Best of Bologna

A simple, authentic, traditional Trattoria Bolognese, with the daily menu handwritten on whiteboards, photos of famous actors and singers from way back that used to be regulars, and wine by consumption, as in they set a bottle of housewine on your table and they charge you based on how much you drank. This is a great place to order a delicious lasagna, just beware and don’t make my same mistake… Lasagna in Bologna is traditionally made with green pasta dough, green from spinach. I made the mistake of ordering it and double-checking with the server whether or not it was green. He was absolutely appalled that I would ask such a thing: “of course it’s green!”. It was also delicious. Also delicious: - tortellini in brodo: tiny meat-filled pasta in capon broth; - tagliatella speck e funghi: tagliatelle pasta with pork cured meat and mushrooms; - gnocchi with blue cheese (gorgonzola) and walnuts; - stinco al forno: roast pork shank; - salsiccia alla griglia: grilled sausage; - faraona: guinea fowl; - stewed beans; - roast potatoes; - torta di riso: rice cake; - panna cotta.

This restaurant is very dear to my heart. I first visited it in 2016 when I spent a day in Bologna with my late father, who taught me that, oftentimes, the best resource for food recommendations is an elderly person sitting at a bar reading a newspaper - that is how we found this place. This is one of those restaurants where you walk in and are immediately overwhelmed by photos of all the celebrities that have ever stepped foot through its doors. It's one of those restaurants where the server is actually the same person who handrolled the pasta early that morning, where the menu isn't written but is blurted out at your table based on what is available that day. Most likely they'll offer different kinds of pasta to combine with different kinds of sauces, listen closely, and don't hesitate to ask them to repeat if necessary.

Refined Bolognese cuisine in a chic environment, also well-known for its cocktaiil bar. From their website: "We are not just a restaurant. Our thinking goes beyond simple table service. We live by experiences of excellence and results that can enhance our territory, as well as give dignity to a sector debased and relegated to commonplaces consolidated over time. We embed tradition in a contemporary setting. The approach to the guest is tailored, it's like having twelve tables in twelve different restaurants. The search for wine is incessant with a preference for artisans who respect nature. We live our work every day as the most beautiful game that can exist. We think that the latest form of innovation is to honor tradition. For us, innovating means being deeply aware of who we are and where we come from, studying our roots and gastronomic habits to make them contemporary. Our task is to translate classic recipes into an avant-garde context for thanks the territory that hosts us every day. The updaing does not pass through the reinterpretation of the recipes that are seen by us as dogmas, but through the approach that we employ every day towards work. When tradition is not experienced as a limit, it becomes a springboard towards the future. We accompany you season after season in a new way of conceiving the drink: celebrating the processes more than the final result. The result is an intersection of intuition, a search for forms and materials that does not stop at the single ingredient. We do not refer to a path tasting, each drink follows a logic of its own, which is why our menu is not bound to market logics, rather than external thoughts or philosophers of any kind." Book waaaaay in advance.

Stop by Salumeria Simoni for a quick and easy lunch. Purchase freshly-sliced local salumi like mortadella and culatello, soft cheeses and bread or "crescentine", a kind of fried dough. Also featured on Stanley Tucci's show "Searching for Italy".

One of the few pizza joints in Bologna to have "Tre Spicchi Gambero Rosso" ("three slices" out of three for one of Italy's most respected food magazines). In the heart of the university neighborhood, Berberè has decided to focus on a lean but well-studied menu, a very digestible pizza, made with few, high quality ingredients. You can choose between different kinds of dough: traditional with mother yeast, hydrolysis method without yeast, or their daily special. Recommended pizzas: - Salina capers, Torre Guaceto tomato, oregano, basil, fiordilatte mozzarella and black pepper, - mortadella Zivieri, roast potatoes, fiordilatte mozzarella, pesto, - sauteed black cabbage, fiordilatte mozzarella, provolone cheese and mustard, - cooked ham, stracciatella, fiordilatte mozzarella and orange-scented olive oil, -'nduja (Calabrese spreadable spicy salame), tomato, smoked ricotta and lemon zest. Differently from most other pizzerie in Italy, Berberè arranges their toppings so they're the same on every pizza slice, which makes it great for sharing. To accompany the pizzas, take a look at their craft beers and the selection of organic and biodynamic wines. EXTRA FUN: salsa verde, aioli, or 'nduja honey dipping sauce for the pizza crusts!