Curious Appetite

pasta

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

Ciao Firenze, off to Bologna! (this is just a test)

One of the reasons to move to Bologna- don’t need umbrellas when you have portici (archways) for miles

I’ll be in Bologna for a month- to experience a new Italian city and learn everything possible about the cuisine of the Emilia-Romagna! This is the stuff Italian food dreams are made of!

A lot of people ask “so what brought you to Florence?” and the answer is essentially I’d always wanted to move to Italy and work in food and wine. They also ask “what’s your blog all about?” This blog is about where & drink eat but also about an American-born food enthusiast who moved to Italy from Seattle. In the past, I never thought anything more of Florence than a touristic city and was surprised to learn it was indeed a pretty cool place to live. Continue Reading

A Florentine week of eats: countryside, street food and aperitivo

In the last week in Florence, I have been overwhelmed by flavor. Overwhelmed by the beauty of my surroundings. I have decided, being in Seattle for the last several months was nothing but good. Now, I can appreciate my surroundings (and tastes) with a clean slate or yet- a fresh palate. It is good to take breaks from monotony. Think of places which have summer year round due to being near the equator, do you think people there appreciate the beach and sun as say those living in Germany?

Without further rambling, here are some new food findings I have discovered in Florence thus far: Continue Reading

Food and Community- examples from Emilia-Romagna

As part of a monthly bloggers group I am apart of, Italian Food and Wine Travel, we journey through the world of Italian Food and Wine, one region at a time. This month the topic is Emilia-Romagna and in the past for this blogger’s group, I’ve written quick cheese guides. This month however, I decided to dive a little deeper and closer to my blogging roots. And that is- cross cultural examinations and analyzing food ways.

I have been in Seattle for nearly 6 months after a very challenging 2.5 years of establishing a life in Florence. I am just a few weeks away from being back in Florence after this little hiatus and I have been busy reflecting and observing my home country in comparison to my new one. Continue Reading

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