The Mayor of Bologna Virginio Merola declared on Twitter: “Speaking of fake news, spaghetti alla bolognese does not exist.” And the British tabloid Daily Mail reposted it in huge letters, saying that the mayor is sick of hearing tourists order an imaginary dish. But someone somewhere must have created this recipe, considering how famous it’s become. “It exists all right, at least since 1586,” says lawyer Gianluigi Mazzoni, a scholar of traditions. “It was an everyday dish, seasoned with sauce left over from the Sunday lunch, plus sausage and peas.” Indeed, denying such an international brand would be a shame, so along with other supporters, Mazzoni filed the recipe with a notary public, created the site spaghettibolognesi.it and invited everyone to come taste the dish at Adesso Pasta in Via IV Novembre.
Tradition? It’s in the books
Some people from Bologna are obsessed with culinary philology. How should tortellini be folded? How do you make lasagna? It’s all written down in the documents registered by the Italian Academy of Cuisine at the Chamber of Commerce: 30 recipes from proper dimensions of tagliatelle, filed in 1972, to spaghetto con il tonno (spaghetti with tuna) or strichetto bolognese (pasta created with the scraps of the pasta sheets), the most recent entry of June 2019.
Tortellini and cocktails
But who goes to the trouble of pulling a single ribbon of tagliatelle from its ragù to ensure it’s exactly 0.3 inches wide or 12,270th part of Asinelli Tower's height? Some like their tagliatelle thicker, some like them with a rougher texture. Fortunately, there’s no law when it comes to flavor. Every cook has his formulas, and Bruno Barbieri’s recipe for tortellini with parmesan cheese sauce is definitely magical. At Fourghetti, his bistro with a bar, five rooms of contemporary design and young staff, tradition seems to have disappeared. Yet his tortellini evoke perennial flavors, even with an unusual cocktail (the Old Bo is ideal) and followed by a Michelin-starred dessert like the Coppa Machiavelli, which you can enjoy here, that way avoiding an expensive bill (about €60 here for a three-course meal).
Stories, not words
Millennials love lasagna and zuppa inglese, but not culinary bickering or long meals like at endless wedding banquets. With four forkfuls and an Instagram Story they express their thoughts concisely. But they’re willing to stand in line for an hour at Pasta Fresca Naldi in Via del Pratello to order gramigna (green pasta) with ragù, and then sit and eat it at the bar across the street with wine, beer and, yes, even Coca-Cola.
Lighten up!
“Tradition is not a limit, but a stepping stone,” says Lorenzo Costa, who grew up in the world of starred restaurants, with his parents working in the field. He left years ago, and opened Oltre together with chef Daniel Bendanti. “Our kitchen looks to the future: we are faithful to the recipes, and manic about ingredients and techniques. Today a dish must be 100% digestible, whether it’s a meatball with the typical friggione (a peasant side dish with stewed onions), or a cutlet with ham and cheese, or a meat dish whose original recipe is cooked in lard.” Everything seems to be entirely correct: “We don’t replace the sauces with foams, we don’t reconstruct dishes. Our dishes are recognizable and comforting. Clear broth, precise cooking techniques, strict recipes.” And, of course a wide range of wines. “We are modern, each table has a formula choice: one course and a glass of wine for €20 or 10 tasting dishes with a wine for each dish.”
Market shopping like in the old days
Today’s buzzwords are quality, sustainability, short supply chain. You want to know what’s on your plate. “Let me tell you how good dishes are prepared,” says Stefano Corvucci, chef at CIBO - Culinary Institute BOlogna, a cooking school and restaurant. “You have to buy good ingredients, and you can find everything at the Mercato di Mezzo.” What’s important in the “quadrilatero dei golosi” (which can be translate it as the Gourmand Quarter), or ancient food shopping district of Bologna, is not the historical shops dating back to half a century ago and 18th-century bills on display. Stefano orders chicory, the last artichokes, strawberries, the perfect cuts of meat for ragù and the tortellini filling. “Forget philosophy. Today, meat sauce is done cooking in two hours, where once it took ten because they used to use scrap meat.” Meanwhile, he rolls out the dough like an expert.
Bike ride to the food park
There’s another young man rolling out pasta dough at the pasta factory in FICO, the Eataly educational-food park founded by Oscar Farinetti in the city’s former fruit and vegetable markets. It takes muscle to roll out a nearly transparent dough (in theory, while looking through it you should be able to see the Sanctuary of San Luca, but it may not always be on the horizon). FICO has been created so that you can see the production of food from the plant to the fork. There are 40 factories, from IGP mortadella to organic fruit juices, restaurants, and then gardens, olive groves, vineyards, pigs, horses, donkeys, sheep and goats. The best way to go shopping there is to rent a bike with a basket at the entrance.
Vegan, sustainable and beautiful
Bologna is sensitive to sustainability, for a question of taste. It’s hard to go back to eating packaged cookies after tasting Maurizio Mortani’s vegan cookies at the Mercato Ritrovato on Saturday mornings (Piazzetta Pasolini). The market attracts casual families on bikes with children, and even elegant gentlemen, all coming to buy strictly organic foods. The cliché that only freaks and weirdos want to eat natural foods has finally passed. “The eye wants to be pleased too,” says Anna Artesiani, thoroughly convinced of this after opening the vegan restaurant Botanica Lab, when she opened a cafe featuring exotic plants, vintage sofas and a food offering – including avocado sandwiches and raspberry tarts – that makes you drool just looking at it all. Many of her recipes are raw. “If you tell people, they freak out, considering it a sort of punishment. But if something is good, it just is, and that’s all there is to it,” Anna concludes. Her dream is to sooner or later be free of the label. It would also be a big step forward for gastronomy.
Raise your palates high
At Cambio and Vicolo Colombina, Massimiliano Poggi offers traditional cuisine. But at Trebbo di Reno he shows a more innovative side in his restaurant. “Divertiti” (have fun) is the recommended menu, with five courses. First Insalata Russa (drops of vegetable in cream, sour cream and trout caviar prepared by hand with tools suited for microsurgery). Then Pasta e Medicina (the delicious onions from the town called Medicina). Conserva di Pomodoro (tomato preserves) with raw cod follows. Then Le Mie Radici (my roots), evoking memories of boiled meat on Sunday: Beef Tartare with Pickles, Root and Radish Salad, with a Sinew and Parsley Sauce. Mini Zuppa Inglese (trifle) and Mini Crema di Latte (creamed milk) to finish off perfectly.
Aurora Mazzucchelli is the chef of Ristorante Marconi; she began cooking with her father as a young girl and grew up to win a Michelin star in 2008 and a place in the prestigious Atelier des Grandes Dames Veuve Clicquot. The dining room is managed by her brother Massimo and sister Mascia, where together they have created a contemporary restaurant with eight well-separated tables, large windows, a garden and an herbal tea station.“I am not an advocate of 0-km food, but I feel it is necessary to know and use the excellent products of the area.”
Still, the Mazzucchellis were losing touch with the people of Sasso Marconi because of their high-end cuisine. So they created Forno Mollica, a bakery that also serves long-rising pizzas. “We are open from breakfast, and even if at first I didn’t even know my neighbors’ names, now I also know how they order their coffee!” Massimo concludes proudly.
Pizza and bread
The success of Berberè artisanal pizzeria began in Bologna. Now there are ten restaurants in Italy and two in London. The organic taste workshop Zazie network is from Bologna, and now has workshops in nine cities. The same goes for Forno Brisa, with four shops for bread, pastries and coffee. These three start-ups were opened by university graduates who succeeded by following three basic, shared principles: good, healthy and beautiful.
Pasquale Polito, a geography major from Abruzzo, was homesick for the bread he ate at home – to the point where he learned how to make it by watching video tutorials on YouTube and reading the Sorelle Simili’s book on bread. The results were impressive: word began to spread in his neighborhood that he made delicious bread, and people began ringing his doorbell to buy it. He then specialized in bread-making in Pollenzo, and along with some fellow students opened the first Forno Brisa, which makes bread with “gentle flours” that are technically not for bread-making, but are much more digestible – to every customer’s delight.
Time for a drink
How could we avoid discussing mixology? Word of mouth in Bologna will immediately take you to I Conoscenti, another young start-up under the porticoes of Via Manzoni. The popular drink Serendipity is served with a steamed bun and pan of ragù, embracing its Bolognese roots even in front of a floral-based gin drink. The bar is at the entrance, and almost hidden in back is a dining room with an open kitchen. Chef Salvatore Amato is from Puglia, offering more unusual dishes: Tri-color Risotto and Sturgeon in a Lemon Crust, all lightly and carefully prepared.
Among books or under the stars
As you can imagine, there’s much more to taste in Bologna than a mortadella sandwich: the rite now demands it be accompanied by Berlucchi sparkling wine at Pigro Mortadelleria, behind San Petronio Cathedral. And there’s so much to see, from the Archaeological museum to the graffiti in Via del Pratello.
You’ll need at least two or three days to really get to know the city. It’s best to book a hotel in the city center and explore it under the porticoes (38 km nominated for Unesco World Heritage protection). There’s no shortage of places to say. B&B Bibliò with six bedrooms and shelves full of books is in a residential building could be perfect for living like a local.
At the other end of the spectrum there’s the Grand Hotel Majestic già Baglioni, with newly renovated rooms and a restaurant with frescoes by the Carracci brothers, where the chef Cristian Mometti alternates local Romagna cuisine with that of the Veneto region, including passatelli and stockfish tortelli, zuppa inglese and meringue with hazelnut crumble and red fruit sorbet.
The Majestic is a historical hotel in Bologna, and has always been the trendiest hotel in the city. There’s an endless line of teens outside, ready to snap a shot with their cell phones. But who are they waiting for? “Shawn Mendes, the Canadian singer,” says the coated doorman, holding off the crowd. He’s used to it: celebrities always book there when staying in Bologna.
Photo by Monica Vinella