It's Wednesday. It’s drizzling and 54°F. Our apartment is scheduled to be cleaned at 13:00, so we’re up by 11:00 and thinking about where we should go for lunch so that we've out of the house when its cleaned. There are a number of places we could go which we've eaten at before, but Cinzia wants to try something new. She checks TripAdvisor and sees good reviews for Trattoria Da Gianni. The restaurant is tucked away down a small alley just off the main piazza. We bundle up and make our way there trying to take advantage of as many porticos as we can.
We arrive at 13:00. There are 3 tables filled with people and another 5-6 empty and waiting for hungry diners. The staff greets us and takes our jackets and scarves. There’s a big blackboard filled with daily specials. Prices are a bit higher than most restaurants, but it’s a beautiful restaurant with white linens and tasteful décor. Cinzia spots an antipasta of lardo. We decide to split that. I see that they have a tagliatelle with lamb ragu on the blackboard and order that. Another blackboard item is a “lasagnette” made with radicchio instead of meat. Cinzia decides to give that a try along with a half bottle of Sangiovese.
The lardo is very good. The thin sheets are translucent and appear to be melting on the plate. It’s served with small warm toasts. Parts of the lardo melt into the toast and the rest melt on your tongue. This is the best we've had on this trip by far. The waiter brings our pasta and produces a 1 kilo chunk of Parmigino-Reggiano to grate on top. Once our pasta is white with cheese we dig in. My pasta is great. The homemade tagliatelle is thin, delicate, and has a great mouth-feel. Cinzia's lasagnette is piping hot, cheesy, and delicious. By now it’s 13:30 and the restaurant is full and turning away customers as the kitchen closes at 14:00. (The kitchens here in Italy seem to be staffed by some sort of chef union members. I've seen the chef leave well before the restaurant closes. And here in Trattoria Da Gianni the chef departed at 14:14, leaving any last minute orders for his sous chef to prepare.)
Some of their desserts are displayed atop a counter and I see a footed jar with 7 pears in a red sauce. I order that and Cinzia tries an amaretto mouse with hot chocolate accompanied by a Passito dessert wine. Both are wonderful. We enjoy our lunch and Cinzia finishes it off with a café. We liked Trattoria Da Gianni so much we make dinner reservations for next Wednesday – our last night in Bologna.
The lardo is very good. The thin sheets are translucent and appear to be melting on the plate. It’s served with small warm toasts. Parts of the lardo melt into the toast and the rest melt on your tongue. This is the best we've had on this trip by far. The waiter brings our pasta and produces a 1 kilo chunk of Parmigino-Reggiano to grate on top. Once our pasta is white with cheese we dig in. My pasta is great. The homemade tagliatelle is thin, delicate, and has a great mouth-feel. Cinzia's lasagnette is piping hot, cheesy, and delicious. By now it’s 13:30 and the restaurant is full and turning away customers as the kitchen closes at 14:00. (The kitchens here in Italy seem to be staffed by some sort of chef union members. I've seen the chef leave well before the restaurant closes. And here in Trattoria Da Gianni the chef departed at 14:14, leaving any last minute orders for his sous chef to prepare.)
Some of their desserts are displayed atop a counter and I see a footed jar with 7 pears in a red sauce. I order that and Cinzia tries an amaretto mouse with hot chocolate accompanied by a Passito dessert wine. Both are wonderful. We enjoy our lunch and Cinzia finishes it off with a café. We liked Trattoria Da Gianni so much we make dinner reservations for next Wednesday – our last night in Bologna.