There’s really no reason to put Bagnocavallo – not far from Ravenna and Faenza in Emilia Romagna – on your itinerary. Unless your Italy travels must include good eating. In such case, you might wish to detour to this small town of about 16, 000 residents, characterized by those porticoes, so typical of towns in this central Italy region….just to eat in a small osteria there.
We were there on an icy January day so that Pino could check out a restoration project his team is bidding. Streets were empty and there were no ristoranti in site. Then we spied an “osteria” sign dangling over a nondescript doorway under the portcoes bordering the main square.
Push open that door and you enter into a small, cheery yellow dining room where the works of a local artist decorate the walls: Osteria Malabocca. Not at all crowded, we headed to a small table near a group of businessmen feasting jovially on the local goodness.
Our server, Catia, brought us the menu and homemade breads in a wicker basket: rolls with anise seeds, breads with cheeses, others with walnuts.
And the menu she brought us stumped us with the array of creative choices.
And what to select? Leeks stuffed with local cheeses in creamy polenta? Or how about creamy chickpeas with sole and smoked pork cheek? Black gnocchi (made with cuttlefish ink) with spinach puree’? Pasta with lamb meat sauce, sangiovese wine and sun-dried tomatoes, topped with ground celery? Pork shank with fennel, candied carrots and anise? Duck with chocolate polenta and ratatouille of vegetables in port wine?
I chose the mezzalune (“half-moon”) ravioli stuffed with potatoes and green peppercorns, topped with radicchio sauce and pecans. Buonissimo!
Pino had a favorite simple dish: spaghetti aglio, olio, peperoncino:
..and then codfish flan topped with cauliflower puree’ and slivered chestnuts
A tasty salad to conclude:
As we left Osteria Malabocca, we stopped to view the jobsite needing restoration:
Let’s hope Pino wins the bid: I want to head back to eat in Bagnacavallo!
Click here to read about more good-eating with Pino on the road
Read about another good lunch on a restoration jaunt with Pino
Read about more good eating on a Pino trip for restoration – in Abruzzo
Click here for a note on a Latium jaunt – and local cuisine
Many an Abruzzo trip with Pino has included a lunch stop here
Read about Emilia Romagna’s capital, Bologna, called “la città del cibo”
Read about more good eating in Reggio Emilia
Click here for more on Reggio’s good eating
Read about Ferrara, another Emilia Romagna gem
Read about Emilia Romagna goodness near Faenza
Read more on a culinary specialty of Emilia Romagna
