I’m considering hitting 4 bucket list restaurants along the route from Milan to Venice, flying into one and out of the other, before heading off the to Croatian coast for R/R. Does anyone have any feedback on these?
Da Vittorio
Dal Pescatore
Lido 84
Le Calandre
Others somewhat in the area but further out:
St. Hubertus
Hisa Franko
Schloss Schauenstein
Osteria Francescana (Already been there; frankly thought it was just okay)
Also open to hearing about others in the area or perhaps there’s a better condensed area with better bucket list restaurants elsewhere in Europe, perhaps Lyon area or SW Germany/Belgium (excluding San Sebastián as I go there often). Thank you.
We have friends in a town of 30,000 that is just West of Parma called Fidenza. It is on the main train line that goes from Milan to Rome. We have been going there to visit for more that 30 years. On our first visit ate at a modest place called Antica Trattoria al Duomo, and we thought, "Wow this pasta is really good. " On every visit since we have eaten there. Our last meal there was December 9, 2022. We had Salumi misti, mixed cold cuts, with torta frita, fried dough that puffs up into a balloon, and pasta. Mine was fettuccine with porcini, prosciutto, and spinach. Delicious! A few days latter there was a piece in the local newspaper with a photo that chef Alain Ducasse who had come to Antica to learn to make pasta and see the equipment. I knew the pasta was really good but to have the most famous chef in the world (according to Google) come there to learn was a surprise. In the past the town had two tourist attractions, the Duomo, a church from the 1100s that is on the Via Francigena pilgrimage road, and the Magnani Theatre, which looks like a mini La Scala from the mid 1800s. Now I guess there is a third tourist attraction, Antica Trattoria al Duomo. I guess we will need to make reservations in the future.
About 5 km from Ai Due Platani is another favorite. Ristorante Mora is almost hidden. You can be right in front of it and not know it is there. A Parma native living in California told me about it. He said that the tortelli was better than his mothers (But don’t tell her I said that.)
If you want to go on a weekend make a reservation
Ristorante Mora, Via Padre Angelo Rouby, 43123 Porporano PR, Italy +39 0521 641141
South of E70, sort of in the middle of nowhere is Locanda Belvedere. If you are going on a Sunday make a reservation. Eat on the terrace under the Linden trees. It is the Italy Americans dream about.
Loc Santa Lucia Monti, 12, 37067, 37067 Valeggio sul Mincio VR, Italy https://www.ristorantebelvedere.eu/
I have to admit that I am much more likely to order Filetto di Cavallo than Grilled Horse Filet. Call me squeamish if you must.
I had it in Croatia a time or two and it was only ok at its best, though.
I am having trouble finding Antica Trattoria al Duomo online, I hate to ask but has it closed or is it under a different name now? It is probably just my poor net skills, but it keeps redirecting to Fratelli Gnocchi in Fidenza, which has a takeout menu prominently posted and the photos of the book shelf and the bald chef seem to match…
Exactly. When I follow the map link from the Fork for Antica Trattoria it takes me to Fratelli though Google Maps shows Antica’s sign in the photo. Again, I am probably overthinking this, but I was trying to save it to my Google Maps favorites and I have a habit of botching IT stuff of late.
Id expect the pandemic changed lots of things includiing business models and who knows, in this part of Italy many of the older folks were lost. But it looks like the Trattoria is open!
The Veneto area is a horse area. Horse racing etc. Between Padua and Venice is
Antica Trattoria Al Bosco
via Valmarana, 13
35020 Saonara (PD)
TEL+39 049 640021
another excellent place in the middle of nowhere that serves a lot of horse.
Foal, young horse, is called “Puledro”
Their puledro filet was excellent when I had it. Foal Tartare which they will completely at most horse butchers was particularly good here as well. I don’t know if it is still in the Slow Food guide, but it was when I ate there.
Trattoria al’Isola, Verona is a really nice informal slowfood place and has a tasty passtisada al cavallo (horse stew) dish among other local speciaties. It was my first experience of horse and I liked it very much.
You will also find horse and donkey (asino) dishes on the menue in Mantova, a great town to visit foodwise and otherwise.
We enjoyed Ai due platani too, but just not as memorable as some others. The two that come to mind are…
Hosteria Giusti in Modena - An old Salumeria with about 4 tables in the back one can reserve for lunch. Years after our lunch it was featured on Master of None, Season 2
Antica Corte Pallavicina - A Culatello producer near Cremona. A 14th century castle thats also a hotel. One Michelin star
these are both super, fond recollections. Giusti especially, reserve. One thing to always try in this region as an antipasto is the gnocco frito (fried bread - called by several different names) with the local charcuterie, lardo, prosciutto, etc. I swoon over this.
The only ones on this list that are on my personal wish list are dal Pescatore and Osteria Francescana. I tried and tried to figure out how to get to the former on public transport one summer, but all the options required a long walk in the hot sun!
LIdo 84 is in a town we spend time at annually on Lake Garda, but there are very good local cooks there which draw me more than this style at a more tolerable price point. Maybe I should consider agaiin?
Ziggy and Jen (and Peter) have enjoyed your CH postings over the years - happy to find you here…
We have loved Antica Corte Pallavicina over the years - a special treat was a Gastromomia
.Gathering Evening event - several courses of food and wine pairing from various chefs and Massismo in the cellars adjacent to the culatello cellars - fabulous annual event. (not sure if available post covid). Don’t miss the new(er) Culatello Museum on the premises.
Our Guisti lunch in Modena was FABULOUS, but a must do with reservations - took us a few trips to make it happen time wise. Have been twice. Love strolling through the deli kitchen to the intimate restaurant in the back. You can also book a wine tasting in the adjacent cellar. If you don’t miss the Giusti Balsamic Museum (same family), sign up for the tours - free at the time- learning a great deal…we went there prior to enjoying our Giusti lunch. Santa stuffs our stockings each year with Giusti Balsamic Vinegar (3 medals available in the states)…our suitcases always carry back home 1-2 bottle of Giusti 5 medal Balsamic.
Here is one more that is excellent. We ate there 30 years ago and then again last Thanksgiving weekend, and it is still excellent. Although it was nearly empty the first time and really crowded last November.
This one is in Madonna Prati , which is just a bend in the road East of Busseto, but it does come up on Google Maps.
Trattoria Campanini
Via Roncole Verdi 136,
Phone +39 0524 92569
30 years ago we had the whole 9 yards, Salumi with torta frita, Primi. Secundi, Dolce, and grappa to kick start our livers. We went back to out hotel, but at 3am we needed to go for a walk. Who should we meet in the street, but the friends we ate with who also decided they need a walk at 3am. I think few people still eat like that now.
About a million years ago I came across a Google map that someone had created. The map shows all the Slow Food restaurants in Northern Italy from whenever it was made. Now understand that many of these restaurants are no longer Slow Food designated. But over the years using this map I have never had a bad meal at any of these places marked. The way to use it is to click on an indicator and the address will popup. Then you take it from there. In my opinion this map is a treasure and I salute the unknown person who created it as a near God. A few but not all of the restaurants that I have recommended I found here. So take a look:
