Curious Appetite

Bologna

Where to eat and drink in Bologna, Italy

if you are a first time visitor of my blog, I’m an American food & drink writer in Florence since 2012 but have spent considerable time in Bologna between Florence to research and continuously study its cuisine- which fascinates me to no end!

Out of which, a Bologna food tour was born and added to Curious Appetite’s bespoke gamma of small-group, 3 hour tasting tours focused on Florence. I sweat over many bowls of tortellini and slices of mortadella to make it perfect!

If you’re planning a visit, check out this food tour in Bologna (Led by a team of local, certified experts! I wish I could commute there every day to eat pasta and mortadella.) It’s also Lonely Planet-approved!

(Updated: April 2023 but first written in January 2017- due to the pandemic I have limited opportunity to check opening times, etc and also limited time in making this pristine with links and addresses. Drop me a line if there are significant changes you noticed or a listing I should add!)

I have however recently did an update for Eater for an Essential 18 (basically a round-up of must-eats, shops and drinks) It’s really hard to do a listicle of only 18 so this blog post fills in the gaps and offers more options for those who like to have them.

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Essential 18 Restaurants in Bologna, Italy for Eater

Hey there! I wanted to let you all know I am still alive even if my blog feels like it’s dying. I am not- it’s just my blog has become more of a chore than the hobby I used to love. But! When I can manage it, I do churn out some professional writing.

I’ve been taking a little hiatus from blogging and writing for more that the usual reasons which involve blaming my core business. It’s also due to the fact I’m updating the layout (exciting!) on the blog and trying to work on a writers block which has plagued me as a result to our current plague.

In any case- I hope you enjoy this update on Restaurants in Bologna for Eater. I also have this other blog post for where to eat, drink and gelato in Mortadella town which expands on more fantastic places to get calories vs a strict list of 18 (I stand by both listicles!)

As usual, I’m the most active on Instagram. (I wish TikTok would go away)

In your baloney trust,

Curious Appetite

Hey so want to experience food in Bologna like on a food tour? Peep this Lonely Planet-approved culinary adventure!

FICO Eataly World Opening & 18 Essential Restaurants in Bologna

Hello curious readers! The last few weeks I’ve retracted and kept my head down with various commitments. Some of which include writing about the opening of FICO Eataly World for Eater and researching dining in Bologna for an essential restaurants list.

Article links here if you’d like to cut to the chase:

The 18 Essential Restaurants in Bologna via Eater

Inside Eataly World, Italy’s Massive Food Theme Park 

If you’re curious about my unfiltered assessment on FICO and how I developed the Bologna dining guide- read on! Continue Reading

Last week in Bologna: pasta, palates and chefs

Appetizer: Parmesan Flan with local white truffles
Appetizer: Parmesan Flan with local white truffles

The last days in my month stint in Bologna were solid, mostly because I finally figured out how to get around without looking at a map and ate some of the best food to date. But also I made some final assessments of this town and the culture of life in Florence. My palate changed, my attitude towards Florence’s dining scene even more critical.

My lasting impression is this- in Bologna you eat better than in Florence, period. The food in Florence can be extremely disappointing and there are only a handful of eateries left where you eat truly well. It’s not that Florence doesn’t have amazing food from it’s traditional culinary repertoire, the problem is that the city doesn’t showcase it. Read old Tuscan/Florentine cookbooks like “Il Libro Vero della Cucina Fiorentina” by Paolo Petroni and you’ll find delicious dishes, most of which are non-existent on the majority of menus around town. Florence overall has sold out its dining scene to mass tourism, instead of saying “hey- we are proud of our cuisine and people should eat it or leave it!” These Florentine restaurateurs have underestimated the curiosity of foreign diners OR have surrendered to the incurious. Accept my apologies for constantly comparing Bologna and Florence, as it’s almost unfair, but allow me to indulge. Continue Reading

Week 2: more tortellini, cocktail fails and Bologna’s last Mortadella artisan

Pasquini’s Mortadella is hardly Bologna

Quick brief: I’m in Bologna for a month. So why you in Bologna? the food! change of scene! Putting my precious Italian degree into practice/remembering why I studied it in the first place- because I am fascinated by Italy! I wish I could immerse myself in ever major city/region like this for a month or 2!

Moving on…so part of the quest for this trip is to find the best tortellini in Bologna and to find someone willing to teach me how to make it. As in my last post, I’ve learned some clues as to what makes tortellini good, but wonder if I have a proper benchmark. In Florence, I’ve worked with cooking classes led by mammas and grandmas, some with Emilia-Romagna roots. Handmade pasta- down. But what about the broth or the filling? And even working with the culinary gatekeepers themselves, how does one really know a good tortellini? Is this truly a subjective quest? Continue Reading

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