura’s cuisine. 
Also the wine pairing (mostly French, a couple of Italian Trebbiano and Nebbiolo) was a good choice. 

Why to go
The reason “to say to friends I’ve been #2 restaurant in the world” is not enough for me. Osteria Francescana worth your efforts if you’d like to taste the flavors of Emilia Romagna on a different perspective. Like Modena’s borlenghi on the finger food entreè; polenta with eel and saba (a cooked must syrup you should know if you took our Modena food tour), a typical poor dish of Ferrara; or the aula on tempura, a river fish hard to find in restaurants but common amongst the farmers of Pianura Padana. 

Why not go
One simple reason: the price. If you can afford a 360€ dinner monthly, don’t think about it: reserve. But if for you (like for me) that’s a huge amount of money you have to save for, well in this case think about the alternatives. A few ideas? You can visit at least other 2/3 Michelin Starred restaurant around Bologna, take a fly to Lecce and eat at Bros or eat fish and drink Porto wine for 10 days in Portugal.
So if you envy your friend who, after years of waiting, finally got in, please don’t. You can be happy in lots of other foodies ways.

Info
Osteria Francescana
Via Stella, 22, 41121 Modena 
Tel. 059 223912
www.osteriafrancescana.it

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I first met Scaccomatto one year ago. When Rick Stein was in Bologna, he was looking not only for classic bolognese restaurants, but also new cuisine with ideas, quality ingredients and passion for great food. Mario Ferrara’s restaurant in Via Broccaindosso was one of my tips and it ended up in the final show. Scaccomatto is one of my best fish restaurants in Bologna but from late spring to fall, on some lucky nights, it moves to a very special location.

Gli Orti di Via Orfeo
A small door at Via della Braina 7 unveils a place out of time. Closed for more than 10 years, this VII century’s vegetable garden, where in the past a monastic community cultivated land and gave asylum and education to deaf kids, is now back to bolognesi thanks to Mario Ferrara. Gli Orti are an unexpected oasis between the red walls of the city centre where you can spend an amazing dinner near an old well and an almond shaped fish basin.

The food
Scaccomatto became worldwide famous for the “plin” ravioli with Parmesan and sweet onion made for Rick Stein, but Ferrara’s cuisine is much more than that. The chef travelled from Brazil to Japan and he combines in its cuisine his roots from the south of Italy with bolognese tradition. At gli Orti you find a fixed menu that changes every night, mostly based on fish and seasonal ingredients.
The shrimps with cauliflower mayonnaise and vanilla oil are a must and I was lucky to have a perfectly cooked tub gurnard with grilled onion and turnip. A bavarese dessert with strawberries and passion fruit and an infused coffee by Leonardo Lelli closed the game.

Why go there 
It’s probably the most romantic and intimate place to spend a dinner in Bologna. A few tables, the silence of the vegetable gardens, soft lights create a special atmosphere you can immediately feel at the entrance. It’s still a secret place that a lot of bolognese don’t know, but it will be surely on everyone’s lips in a few time. 

Why not to go
It’s hard to give reasons not to go, but if you are in a low-budget trip, 45€ can be too much for a dinner. Also if you have a just a long weekend in town, maybe you prefer to discover everything about bolognese cuisine. 

Info
Scaccomatto agli Orti
Via della Braina 7, Bologna
Tel. 051 263404
info@ristorantescaccomatto.com
www.ristorantescaccomatto.com
Open: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday 

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If I say Michelin starred restaurant near Bologna your first thought goes to Massimo Bottura’s Osteria Francescana. And you’re right because the #2 restaurant in the world is a worth-a-plane place. But it’s not the only Michelin star that you should check if you are in Bologna. It took some time (and money) but here are 3 very different places that have more than a star in common. They’re all places you won’t forget easily.

Savigno is a small town inside Val Samoggia, about 25min from Bologna, between woods and hills full of vineyards. Up there from 1934, Amerigo offer the best products of his land is a vintage style family trattoria created by Alberto Bettini’s grandparents.
You won’t find any fois gras or caviar there, but only the best local and seasonal products like mushrooms and truffles (black and white), river fish like salmerino of Corno alle Scale or deer in a cuisine that celebrate tradition looking forward.
​The location is very warm and cosy and you will be back to 1930′s with vintage coffee machine and liquor posters on the walls. At the entrance there’s a small shop to buy some products, I recommend their liquors (China China or Marasca) or Saba (cooked grape must).

You pay: 50€ a la carte, menu of 60€
My tip: on the first Sunday of each month Savigno hosts the antique market to bring home some vintage souvenirs
One dish not to miss: Amerigo’s egg. A sort of soufflé, soft as a cloud usually served with truffle when available, I had them with asparagus

Via Guglielmo Marconi, 14-16, 40060 Savigno (BO)
Tel. +39 051 670 8326
Email: info@amerigo1934.it
www.amerigo1934.it

Agostino Iacobucci is a Neapolitan chef who moved to Bologna in 2008 to bring the only Michelin star of Bologna city centre. The restaurant is set in the elegant location of an eighteenth century’s caffè chantant, called Teatro Eden, renovated for the occasion. In Iacobucci’s cuisine you can find his origins by the usage of prime quality ingredients, like Spaghetti of Gragnano or buffalo cheese, that look far from Bologna to innovate the tradition. His savory babà is a nice surprise and “Naples meets Emilia” (tortelli stuffed with neapolitan ragù, Parmesan foam, Piennolo’s tomato coulis) is a dish who talks by itself.
Everything dish is a surprise at I Portici and even if 2017 just started, I can tell that I will remember this place for my top year ranking.

You pay: 84€ (meat menu), 90€ (fish menu), 110€ (tasting menu). Go straight to the menu
My tip: ask to eat inside the old ice cave used by the pope. A wonderful and intimate location to eat at light candle
One dish not to miss: Buffalo milk ice cream, peppers and raspberries with caper powder

Via dell’Indipendenza, 69, 40121 Bologna
Tel. +39 051 4218562
Email: ristorante@iporticihotel.com
www.iporticihotel.com/ristorante-i-portici

​It’s not easy to find a woman chef with a Michelin star. With his brother Massimo (that will make you drink the best Pignoletto I ever had), Aurora Mazzucchelli is the only one in Emilia Romagna and she keeps her star from 2008 with firmness. The restaurant had been renovated in 2016 and now the style is modern and elegant but you will feel at ease. The combination of local ingredients and excellent products generates dishes like their famous Macaroni “al torchio”, smoked eel, raw oysters and spinach or the turnip ravioli, goat cheese and balsamic bubbles so Aurora doesn’t lack of bravery and skills.

You pay: menu 65€ (5 courses) 85€ (8 courses). This time again, go with that
My tip: after lunch visit Rocchetta Mattei, an astonishing castle not far from there
One dish not to miss: Parmesan cheese tortelli with lavender, nutmeg and almonds

Via Porrettana n.291, 40037 Sasso Marconi (BO)
Tel. +39 051 846216
E-mail: info@ristorantemarconi.it
www.ristorantemarconi.it

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