Ristorante Fini, Modena, Italy

Fini was a meal we were both looking forward to. We made reservations because they tout that they've had a Michelin star for over 50 years on their website. Holy.. That's a long time! They must be doing something right.. Wrong!

The restaurant was never completely full the entire night. I don't even think half full. Perhaps the Michelin star is long gone. Perhaps they haven't had one in the last 50 years. We never checked which 50 or so years they were honored with a star. But still, how can a restaurant that once had a Michelin star for over 50 years go so far downhill?

If it's not obvious yet, Fini was a disappointment. We each ordered a tasting menu. Jason ordered the Il Menu del Territorio tasting and I ordered the Il Menu Degustazione tasting. The dishes we had were very average. The portion sizes were so large that we had to stop midway through our tasting. It's the first time I ever refused food because I was too full. The thought of taking another bite made me sick. Perhaps the really good stuff came towards the end of the meal. We'll never know.

Here are pictures of what we managed to eat..

The free stuff..



From Il Menu del Territorio, Jason's menu...

Prosciutto crudo di Parma D.O.P. stagionato 22 mesi con focaccia


Tortelloni di ricotta e spinaci con scaglie di Parmigiano-Reggiano e Aceto Balsamico


Tagliatelle all'uovo con prosciutto crudo e Parmigiano-Reggiano


Fritto misto, antica ricetta di Giuditta


And the dishes he could no longer make room for, "Tagliata di filetto di manzo Angus all'Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena con caponata di verdure invernali", "Scaglie di Parmigiano-Reggiano delle "Vacche Rosse" D.O.P. riserva 24 mesi con pere e Saba" and "Zuppa inglese tradizionale con riduxione al Sassolino".

From Il Menu Degustazione, the menu I ordered...

Spiedino di coniglio in crosta di cereali su vellutata di porro e salsa ai lamponi


Gnocchi di patate con pistilli di zafferano, petali di baccala e cipolla rossa candita


Spaghetti integrali con petto d'anatra e scorzette d'arancia caramellata


Involtino di rombo candito all'olio extra vergine di oliva con carciofi, Porto e crema di nocciole


And the dishes I could no longer make room for, "Nocette de capriolo con marroni, mirtilli rossi e fondo bruno all'elisir di Chartreuse", "Toma piemontese con mondorle e mostarda di mele campanine" and "Autunno ...".

Despite being stuffed to the gills, Jason made room for dessert.



And, more free stuff...




Ristorante Fini
Rua dei Frati Minori, 52
41100 Modena, Italy
Tel: +39 059 223314

Ristorante Cocchi, Parma, Italy

As you can guess, Jason and I are big fans of Batali's food. And if Batali recommends a place, it must be good, right? Ristorante Cocchi is another one of Batali's recommendations that we decided to follow up on. And it didn't hurt that this restaurant was described as Parma's best restaurant from sources like Food & Wine magazine.

We knew we had to try two things while in Parma. One was Parmagiano Reggiano and the other, prosciutto. We started with the Flute di Prosecco con Scaglie di Parmigiano (Italian Prosecco Flute with Shavings of Parmesan Cheese) and a Plate of Prosciutto di Parma.

Big chunks of amazing cheese were put in front of us with two glasses of crisp, refreshing prosecco.

The prosciutto was out of this world. The pieces of dough they served with it were equally out of this world. What are they? I loved them. I could've devoured a couple plates of them.


For our mains we shared the Savarin di Riso (Rice with Parmesan Cheese, Butter and Porcini Mushrooms Rolled in Slices of Cooked Ham) and the Punta al Forno Ripiena (Stuffed Breast of Veal, Parma Style). We also shared a side of Peperonata (Sweet Peppers, Onions and Tomatoes Stewed in a Pan).

The rice dishes are what Cocchi is known for. The one we ordered reminded me very much of a risotto. The saltiness of the ham and the richness and creaminess of the rice were awesome. You gotta love it when butter is listed to describe the dish.

The stuffed veal breast was a bit dry and even if it was cooked perfectly, I'm not sure if it's a dish I would recommend. There's not much to get excited about.


The stewed vegetables, however, were something to get extremely excited about. The sweetness of the vegetables really came through in this dish.

And even though we were stuffed, there's always room for dessert.

Since we were only there for half a day, I can't confirm that it's the best restaurant in Parma, but it's pretty darn good.


Ristorante Cocchi
16/A Via Gramsci
Parma, Italy
Tel. 39-0521-995-147

Gran Caffe Orientale

When we arrived in Parma, we were hungry. We roamed around and found a restaurant with outdoor seating where we could grab a bite to eat and people watch. Here is the view from where we're sitting..

And since it was morning and our first time in Parma, we decided to get breakfast with prosciutto and Parmagiano in it. Here is their Parma Crepe with prosciutto, mozzarella and parmagiano. The prosciutto was amazing, and the crepe was just okay.

I would still recommend this place as a great place to unwind. Maybe just relax with a cup of cappuccino and take in the scenery.


Gran Caffe Orientale
19 Piazza Garibaldi
Parma, 43013
Tel: +39 0521 28 5819

Ristorante Diana, Bologna, Italy

Ristorante Diana is another restaurant we picked based on Batali's recommendation in a 2008 Fodor's article. He said this was his favorite lunch spot in Bologna and we decided we'd give it a try.

This restaurant is more upscale than I had expected. There's a small pic of the restaurant in the article and what I thought was a steam table you'd see at a take-out or deli type place was actually a bollito misto cart. Granted, I didn't look very closely.

We ordered a Sangiovese that was bottled for the restuarant, listed as Sangiovese "Diana" on the menu. At 15 euros, it was a bargain. That's one of the things I loved about Italy. Great wine can be had at a cheap price. And this was one of them.

Jason and I shared two pastas. We ordered two traditional dishes of Bologna; the tagliatelle alla bolognese and the green lasagna alla bolognese.

I love mushrooms and loved that the sauce for the tagliatelle had mushrooms in it. The hearty flavors of the meat and mushrooms were perfectly mixed into the perfectly al dente tagliatelle.


The green lasagna was a no brainer after reading the Fodor's article. Batali describes it as something "that will bring you to tears." Sold! Not a single tear was shed between the two of us, but this lasagna is darn good. I had the highly praised Lasagna Verde alla Bolognese at Insieme back in NYC, a 1 starred Michelin restaurant, and it paled in comparison.


And to top off our meal, we had the Insalata Sedano-Rucola-Parmigiano-Tartufo. Great, refreshing salad, but was a bit surprised at the size when it was placed in front of us. The salad was listed as a secondi, cost more than the pastas and it looked more like an appetizer than a main. I wasn't complaining though.. not with the generously shaved portions of truffle and parmigiano.


I enjoyed our meal at Ristorante Diana. We were full at the end of the meal and for once we didn't over order. At 69 euros, this place is pretty reasonable.


Ristorante Diana
Via dell'Indipendenza, 24
40121 Bologna (Emilia Romagna), Italy
Tel. +39 051 231302

Bluone Cooking Tours, Bologna Italy

Jason and I thought it'd be neat to take a cooking class in Italy. And after some research decided to do the "One Day Bologna Food Market Visit and Hands-On Cooking Class at Local Italian Family Home" with Bluone.

The class started off with a tour of the market. Raffaella, the mother, and Francesca, the daughter were our guides. They were both very thorough and extremely knowledgeable about the food and history of the region. During the tour of the market, we stopped in stores to purchase the ingredients we'd be using for the dinner we'd be cooking later in the day. It was cool that they let us choose what we wanted to make and we basically came up with the menu right there at the market.

After the market, you're left alone for an hour or so for lunch. Jason and I headed over to Ristorante Diana and had a great meal. I'll blog about that later.

Now onto the post-lunch festivities..

Raffaella made us some zucchini flowers to nibble on before dinner. And you see her below on the left whisking the batter that the zucchini flowers are going to be dredged in.



Francesca, pictured above on the right, is the pasta expert and we learned how to make two.. a tortelloni and a strozzapreti. In the pic, she's showing us how big the squares of pasta should be cut for the tortelloni.

And, voila! Tortelloni! The pretty ones are made by me. :)


The strozzapreti, "priest choker", pasta is local to the Emilia Romagna region. It's one of the easiest shapes to make. Just cut the pasta into strips a little wider than fettucine, hold one end between your two hands and move each hand in opposite directions to twist the pasta. Rip off the twisted piece and continue.


We also made two sauces.. One was a tomato and shallot sauce, the other was a pizzaiola sauce.


For our main entree, we made veal and a side of roasted leeks with prosciutto and parmesan.



After all the hard work was done, we went out to the dining room and found a plate of meats waiting for us at the table.



Everything came together well. Francesca and Raffaella took turns bringing in one dish after another and this is how our finished meal looked..


Tortelloni in Sage and Brown Butter Sauce


Strozzapreti in Tomato and Shallots Sauce


Veal with Pizzaiola Sauce


Pannacotta


I highly recommend this class to anyone. It's intimate and completely hands on. There's no more than 4 to a class and you get to eat the fruits of your labor with the entire family. 180 euros per person and worth every bit of it.

Mercato di Mezzo, Bologna, Italy

The food market in Bologna is a sight to be seen. Jason and I took part in a one day cooking course that included a morning walk through the market. The tour lasted roughly 2.5 hours and it was extensive. Raffaella and Francesca, a mother and daughter team, were our guides and took us from store to store explaining the history of foods local to the Emilia Romagna region.

Here are some photos I took during the tour...



Pasta! Pasta!




Prosciutto and other glorious meats!








Here's something for the vegetarians.




And back to the carnivores.. This is the one of the local horse butchers. You don't get to see that in NY!


Everything you see here is horse meat.


And we had to try some horse before we left so we chose horse salami. It was well seasoned like most salami is. But, to me, it had a horrible after taste. Jason didn't think so though.