It was time. Time for me to take a break, leave the country and refresh my jaded heart and even more jaded palate. For an extra twist, this time around I was traveling alone, “sono uno”. Italy was calling as the perfect place to go solo, to gain some perspective and some new cooking skills!
Ah, Bologna
Italy has long been regarded as a culinary Mecca for foodies, and the Emilia-Romagna region - Bologna is its capital city - has been specifically noted as the center of major Italian deliciousness. Parmigiano-Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma, balsamic vinegar, tortellini, mortadella (so not your Oscar Meyer), ragù alla Bolognese all hail from this region. It made perfect sense to me that this should be where I learn the subtleties of the sfoglia (flour and egg pasta).
There’s a
dead serious emphasis here on the techniques of hand-made, hand-rolled pasta.
But there was also spontaneous singing, laughing, snacking and flour throwing!
And at the end of our lessons Papa Spisni turned our fresh pasta into
mind-blowing culinary miracles and we all sat down together and enjoyed the
fruits of our labors with a nice bottle of wine. Ahhh.
This, people, is why I came to Italy. I was in heaven.
La Vecchia Scuola Bolognese: Via Malvasia 49; +39-051-6491576
www.lavecchiascuola.comA
Place to Lay Your Head – Best Western Hotel San Donato
For 99 euros a night a got a simple but huge, comfortable, clean and safe room in a hotel that was a former palazzo, located smack-dab in the middle town, steps from the famous two towers.
Every morning I awoke to the sounds of soft church bells ringing in the distance. The staff was super helpful and a huge, sumptuous breakfast was included, complete with made-to-order cappuccino. What a deal!
Best Western Hotel San Donato : Via Zamboni 16, Bologna; +39 051 235395; www.hotelsandonato.it
What
to See & What to Do
Bologna is a city for
wandering: much of the city is a beautiful, mellow medieval jewel box, famous
for its miles of porticos and picturesque piazzas, with the Piazza Maggiore
being the most majestic.
Pop into Santo Stefano, a 1,000 year old complex of little churches.
Stroll the food market, located on and around Via Clavature and Via Caprarie.
Be sure to stop in to La Baita for cheese (Via Pescherie Vecchie) and A.F. Tamborini (Via Caprarie) for salami and other portable food treats.
Go shopping! Some of the most high-end boutiques can be found in and around the Piazza Maggiore and on Via Carbonesi. Or you can do what I often did and just sit with a refreshing Campari in a pretty little piazza and watch the locals…doing the exact same thing.
What
about the restaurants? I have to
confess that the most amazing food I had in Bologna was at the pasta school.
Not only was I on a pasta making mission, I was there to sample the deeply
restorative and comforting “tortellini en brodo” I’d heard about. Well, we had it at the school and it
ruined me for all other brodo, I wanted no other. Their ragù was pretty incredible too and, by the way, they
make it with lard. Yes – LARD.
They cook with lard over there, which explains so much of the
transcendent yum. Lucky for you the
school is sometimes open to the public for meals if you call ahead, which I
strongly encourage you to do!
I did get to experience a
few local haunts when my Bologna-based friends took me on a tour of their
favorite spots one mellow evening. First stop – a glass of prosecco at the
rustic Osteria del Sole (Via de' Ranocchi 1), a 500 year old wine bar that’s
bursting with character.
Then, on to dinner at the friendly Trattoria Leonida (Vicolo Alemagna 2) to sample some regional specialties. Think cozy, clove-infused wild boar stew over polenta, a meltingly tender pie of pheasant with truffles and surprisingly smooth yet chest-clearing sips of grappa to melt it all down.
What did I miss? A lot. I was in Bologna to learn, not really sight see, so there’s quite a bit I need to return for. This is a thriving university town that’s brimming with stimulating activities! There’s art: MAMBO is the local modern art museum and there’s also Museo Morandi which is dedicated to the works of Giorgio Morandi, the famous still life artist. There’s film: Cineteca di Bologna houses the entire Charlie Chaplin estate (and it’s unclear why) and also serves as a general town center for all things cinema. There’s endless beautiful architecture to take in.
There are fascinating day
trips: you can head out to Parma
or Modena to the dairies where the glorious Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese is
crafted, and while you’re in Modena swing by the vineyards and see how they
brew up that Balsamic vinegar that you love to toss in your salad. And did you know that some of the world’s
hottest cars: the Ferrari, the Lamborghini, the Ducati, the Maserati and the
rare Pagani are made in this region?
Most of the factories are not open to the public, but many of these
carmakers do have museums, so maybe you can at least touch one.
And of course, I need to go back to sample more of the food! There’s an organization, founded in Bologna, of Italian home cooks called “Cesarine” who are dedicated to preserving and promoting Italian culinary traditions and who host dinners in their homes. Wouldn’t THAT be fun?
But that would all have to wait for another time. Rome was waiting and I needed to move along…
(photo credits: all photos by Mary Connolly)
