Parma's PARIZZI will put you in heaven(7-3-19)

Our last night on land was in Parma before we headed to board the ship here in Venezia(where we depart shortly). It was one of the best meals we had at the Michelin starred PARIZZI named for the chef Marco Parizzi. We arrived to a small space with an outdoor bar and a woman escorted in through an electronic door which opened into a series or larger (air conditioned) rooms with chic modern décor such as a gold leaf wall, grey walls and modern art. I loved the comfy tables and chairs with purse stands next to them and all the linens, silver and crystal were perfection.

Will & I ordered Campari and Tonics and Sam enjoyed his beer, a Peroni Grand Riserva Rossa. Amuses arrived with a plate of three parmigiana Reggiano waffles, which we wish we could have had for breakfast the next day as our hotel has a really lame buffet! For Sam and I (because we ordered meat) came an amuse of a "tomato" ball which was a doughy surprise with tomato flavor that I never really figured out, while Will had a nice amuse of marinated cuttlefish.

We ordered a bottle of local Albana 2015 from Villa Papiano called "Terra!" and our server Andrea, who was most informative and helpful explained it was very earthy and may have extra sediment. It was an intense, earthy biodynamic white that had 13% alcohol and was amazing with our starters. Will had the Raw & Marinated Fish Composition which Andrea explained had every kind of local fish you could wish for. My Grilled Quail with seasonal mushrooms included chanterelles and Sam had the Ravioli stuffed with Eggplant, Pine Nuts & Olives in a Tomato Concasse Sauce. The sauces were all rich and intense reductions giving amazing great flavor to every bite.

Next came pasta(Sam had two pasta courses) and Will stayed with fish with his Strichetti with Fish & Turnip Greens, while Sam and I both had the Conchiglione (huge snail shaped pasta) stuffed with Amatriciana sauce made of guanciale bacon and tomato and sprinkled with Pecorino cheese. They were all amazing, but Sam and I agreed that the Conchiglione had to win this round.

We moved on to an even more amazing red wine called "Nabucco" 2013 which Andrea said was one of his favorites in the restaurant and came from Monte delle Vigne(right in Parma); a blend of merlot and barbera it was surprisingly brilliant with the main courses of both fish and fowl. Despite the youth of both white and red wines, the legs on the glasses seemed to drag down forever!

Will had the superb fillet of Monkfish wrapped in potato with braised Artichoke and confit tomato, while both Sam and I moved onto fowl.

The Breast of Guinea Fowl was crusted with dry fruits and nuts and served with potatoes and spring onion in a sauce of passito wine and mushroom, and I had the Pigeon cooked two ways with confit and a breast with vegetables(dates, onion and radicchio) in papillote with olive sauce. I knew that this was the winner of our short week-long food competition!

When in Parma one must have cheese, but here it is not a regular cheese trolley or plate, it is a selection of three of the most amazing Parmigiano Reggiano cheeses on earth which were aged 18, 24 and 48 months respectively. They were all salty and crunchy to perfection and the maker were (respectively)Villa Curta, Boldini and Val Serena which makes the 48month using the Vaca Rossa or red cows that are so rare we almost never see this multi-star prize-winning cheese exported to our shores. A glass of Moscato Passito 2007 from Mario Sandri was golden hued and a gorgeous foil to the salty cheese...although we have learned to love the bubbly red Lambrusco from the region that everyone drinks with the Parmigiano and charcuterie.

The a/c was becoming a bit failed and the heat had mounted(my phone said 80degreesF) as the rooms had filled up with diners, although we were all so superbly spaced far from each other, so we decided to all share the Gelato di Nocciola which is prepared tableside. Chef Marco Parizzi appeared and in a flash when he saw how uncomfortable we were, whisked us to a cold room with stainless steel counter and prepared to make the gelato with his (apprentice)son, barely 9-10 years old. Father and son were adorable as the latter sprinkled a little liquid nitrogen on us to cool us off! The result was easily the best ice cream on earth with crunchy topping, sauce and that liquid gold hazelnut gelato we could not resist(hence my FB photo has a large chunk missing as I ate before I took the photo!). 

What a wonderful way to end our stay in Emilia Romagna where the food, wine and people are all so wonderful!

near Parma at I PIFFERI in Sala Baganza you get an authentic local experience and some near excellence(7-1-19)

I had decided to drive 20-25 minutes south of Parma based on the suggestion of several foodies and a friend from Firenze, so we hopped om the giant van and managed to get there quite quickly down some roads only slightly wider than the van(Yay WAZE!), and then on the return we took the main road as the traffic on them was gone, hence a really great drive and no pain on the narrow roads headed back!

The restaurant is in the middle of nowhere on the outskirts of the town of Sala Baganza and it sure wont win a prize for décor with outdoor tables under a gi white umbrella and really uncomfortable wooden chairs. We arrived at 730pm and not a soul was in sight as the Italians began to arrive about 45-90 minutes later! We were, however, the only non-Italians there, and the place was heaving when we left on a Tuesday night! We ordered a bottle of white Mavasia, as that is the local wine, and I chose the Otello (an opera by Verdi, of course) from Ceci, but was surprised to see it was sparkling when it came. It was refreshing and indeed the ideal wine with our starters as Will chose the Prosciutto di Parma et melone which was a huge plate of melt-in-your-mouth meat(good, but not as good as what I had the night before, or what we tasted in town at lunch that day at the "deli") paired with sweet curves of melon. I chose the Culatello di Zibello as I heard it is the best meat around here and aged 18 months by its maker "Ducale." It comes with puffy fried dough and it melted in my mouth like the butter on the dough. The culatello is less flavorful that the prosciutto, but more delicate and just as tasty. Samuel had the selection of vegetarian crostini: mushroom(which he passed to Will), spinach(pachino), tomato, zucchini and a vegetable mix.

Next came the pasta and Sam & Will both had the Ravioletti della nona ripieni con fonduta di Parmigiano con tartufi neri. The black truffles were shaved all over the rich cheese filled ravioli and the smell in the air was amazing, as was the dish. They both said it was the best pasta this trip so far. I had the Risotto alla zucca con gamberi e polveri all liquirzia(but I asked them to hold the licorice) which was a rich delicious dish with pumpkin and shrimp. The small pieces of pumpkin were cooked just al dente like the risotto making a wonderful pair combo with the tasty local shrimp.

We all decided to try the same thing for the main course which was a local traditional dish called Punta di vitello which was a delicious veal wrapped around a Parmigiano & egg stuffing that was indeed like the stuffing texture of that in turkey, but smoother. It came with rosemary potatoes which were nice, but I was craving a veggie by this point! Will & I tried the Motta 2016 Morellino di Scansano, a medium bodied red from Tuscany, which was nice with the veal. We had asked for time between the courses, and insisted on eating "lentamente" like the Italians, but that didn't work so well here. We were on the main road home before dark(like 930pm here) so it was a relatively early night and we could enjoy a Campari &Tonic back at the deserted hotel bar(a beer for Sam, since the drinking age here is 16!).

Tonight:Parma's one Michelin star Parizzi for our last meal before boarding the ship in Venice tomorrow.

IL TROVATORE in Parma puts out operatically (which can be good and bad!)(7-2-19)

We arrived in Parma after a long afternoon of touring the countryside(Dozza and Brisighella) and then hit a 30 minute traffic jam exiting the autostrada, so we wanted to eat and be near the hotel. The amanger suggested IL TROVATORE and how could I resist. We were ushered into a clean shiny room with no a/c, but at 730pm, we were the first to arrive, so it did get turned on and cooled down pretty fast.

A complimentary glass of prosecco arrived and a simple amuse of ricotta & paprika on bread. Sam & Will ordered their Moretti Grand Cru beers, but the waiter returned to say there was only one left. Will switched to a different and I could not resist a bottle of Malvasia "Callas" 2015 from Monte delle Vigne in Emilia Romagna which was refreshing and citrus intense.

Appetizers were a melt in your mouth 30 month aged Prosciutto di Parma with pickled vegetable giardinera, Piemonte Beef Tartare with Lambrusco jelly and dressings and Octopus on cream of Aubergine with Straciatella di Bufala(which was a bit dry, EVOO could have fixed that).

Pasta courses were Tortelli (ravioli)of ricotta and chard in butter and parm sauce and a delish Lentil flour Tagliatelle with Rabbit in Apple cider sauce that was most delicate and light(welcome with the large main dishes to follow).

Mains were Lamb chops with mustard breadcrumbs and Potato Dauphinois that came past the medium rare requested, Tuna steak with basmati rice, arugula and dressing(but missing the arugula!). My Mix Grilled Crustaceans was the big winner with grilled shrimp, half a Ligurian sea lobster, shrimp and langoustines all with a prawn bisque dipping mayo. YUM. Some veggies would have been nice, but I did get them with the ham!

For dessert we all agreed to split the Creme brulee with wild berry sauce which was three balls topped with crunchy sugar in a thick fresh berry pool of sauce that was quite good. A glass of Passito 2016 from Nes in Sicily was a nice bedtime treat as we walked around the corner back to our hotel and passed out quickly.

Tonight we head out of town to the tiny village of Sala Baganza...wish us luck.

Bologna's Cesarina, the last supper is okay but not super (7-1-19)

We settled into to another outdoor table at Cesarina seated facing the busy street and the magnificent church complex of Santo Stefano(siete chiese). Sam ordered their Grand Cru Moretti beer and Will & I had a bottle of Pignoletto Superiore "Sasso Bacco" DOC 2016 from Cinti, of course in Emilia Romagna. We started with some okay fried pumpkin flower fritters.

I had been waiting to order Tortellini in Brodo and here they were delish, even on a hot evening. Will had a gorgeous salad of avocado, shrimp, cherry tomatoes and buffala mozzarella. Sam of course had the traditional Tagliatelle alla Bolognese, which was also Will's main course. My main was a yummy Cotoletta alla Bolognese which was a decent veal scallopine layered with Prosciutto and Parmigiano. I ordered what I thought was a glass of wine for 13Euros and it turned out to be a 1/2 bottle of Trebbiano from Zerbina 2018 DOC "Ceregio Bianco" which was ideal with my veal.

For dessert we shared the yummy Crema Fritta or flan fried doughnuts.

The service was a bit lacking, the pasta superb as was the salad and we wanted a bit more on our last night here than a waiter who looked like Lurch (from the Adams Family) and grunted like him as well!