Da Francesco is a Sicilian seafood restaurant serving some of the most creative food in Bologna. HG enjoyed variations on marinated fresh anchovies (best HG ever tasted), mackerel, triglia (a kind of red mullet). There was Sicilian flash fried calamari and a garlicky codfish brandade. Dessert was a play on the traditional pears poached in red wine — a home-made gelato with pear puree and chunks of wine-poached pear. Very interesting cuisine and a sharp contrast to the usual Bolognese menus.
The Best Tamale In The World…From a Bagel Shop.
December 5th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink
SJ here. Nothing quite signifies why I love New York so much as my recent discovery of the best tamale I have ever eaten. Story goes like this: My fine son (Jewpanese to the core) demanded a bialy before heading off to his karate class. As we were on the road, we stopped at bagel shop on Smith & 9th street in Brooklyn’s Gowanus/Cobble Hill neighborhood called Line bagels (apparently the name is full of controversy as it used to be called F LINE bagels after the subway line that stops right in front of it. But, the MTA sued them for unauthorized use of the name and forced them to change.) Along the wall, with advertised specials for bagels, wraps and the typical stuff, was a board announcing tamales and enchiladas. When I placed my order, I realized that the bagel store had been taken over by a Mexican family and the woman taking my order definitely looked like a grandmother who could cook. I asked her if the tamales were good and she replied that she made them fresh every morning from her family recipe. I have never trusted someone as much as I did her, so I put in my order for a chicken tamale while her son informed me that their tamales were so beloved that one guy in Long Island orders 150 of them every week to give to his extended family and co-workers.
Along with a perfectly fine bialy for my son, the tamale I got was gigantic — a plump, juicy log of corn meal stuffed with intensely flavored braised chicken. I have eaten Tamales in the south, in the south-west, in Mexico, from a cooler in front of a Salvation Army in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, but these F Line Bagel tamales made others seem like a joke. They were perfect: moist, but not falling apart, fragrant of mesa and long simmered chiles, deep in flavor with just a touch of spicy heat to keep things interesting. And this gigantic tamale (really, big enough for a full meal) was $1.50. So, my thanks to New York, my favorite city, for being the only place in the world that one could find the best tamales in a bagel shop that is being sued by the Transit Authority for copyright infringement.
The World's Greatest Tamale
Bologna Traditions Observed
December 5th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink
Lunch today was at Trattoria Serghei, a warm little restaurant with some outstanding art on its walls. Located in Via Piella, a short walk from Bologna’s Piazza Maggiore, Serghei’s food is a roll call of traditional Bolognese dishes. The HG party feasted on tagliatelle al ragu (one of the best in the city); stinco di maiale (roast shin of pork); roast rabbit; stuffed zucchini with meatballs in a light tomato sauce; lush baccala in an assertive sauce accompanied by polenta; bollito misto with salsa verde. There were some other traditional pastas and braised, garlicky chicory with hot pepper. Dessert was a mascarpone confection drizzled with chocolate syrup.
This is the kind of food HG misses when back in the USA.
Ferrara Interlude
December 4th, 2011 § 2 comments § permalink
A quick trip to Ferrara, a treasure of central Italy. Rich in architecture and history, it was once the seat of a thriving Jewish community. Many Americans remember the city from the bittersweet film, “The Garden of The Finzi Continis.”
Castle & Moat in Ferrara
Of course, beauty always stimulates the appetite, so HG, BSK , Brilliant Daughter Lesley R. and her husband, Professore Massimo lunched at a bustling Ferrara eatery, Antica Trattoria Volano. Robust food. There was a risotto heady with the scent and flavor of white truffles, creamy polenta with braised eel,
Creamy Polenta & Mushrooms
Bolito Misto
There was no lingering in Ferrara. The beautiful city is in the Po River delta and the entire area features impenetrable fog that can make highway driving a near lethal adventure. The HG group got out just in time.
Christmas Market in Ferrara
Beauty, Food and a Sobering Memory
December 2nd, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink
A sunny Saturday meant a drive up the winding roads of the Bologna hills with the lofty Appennines etched in the distance. Bologna is unusual in that a five to ten minute drive takes you from the bustle of the city to the beautiful countryside, with its lovely views of deep valleys, gentle meadows and steep cliffs. Luncheon destination was the plain-spoken Trattoria Vizzano. The day was so beautiful that it was hard to remember that these hills were, literally, soaked in blood, the scene of fierce fighting between German forces and British and American troops during World War Two. Somber thoughts had no place in the trattoria, where HG and famille dove into crescentine, specialty of the house.
Crescentine
HG was sobered and moved by an after-lunch visit to the austere memorial on the cliff side at Sabbiuno, where some 100 brave anti-Fascist (mainly communist) partisan fighters were slaughtered by the Nazis. Lined up on the edge of a cliff, they were machine-gunned and their bodies tossed down into a ravine. Less than half were later identified. The names of the known fallen are engraved on individual rocks, a simple, eternal memorial. One rock marks the 47 unknown victims.
Memorial Grave of the 47 Unidentified Partisans
Machine Guns at Partisans Memorial
A Thanksgiving Feast to be Thankful For
November 30th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink
Like any complex man of the world, HG has a few contradictions. While I have posted previously about my preference for a traditional Thanksgiving meal, the reality is that HG has never been a fan of Thanksgiving dinner in general. HG’s unsentimental view: dry turkey and heaps of sloppy food only saved by a liberal dousing of gravy. The exception was the non-traditional Thanksgiving feast prepared by Brilliant Daughter Lesley R. a few days ago in Bologna. Turkey Involtini (slices of turkey breast pounded very thin and covered with a layer of prosciutto and fontina cheese). These lovely morsels were rolled up, secured with toothpicks, browned and then finished in the oven. They were gilded with a robust mushroom gravy. Accompaniments were brussel sprouts (sauteed with shallots and pancetta). Tender haricots vert. Lush mashed potatoes (whipped with butter and Greek yogurt). A perfectly balanced meal. Full of flavor but not an abdominal depth charge. The wine was an excellent Brunello di Montalcino. Cheese and salad followed. Gifted Granddaughter Arianna produced a made-from-scratch pumpkin pie. Pureed roasted pumpkin (not the vile canned stuff). Excellent crust. Toppings were whipped cream and marvelous gelato. Vin Santo followed for the family, while HG sipped a beautiful grappa. A Thanksgiving feast to be thankful for.
Bologna: 1000 Years of Academic History
November 29th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink
The Universitá di Bologna is the oldest, continually operating university in the world (in existence for more than a thousand years) and its 85,000 students still dominate this city of soaring towers, medieval buildings and glorious arcades.
There is no formal graduation day as in the United States. When a student passes his or her examinations and successfully defends a dissertation, he or she is granted a degree–and that’s graduation. What follows is a rollicking custom which brings the middles ages alive in the cobblestoned streets. The graduate is dubbed “dottore” (doctor) by friends, adorned with a laurel wreath (as was the custom hundreds of years ago) and often dressed in ludicrous costumes. HG saw some attractive young female graduates crammed into baby carriages and indecently sprayed with white paste stuffed into pierced condoms. Rough fun. The graduates are followed around the city by crowds of friends who sing “Dottore!! Dottore!!” followed by obscene anatomical and scatological references. The graduate is the butt of a lot of irreverent fun — the continuation of an age-old university tradition.
This doesn’t mean that learning is not respected in Bologna. At the city’s museum of medieval art, HG was moved by the beautiful tombs, some six centuries old, of famous scholars and jurists. Usually, such magnificent works of medieval art have religious, imperial or martial themes. But, here in Bologna, men of learning have inspired great artists.
A significant man of learning is HG’s son-in-law, Professore Massimo R. The Professore has brought his unique digital display of the Garibaldi Panorama to the Sala Borsa, the great public library in the center of Bologna. It is an exhibit that is both learned and dramatic. The electronic wizardry and research scholarship of Professore Massimo and his Brown University students has brought the remarkable history of the Italian hero, Garibaldi, and the unification of Italy to vivid life. Anita Garibaldi, Garibaldi’s great- great-grandaughter, visited the Panorama (extensively covered by the Bologna daily newspaper). Next week, there will be a presentation at the University of Professore Riva’s latest book, “The Future of Literature,” a scholarly study of the impact of electronics on literature. When not busy illuminating Italian culture, the Professore researches the best regional restaurants and local wines. This bore delicious fruit recently, when the Professore led HG and family to a restaurant in Ferrara that served an exceptional bollito misto. An HG report will follow.
La Serenissima Still Rules
November 25th, 2011 § 1 comment § permalink
Venezia. Venice. La Serenissima. Whatever you call it, the city of canals, bridges, vaporetti, hordes of tourists and the natives who have made a tradition of fleecing them for more than 500 years remains a wonder. HG and BSK have been going to Venice for close to 30 years and the city has never lost its fascination. This time HG and BSK visited to see the Biennale, the great Venice explosion of art that takes place — every two years — in the national pavilions of the Giardini (the only park in the city) and the vast Arsenale, the startlingly huge building complex where the ships and rope were manufactured that helped it rule the seas for centuries. If you love art (and life) the Biennale should not be missed. Every type of artistic enterprise — visual, aural, environmental — is on display throughout all the neighborhoods in the city. Once more, HG and BSK were left speechless by the depth of the artistic imagination and how artists increasingly utilize technology to expand their vision and the boundaries of art. HG and BSK saw great creations by Anselm Kiefer and Emilo Vedova on the Zattere Promenade and a very impressive retrospective of Julian Schnabel at the Museo Correr (HG left with new respect for this flamboyant and hugely talented artist).
Of course, Venice also offers a variety of culinary treasures. There was sublime spaghetti with nero di seppia (squid ink) at Il Nuovo Galeon; giant platters of fritto misto at Trattoria Al Diporto in Sant’ Elena; scallops, octopus and grilled fish platters at Ristorante Giorgione. At this last eating place, the proprietor, Lucio Bisutto (sometimes accompanied by his wife) delights the customers with a song recital. A very happy dining experience (and modest prices). All three restaurants are in the Castello neighborhood which is decidedly off the typical tourist path. With artistic vision expanded and tastes titillated by sea pleasures, HG and BSK return to Bologna for more art, history and pleasures of the table.
Warm Experience in Bologna
November 23rd, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink
HG loves a good Paris bistro. HG is equally fond of small, Bolognese trattorias. Might even like Bolognese dining more because of that very special life-enhancing quality so many Italians seem to have. Case in point is La Montanara, a small, nicely lighted trattoria decorated with an amusing array of food linked items, including old egg baskets and toy kitchens that delighted kids a generation ago. There were many smiles and lots of laughter in the room (but, voices were kept happily low). All in all, an unpretentious, amiable atmosphere. Pleasure to be there.
The food? Two very good antipasti: a spinach and sausage mousse-like creation molded into a loaf and served in pie-like wedges. A rich radicchio tart flavored with truffle. Primi piatti included an outstanding risotto of radicchio and melted smoked scamorza cheese. Gramigna (homemade short, curly pasta) served in the signature Bolognese tomato and sausage sauce. As is the case in many Italian restaurants, the secondi piatti paled in contrast to the flavor fireworks of the preceding courses. Meal ended with a lovely semifreddo of zabaione, grand marnier and caramelized orange slices. Yum. In fact, double yum. Summary: a very good time.
Eataly: Bolognese food with a modern point of view
November 21st, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink
Eataly (the slow-food inspired emporium which began in Turin, spread throughout Italy, and has offspring in Japan and New York) is located at the very center of Bologna’s central historic district. It is the kind of food complex that every city should have. Bologna’s Eataly is a dining and information multiplex. Bookshelves and tables are laden with the timeliest works on cuisine, travel, art, design, and there is space for public readings and demonstrations. Shelves contain every shape of pasta, olive oils, vinegar, beans, grains and canned goods. An encyclopedic array of the flavors and staples needed to create superior Italian food. There’s a big, communal table on the first floor for casual dining. A trattoria on the next floor with tables for two or four. An osteria on the top floor.
HG, BSK and various members of the Riva family have frequented the trattoria. Here are some of the dishes sampled: a light, flavorful sardine tart. Linguine with a unique sauce of fresh mackerel. Steak tartare (hand chopped to a perfect consistency) served on a bed of cauliflower (someone in the kitchen has some real knife skills because the vegetable had the appearance and shape of couscous) and topped with a handful of baby arugula. A confection which consisted of shaved truffles, egg whites and potato puree (pungent and light as a feather). A new deconstruction of the hamburger — this consisted of a burger (crusty on the outside with a pink and juicy interior) seated on a thick slice of roast eggplant in a pool of light tomato sauce and topped with crumbles of goat cheese. Among the dolci were exquisite chocolate creations as well as a scoop of very fresh, sweet ricotta glazed with aged balsamic vinegar.
And, there’s another treat. Prices are very reasonable.
HG with a package of Serious Tortelloni