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.
