Drogheria

Bologna, IT

Having been featured in the New York Times, Drogheria isn't exactly an unknown place, but it is a solid walk away from the city center down a quiet street seemingly far away from tourists. We had gone to Sorbetteria di Castiglione the night before, which was near by, so thankfully didn't get too lost. Turning the corner of a dimly lit street, suddenly you see twenty people and a dozen tables laid out on the sidewalk, with patrons, laughing, drinking, eating and enjoying life. 

Chilled white wine

Upon being seated for our 9:30 reservation, we were immediately served chilled white wine; crisp, easy to drink and delicious. The picture above is of the last bottle at the end of the night.

Appetizer

Then came the standard appetizer given to everyone, a plate of Mortadella, procuttio, salami, mozzarella. The mozzarella was clearly fresh, with a great bite and cool flavor to it. The standout cured meat was the procuitto which was the right balance of texture, cured saltiness and bite. I just really like that we were given these starters before ever getting a menu.

Local Red Wine

We were never given menus, but the owner came by with his notepad and asked in Italian if we wanted to hear the menu in Italian or English. A polite and kind thing for him to assume we might understand Italian. He was extremely friendly and patient with us and provided us some good recommendations including the local red wine. 

Lasagna

My lasagna was light and easy to eat. Not overly sauced like in the states, but a simple preparation using super thin layers of pasta and just enough classic Bolognese filling with ground meat. Amazingly light with depths of flavor and love built in. I guess that is what lasagna is supposed to taste like. The best part were the edges that are a little crispy and adds delicious texture.

Tortilacci with fresh ricotta and squash blossoms

Where lasagna is completely classic, the tortilacci offered a nice contrast as recommended by the owner. It was simply prepared, stuffed with fresh ricotta and topped by squash blossoms. I love squash blossoms and it's so refreshing to have it not fried, the only way you find it on a menu in the states. Because of this preparation, we were able to finally taste what squash blossoms are suppose to taste like. It was a very unique pasta, simple, fresh, and tasty. The ricotta filling was airy while never losing the flavor of the cheese itself. After seeing how it's produced at the Parmagianno-Reggiano factory, we have a deep appreciation for Italian prepared cheese. By the way, they left us a bowl of grated Parmiggiano-Reggiano for out pastas, a nice touch.

Beef fillet with balsamic

My secondi consisted of Beef fillet with balsamic with a side of potatoes and fresh vegetables. Since seeing how balamic tradizone was produced earlier that day, I was eager to see how it paired in the classic Bolognese steak dish. First off , the filet itself was huge, it had to be at least a 12 ounce cut, very generous. The flavor of the sauce itself was amazing, sweet and complex. Not what you would expect from a mass produced balsamic in the states. Although the meat quality was not as great as my florentine steak at tratorria Mario fours years before in Florence, the overall flavor of the dish was excellent.

Lobster

Chu-toro went with the lobster, mainly because the couple next to us had some shellfish course when we first arrived and it smelled amazing. We actually ended up ordering the wrong thing, that person had shrimps, but the lobster was great. The best part was actually the claws which is strange since you generally don't think that. But the meat from the claws was the juiciest, sweetest most succulent part of the small but filling lobster.

Fragola digestive

We were stuffed to the brim at this point and fairly drunk, so we needed to get back to the hotel to crash. However in typical Italian tradition, we could not leave without a digstive. Even though we didn't order it, we were given fragola liqure which came in a
beautiful bottle with tiny strawberries floating at the top. It was sweet to start and strong to finish. You could easily get hammered off it alone. After all that, two glasses of white wine, a bottle or Red, a glass of fragola liqure, an appertizer, two pastas and two secondis were were destroyed and stumbled back to our hotel after our best meal in Bologna. 

Overall 8/10

May 21, 2011