Tales on the table

Hosteria Giusti - Modena (Italy)

One of the most exclusive restaurants in all of Italy with only four tables, Hosteria Giusti was one of the toughest reservations from my trip. And this was very positive, as I rejoiced months in advance since the moment I received confirmation that I was able to score a table there.

The restaurant is hidden in the back of a beautiful salumeria. The deli itself, established in 1605 making it the oldest in the world, is already worth a visit, with Prosciutto hanging and beautiful condiments on display.

Behind the counter, lucky diners can go through a narrow hallway and into the tiny dining room. And this is where the magic takes place. The casual setting sets the tone for an impossibly great meal, one of the best that I’ve ever had, in a simple and homey environment.

As a starter, the gnoccho fritto is not to be missed. This Modenese classic is basically a puffed pastry topped with different cold cuts. The fried dough is light and airy, but still crispy somehow. This pillowy goodness is paper-thin and pairs perfectly with mortadella and salami on top. Heaven on earth.

Moving on to the pastas, I ordered a Garganelli with duck ragu that was fantastic. Garganelli is not the easiest type of pasta to find on menus, but it matched very well with the sauce and its hollow shape holded the ragu within the pasta. Another hit was their tagliatelle with tomato sauce, which I am finding very hard to put into words and explain.

Finally, I also ordered a fried cottechino (a typical type of slowly cooked pork sausage), with a zabaione sauce. I found it very interesting, as usually such fatty and heavy dishes are accompanied by an acid element for balance purposes, and this specific recipe goes another route with a sweet sauce, providing a combination different from what I am used to.

Having a meal here was a life-changing experience for me and it quickly became the benchmark of what an impeccable lunch in Italy should be.

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Trattoria da Amerigo 1934 - Savigno (Italy)

@amerigo1934 is a restaurant that will warm the hearts of anyone willing to drive up into the mountains towards the peaceful little town of Savigno.

If the friendly price-tag, the homey atmosphere and the bucolic landscape are not enough reasons for you to come here, do it for the food. Amerigo is one of the best trattorias in all of Emilia Romagna, serving hearty dishes made with high quality local products. One of which stands out from the rest: truffles.

Very typical in the hills of Bologna, this magical ingredient is sourced locally and put on the spotlight here in a very intelligent manner that really gets the best out of it in every bit.

The menu consists of both classic and innovative dishes, with a date on the side of each one indicating the year that it was introduced at the restaurant. Naturally, if a dish was first put on the menu decades ago and still is there, it is definitely worth trying.

To name a few stand outs from a meal that had basically no lows, tigelle with Parmigiano Reggiano gelato (!) and balsamic vinegar was a spectacular starter, as was the gnocchi al tartufo - that I found very rich and creamy.

Amerigo is an institution. A typical Italian trattoria with great regional food, where its rustic simplicity makes you want to return as soon as you start your drive downhill.

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Trattoria Aldina - Modena (Italy)

In a town with such a strong gastronomic culture as Modena, where everyone feels entitled to have a strong opinion on food, it is hard for a restaurant to be as unanimously praised as @trattoria.aldina.

This simple trattoria amazes locals and tourists alike with classic Emilian recipes executed to perfection. Their tortellini in brodo was probably the best one that I ever had, and is the ultimate comfort food. I know that I’ll crave it the next time that I feel sick. When I arrived at Aldina, a good half an hour before it opened to guarantee my table in this no-reservations restaurant, they were folding the tortellini on the tables. I was mesmerized by that scene and had no second thoughts on what to order as my “primo piatto’.

But the rest of the menu was equally sensational, including the signature tagliatelle al ragu and the “gramina” (a typical Emilia Romagna type of pasta that is curly shaped and cut short) with a sausage and cream ragu.

The comforting homemade food and casual atmosphere makes one feel like he is having a family sunday lunch in a real Italian home. As if that is not enough, prices are very affordable.

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Trattoria Bertozzi - Bologna (Italy)

When thinking about a trip to Italy, most people associate it almost automatically with the likes of Rome, Florence, Venice and other hotspot destinations. Emilia Romagna is definitely not in that shortlist. That is, if you are not a food lover. Because for people like me, this beautiful region is one of the most incredible experiences that you can possibly think of in all of Europe, let alone in Italy.

This region, which encompasses culinary mecas like Bologna and Modena, has more certificated products than anywhere else in the country. By that I mean the DOP/IGP classifications, which are assigned by specialized consortia to assure that the products are produced according to very strict guidelines or from a specific location. Such products are an integral part of the region’s culinary tradition, and many of them are also known worldwide, such as Prosciutto di Parma, Parmigiano Reggiano, Aceto Balsamico di Modena, Mortadella Bologna and much more.

Emilia Romagna is also home to one of the best restaurants in the world, Osteria Francescana. But while I dream to visit it someday, I am dedicating my first trip here to the more casual restaurants that locals go to and that make the region such an important gastronomic hub when it comes to everyday food.

One of those is @trattoria_bertozzi, in Bologna.The place offers typical Bolognese/Emilian classics and also a few more modern and authoral dishes, of which I would highlight the gramigna with saffron, guanciale, zucchini and parmigiano. Another standout dish was the cotoletta alla bolognese, a thin veal cutlet breaded and fried, with prosciutto on top and grated Parmigiano Reggiano

To top things off, the trattoria has a very casual atmosphere, and I would even say that it is a bit chaotic in the best possible sense of the word. A true welcome to Italy moment, where the whole restaurant, led by its host Fabio, is just having a great time, playing drinking, , laughing and enjoying life to the most.

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Trattoria Sostanza - Florence (Italy)

@trattoriasostanzafirenze is a very small restaurant and a must go for anyone visiting Florence.

They cook most dishes on coals in a small kitchen that you have to walk past to get to the bathroom.

This old school trattoria serves an artichoke omelet that is sensational. It is light, silky and offers a taste that is not easy to find. If artichokes are in season, make sure to order it.

But the signature butter chicken is the absolute best dish on the menu. Chicken breast is not usually my favorite cut, but here it is superb. It is cooked in a ton of butter and served on the sizzling pan, then finished with squeezed lemon. Inexplicably good.

As a side dish, the white beans in olive oil are a very simple and yet surprisingly flavorful option.

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Osteria di Passignano - Tavarnelle Val di Pesa (Italy)

Visiting Osteria di Passignano is an experience that I will never forget. This upscale restaurant is part of the Antinori empire and located in the middle of beautiful Chianti wineries.

Before our meal, we visited the amazing wine cellars located underground the Abbey of San Michele Arcangelo a Passignano, right by the restaurant, which dates from the 890s and where some of the very best Antinori’s wines are aging in wooden barrels. During the visit, we were explained the story behind the place and I found it particularly interesting to learn how the famous Tignanello label was previously not prestigious inside Italy and even labeled as “Table Wine”, since it did not follow the certification requirements.

That is because this wine was a pioneer in mixing San Giovesi grapes with Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as using French oak barrels for the the aging process, given Piero Antinori’s passion for classic Bordeaux wine production. It was only when wine critic Robert Parker came across a bottle of TIgnanello during a blind tasting that this label started to receive its much deserved recognition - first internationally and then inside of Italy. From that point forward, it slowly began to change how Italian producers thought about wine and ended up being a watershed in the country’s wine culture that became much more focused on quality from that point forward.

We then headed back to the restaurant and had a glorious tasting menu for dinner that displayed traditional Tuscan cuisine. I particularly enjoyed the guinea fowl in milfoil pastry and the gnocchi with beef cheek and mushrooms. To make it all even better, we chose a wine pairing that served different Antinori labels for each dish, including the celebrated Tignanello and Solaia.

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Savini Tartufi - Montanelli (Italy)

When thinking about truffles, probably the first place that comes to mind is Alba/Piemonte. But make no mistake about it, Tuscan truffles should not be overlooked.

When visiting the region, I enjoyed this delicacy in many restaurants. But for me, that was not enough as I wanted to see firsthand how the truffle hunting process works.

Truffle hunting can be a tourist trap depending on where you go, with truffles planted on purpose to assure that the visitors do not go back home empty handed. That is not the case with @savinitartufi, and I can assure that the experience there is as real as it gets.

Truffles are fungi that grow under the dirt, in the roots of trees. During our visit, our guide Luca explained everything there is to know about his passion and the training of the hunting dogs.

It starts with a little bit of truffle oil being put on their mother’s milk. And as they grow, little amounts of truffles are included in their diet, way before the actual hunting training starts.

Once we headed into the forest, the real action began. Luca brought 2 dogs with him, father and son. This dynamic, while not common, was fascinating, as we were able to notice the differences in behavior between an experienced and trained dog and one still learning.

During our visit, it was black truffle season, and we were able to witness the discovery of at least 4 beautiful ones. Upon smelling it, the dog starts digging, but it does not eat and recognizes that it is Luca’s job to pick it up. Once this is finished, he receives a treat.

Once we finished, we hopped back on the Land Rover and rode back to Savini’s shop, where they prepared us a spectacular truffle based lunch that included pasta, fried eggs and even ice cream.

With more than 100 years in operation, I loved to see how Savini is both a family business (with less than 30 employees) and a global one, exporting to different countries and top restaurants/chefs. It wasalso very beautiful to see how happy the dogs were to be in the woods and how passionate Luca is around the subject and the values he embraces day in and day out.

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Trattoria Sostanza - Florence (Italy)

@trattoriasostanzafirenze is a very small restaurant and a must go for anyone visiting Florence.

They cook most dishes on coals in a small kitchen that you have to walk past to get to the bathroom.

This old school trattoria serves an artichoke omelet that is sensational. It is light, silky and offers a taste that is not easy to find. If artichokes are in season, make sure to order it.

But the signature butter chicken is the absolute best dish on the menu. Chicken breast is not usually my favorite cut, but here it is superb. It is cooked in a ton of butter and served on the sizzling pan, then finished with squeezed lemon. Inexplicably good.

As a side dish, the white beans in olive oil are a very simple and yet surprisingly flavorful option.

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Tripperia Pollini - Florence (Italy)

Lampredotto is a Florentine classic that consists of the fourth stomach of the cow, the abomasum, boiled in a flavorful broth until tender. It is usually sliced thinly and served as a sandwich.

The base of the broth is made with tomatoes, onion and celery, but each establishment gives its own twist.

This classic dish does not exist anywhere else, but in Florence it can be found all over the city. And @tripperiapollini serves one of the best versions in town.

Here, the sandwich is very big and bread is soaked in the broth to absorb its flavors. They also offer a green sauce and a hot sauce to be added on top, both of which added an extra dimension of complexity to the dish and gave me a very pleasant memory of my days in Mexico.

Offal lovers out there should definitely not miss this spot when looking for a place to try this democratic street food.

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La Taverna di San Giuseppe - Sena (Italy)

@la_taverna_di_san_giuseppe is a traditional osteria serving authentic Tuscan food. The place, which is no stranger to the Michelin guide, is located in an old building that used to be a taverna. And its brick stone ambience resembles to this day a medieval establishment.

The great wine selection is kept in an Etruscan cave that dates back to 200 B.C and is enough reason on its own to make a lunch reservation.

I ordered pici, a type of pasta that is originally from the province of Siena, so I knew that I had to try it when in town. Even though it is not my favorite type of pasta, the dish was very good and perfectly executed. Pici is a hand-made pasta that is very thick. It is also usually made without eggs (only flour and water are used). Here, it was served in a typical wild boar and porcini mushroom ragu that was superb.

Everything else that we ordered was very tasty as well, including the lasagna and the braised wild boar marinated for 8 hours in milk and cooked in white wine.

Service was very friendly, making this restaurant a must stop in Siena. Just make sure to book in advance.

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