Bologna and Alba

[Michael M]

Our most recent trip was to Bologna and Alba. I've made numerous reports on Bolonga, so won't go into repetitive detail here. I still love Godot Wine Bar, though they've sold their wine-bar-cum-store on V. S. Stefano (it's now a middling wine bar with new owners) but still have their wine-bar-cum-restaurant on V. Cartoleria. Always a good selection of Italian wines by the glass, with a few French and Australian ringers, with good food selections and knowledgeable staff.

Just next door was our favorite new place, Drogheria Della Rosa. We had a fantastic meal during which none of the pictures turned out. I do know the price with a bottle of wine was around 80E, and that the tortellini in brodo was excellent and the service warm. Basic Bolognese dishes, I don't believe there was a menu, a nice wine list.

I still love Enoteca Italiana, an enoteca with a vast Italian selection, as well as spirits and chocolates/dry goods. They offer a nice selection of wines by the glass each day with sandwiches/salami. Knowledgeable, helpful staff.

We tried Divinis for the first time, a little wine bar we'd definitely return to. Many Italian wines by the glass, a much more broad selection of meats and cheeses to go with. A very cozy place with a nice owner. Next door to Battibecco, for those who like more expensive fare (have never been; one can eat so well for less).

We also finally made it to Caffe Pasticceria Zanarini, though it's always been close. They have a fabulous selection of free snacks during happy hour, great coffee pastry in the mornings, and a nice prosecco selection. And there's sun on their outdoor tables in the afternoon, much needed for our March visit! An overall classy place I'm sorry we'd missed before.

Bologna has many nice gelato places (reported on before: Sorbetteria Castiglione, et al.), but Grom, the new chain from Milano, just opened a branch here, and there's was the cleanest and purest gelato we'd had in the city - lower fat contents, not overly sweet, full of flavor. I think they just opened one in New York.

Ristorante Cesarina (not da Cesare) was a middling experience. Nice if stuffy service, and the dishes we had were just fine, but not great. We would have preferred the trattoria experience at Anna Maria's. However, their tortellini in brodo was our favorite of the trip:

We also liked their gnocchi, though not as much as the previous:

We were, however, very happy with Marco Fadiga Bistrot. A great place, with all the dishes impressing. Here's their menu (I refuse to use flashes in restaurants, so of course I suffer a little in trying to read what's here):

Their risotto with shrimp was a highlight of the trip:

Again, great service, tons of locals, a meal with a bottle of wine for 80E or so, but with an inventive flair.

I've said enough in other posts about how much I love Pasticceria Atti (see previous posts) but since we were visiting around Easter, we got a snack from them one day to eat in the park, a spinach tart with egg, and it was so delicious I had to take a picture to share:

By the way, for those who like hiking, few guidebooks talk about the beautiful parks within walking distance of the city, Parco Ghigi and Parco San Lorenzo. They are not to be missed, and are only about 20 minutes from the southern edge of the city.

Parco Ghigi:

Parco San Lorenzo:

Going to Bologna is like revisiting an old friend. The majority of our trip was centered on Alba, a place new to us. An amazing gastronomic city for one of its size, set in the center of an equally amazing wine area, both in the beauty of the Langhe hills, and the quality of the wines.

As soon as I get the photos shrunk to size and uploaded, I'll post more. We took more pictures, as it was a new experience to us.

Godot Wine Bar

Via Cartoleria, 12

Bologna

Drogheria Della Rosa

Via Cartoleria, 10

Bologna

Enoteca Italiana

Via Marsala, 12B

Bologna

Divinis

Via Battibecco, 4C

Bologna

Caffe Pasticceria Zanarini

Piazza Galvani, 1

Bologna

Grom

Via D'Azelio, 13

Bologna

Marco Fadiga Bistrot

Via Rialto, 23/C

Bologna

[tupac17616]

Thanks for sharing, Michael. Glad to see that you enjoyed Marco Fadiga Bistrot. I went there back in July or so and definitely enjoyed it. It had been recommended to me by Marco Parizzi, chef at his eponymous restaurant in Parma. And I still remember the stuffed squid, in particular, as being one of the food highlights of my time in Bologna.

[Michael M]

Yes, we had the squid, too; delicious!

The second part of our trip was in Alba, and for such a moderately sized city it has an enormous gastronomic/enologic footprint. Nestled in the beautiful Langhe hills, it has much to offer the traveler who likes to eat (and drink).

We stayed at a B and B within a few minutes walking distance of the city, Villa La Favorita.

The best pastries we had in Alba were made by Giovanna, one of the women who worked there. Breakfasts were big affairs, and the proprietress, Roberta, was gracious and informative.

We had lunch one day at Vigin Mudest,, enticed by the description of its antipasti. It was a great choice. We lunched with a scattering of Italian businessmen and families (that obviously showed up just after the picture!):

I'm not sure if I can name all the antipasti, but I'll try. Among the cold antipasti, at 12:00 there was a chicken salad, a spinach fritatta, bean salad, an artichoke fritatta, and fennel salad in the center:

Veal tonnato, ricotta, salumi:

For the hot antipasti, roasted red peppers, polentas, eggplant and my favorite (hidden in pic), sausage in barolo sauce. Though a little salty, it was delicious:

Osteria dell'Arco was a favorite meal of ours, though only two pictures turned out. A wonderful ravioli with spinach, prosciutto and cheese:

...plus a tender Tajarin with butter and sage:

...and a wonderful cold trout salad, perfectly poached and seasoned with a light sprinkling of lemon juice. It could have been the preparation or the type of lemon (from Sorrento?), but I thought this was a perfect dish:

La Libera was the highlight of our trip. We liked it so much we went back 2 days later for our final meal. The service is warm, the place is contemporary and well-designed, and the food fantastic. A great wine list, as well.

My favorite dish of the trip was their maltagliati (handkerchief pasta) with fresh spring baby vegetable sauce (a literal if awkward translation!):

Pasta (the one from Gragnano...candele?) with those small grilled fish (begins with an "s"...?), and capers:

The nice thing about both meals was that even with a bottle of wine, we never spent more than 100E, though we split a secondo both times. The also have a great selection of cheeses for dessert, as well as at least one pear tart that was well done.

For wine lovers, we had planned tastings at two different wineries, Rocche dei Manzoni and Marchesi di Gresy. I've loved their wines for years, and the experience at both places was excellent. The cellarmaster at M di G is from New Zealand, so English is not a problem for those concerned. Only Italian was spoken at R d M, but their cellars (and the Verdi that comes on when the lights are switched on, the marble walls and painted columns, yes, in the cellar) are not to be missed.

We tasted at the Regional Enoteca of Barolo, which was also a good place to visit, and many languages were spoken there. Producers are vetted before being allowed in, and prices are the same as at the wineries:

There were only 2 wine bars open during the time we visited (around Easter) Vincaffe on the main street at one end and Bar Brasilia (or something like that) at the other. Vincaffe was noisy with Europop music and full of people each night. They had a decent selection of wines by the glass, decent bar food (salumi, etc.) but often so crowded that good conversation with the workers about the wine was limited. It is a bar/restaurant, too, but we only drank there. It was less wine-focused than the others I mentioned in Bologna, but the wine is so good in Piemonte that it seems beside the point to complain.

Bar Brasil(ia?) was similar in spirit, but with a contemporary design, and a bit more focus on wine and better food. They also had one of those tasting machines where better wines were kept and you could pay-by-the-taste. I'm sorry, but I don't have an address for this, but it's on V. Emanuale and the Piazza Savona.

Good pastries and coffee were at Golosi di Salute, a place for "healthier" sweets. They also had chocolates and a small menu. There's a B & B attached to this place whose name I missed, but certainly the breakfasts would be nice. There was a lot of literature about the different sweeteners they used and how they affected the body. I should have noted that the Sorbetteria Castiglione in Bologna also changed their recipes lately to reflect different sweeteners and a different approach to the glycemic index qualities of sweets.

Health aside, it was our favorite coffee in Alba, and our second favorite pastries, all in a spanking new contemporarily designed store.

By far our favorite gelato was at Sacchero. A small store with a focused selection, we were sad to find them open only twice during this holiday time!

Finally, a big pitch for a wonderful deli, Alla Dispensa del Convento. We were looking to purchase some cheeses and meats to take home, and went into one promising deli (well-recommended, too), where the owner didn't want to offer any tastes of his products other than the one cheese and one salami already sitting out, neither of which were particularly impressive. So we meandered across the street to Alla Dispensa into a different world.

The owner was wonderfully helpful and full of stories about each cheese and meat product: who the makers were, what kind of grazing they animals had, where they were located. She kept opening cheeses and salami, insisting that we try just one more. Her nephew, it turns out, is involved in the Slow Food movement (so perhaps this place is well known?) and was also very friendly.

His best childhood friend was a beekeeper who raised them fungicide free and they had his chestnut honey there. This went on for an hour, the conversation and the tastes, and of course we bought enormous amounts of food from them. As an aside, I don't understand the business sense of the previous proprietor, but it did lead us to this place. Highly recommended!

In the past few people have actually responded to these posts, but many view them, so I hope this will be helpful to you planning your trip! If you have any more detailed questions, please feel free to email me.

Alla Dispensa del Convento

V. Vitt. Emanuele, 19

Alba

www.alladispensadelconvento.it

Sacchero

Gelato e Cioccolato

V. Vitt. Emanuele, 32

Golosi di Salute

Piazza Rossetti, 6

Alba

Vincaffe

V. Vitt. Emanuele, 12

Alba

La Libera

V. Elvio Pertinace, 24

Alba

Osteria dell'Arco

Piazza Savona, 5

Alba

Villa La Favorita

Loc. Altavilla, 12

Alba

Vigin Mudest

V. Vernazza, 11

Alba

[martinwa]

Thanks for the report.

I'm going to be in Bologna at the end of May. Any hotel suggestions?

[tupac17616]

Great to read your continued report!

I do remember trying Sacchero for gelato, but their gianduja was all I had, and it wasn't very memorable. The gelato at Golosi di Salute was quite good, very pure flavors. But my favorite gelateria in Alba was Gelatissimo, Piazza Navona 10b.

Speaking of sweets, next time in Alba I would recommend checking out Laboratorio di Resistenza Dolciaria, Via P. Ferrero 11. I can still taste that wonderful tart made with hazelnut paste (the owner's local answer to marzipan) and robiola cheese. Owner is a really nice guy, as well.

The food at Vincaffe was actually pretty decent for the most part, though we were there mostly for the wine. A very pleasant surprise, though, was their battuta al coltello. Raw veal with olive oil, salt, and lemon juice, served atop baby arugula. Simple and delicious.

Would love to check out La Libera and Osteria dell'Arco next time around.

Thanks for sharing your travels with us!

[Michael M]

Sadly, Il Laboratorio di Resistenza Dolciaria was closed when we were there. Gelatissimo must have been closed as well, or we didn't run into it; perhaps next time! Thanks for the additional places. I can't imagine anyone not liking La Libera - when you visit, post here! I'd love to know about their seasonal menu changes.

[PaoloF]

For wine lovers, we had planned tastings at two different wineries, Rocche dei Manzoni and Marchesi di Gresy. I've loved their wines for years, and the experience at both places was excellent. The cellarmaster at M di G is from New Zealand, so English is not a problem for those concerned.

I'm so glad you've met Jeffrey! He's a good friend of mine, as gentle as competent! Which were your favourite wines, apart of Barbarescos? I personally like the "Merlotdasolo" and the outstanding Barbera d'Asti "Monte Colombo"...

[Michael M]

We bought some of the Camp Gros Martinega and Gaiun Barbaresos, both 2001's, I think, as well as the Monte Columbo. I didn't try their Merlot, but was really taken with the typical varieties there (including their regular Barbaresco and Barbera).