Last night we had a wonderful dinner at Ristorante Donatello (Via Augusto Righi, 8, 40126 Bologna BO) at the suggestion of our friend Dominic. We had a luscious meal and a very interesting experience.
Patrice tried to order the “Three Pastas”, a dish that allows you to choose three different kinds of pasta to enjoy. The waiter informed us that this was an order for a minimum of 3 people so we had to choose something else. While waiting for our meals another couple was seated next to us and they too tried to order the “Three Pastas” selection and were given the same advice. We joked if they had been a little earlier we could have ordered it together. They further considered their choices and then the wife said, “He will eat two portions and we will have the “Three Pastas”. Sure enough, the three pastas came out and they proceeded to down the whole thing. Next, the waiter brought them a large meat and potato dish and they devoured most (but not all) of that. We were done with our meal but I had to wonder if they ordered anything else. We thought we were overdoing it by ordering an appetizer to share and two entrees. Their 4 entrees (and possibly more) put us to shame.
As you can see we were overmatched by these 3 reasonably sized dishes. Our new friends were in a league of their own.
Just in case we didn’t have enough food yesterday we arranged to have a cooking lesson today. Pietro, our guide and instructor, met us at the hotel at 9:00 and escorted us to the local market. He had all sorts of interesting information to pass along. The market was quite a scene with hanging meats and a variety of cheeses to choose from. We bought the necessary ingredients and then headed to the cooking school.
Pietro then taught us the ins and outs of making pasta. It was fascinating. After the lesson was completed we got to enjoy the fruits of our labor, I mean we got to enjoy the pasta of our labor. The meal was delicious and Pietro said we did an excellent job of producing the pasta ……… for beginners.
If you are going to be in Bologna and would like to learn how to make pasta contact Barbara Zaccagni at Il Salotto di Penelope by calling +39 348 8713781 or find them through Trip Advisor or their website (https://ilsalottodipenelope.it/en/home-2/). Tomorrow we leave Bologna and head for Venice. On the way we are going to visit Ferrari and see if we can get a deal on a new car.
Ciao
Robert Reiss Travel Blog and Other Ramblings 