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Traveling Italy (Part 3) – Modena’s Hosteria Giusti

As people who claim to know anything about Italian cooking, it is not hard to imagine how we ended up in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy on our trip after loving the food and culture in the Amalfi Coast and the Tuscan wineries and restaurants. The Emila-Romagna is an area many famous Italian chefs, including Mario Batali, herald as one of the food capitals of the world.  The Emilia-Romagna, a rather wealthy area of Italy, is home to Bologna, a city that is responsible for both Bolognese sauce, which Italians call ragu, and to the cold cut that shares its name, which Italians call mortadella.  West of Bologna you will find Parma, home to the famous Parmigiana Reggiano cheese and to Prosciutto de Parma.  Between these two cities lies Modena, the birthplace of Balsamic vinegar.  With all of these culinary highlights, it is a wonder we didn’t spend our whole trip here!

Of all of the wonderful offerings of this region, I intend to dedicate the remainder of this post to just one room, in a tiny osteria in the city of Modena, hidden in the back of a little market, containing only four beautifully set tables, in which Adrian and I were served what must be the best meal we have ever eaten.  We would have never in a million years found this jewel of a restaurant had we not been led there by Mario Batali’s online guide to traveling in Italy.  His praise for the restaurant claims that if you are to travel to any one place in Italy, “it must be here.”  High marks from an iron chef who has made his career studying and preparing authentic Italian cuisine.  So we heeded his advice, and we went there.  And “there” was the highlight of our whole trip.

The market that sits in front of this hidden restaurant is called Macelleria de Guisseppe Guisti.  It is a small little market with an amazing selection of cured meats, cheeses, and jarred goods, as well as a nice variety of balsamicos. There is also a cafe next door, but don’t mistake this for the real jewel, which we only found when Adrian questioned the man servicing the meat counter about “l’hosteria?”.  The man replied, “si, si” and shuffled us behind the counter, through swinging doors and a dim hallway into a room that couldn’t have been more than ten meters in width and length.  It contained only four tables, two of which were occupied.  He seated us, and we smiled at each other victoriously, glad we hadn’t had much of a breakfast.

Our waitress, who we soon learned was the great, if not the great-great granddaughter of Guisseppe himself, spoke enough English to give us some insight into the menu and to recommend a local Lambrusco, a sparkling red wine, served chilled, that locals drink with everything.

Our plan of attack, since it was around one in the afternoon, was to just go for a big lunch and not have to eat for the rest of the day, if ever!  So we decided on sharing an antipasti, each ordering a primi piatti, and splitting a secondi.   For the first course we decided on a seasonal dish, a zucchini blossom, stuffed with simple risotto, dipped in a batter, fried to perfection, and drizzled (of course) with an aged balsamic vinegar.  It was absolutely divine.    The risotto stuffing was perfectly al dente and undoubtedly seasoned with Parmigiana, and the flavor of the zucchini blossom was the star of the dish.

For our pasta course, we went with one seasonal and one very traditional dish.  The waitress told us that they had “special” fresh ricotta, so I ordered the tortelloni with ricotta, spinach, and lemon zest that was lightly sauced with butter.  The dish was so fresh, and if you can imagine anything tossed in butter tasting light, that is the only way I can describe it.  The fresh pasta that encased the tortelloni was perfectly thin and cooked to perfection.

Adrian went with a regional specialty for his primi – Pappardelle con Guanciale, or thick cut pasta with the cured cheeks of the pig.  Again, the pasta was so perfect, it was almost the star of the dish, were it not for the unbelievable, rich and slow sauce.  We both reluctantly switched plates to sample each other’s, only to become increasingly confused about which dish to fight for.  Either one of these dishes would have certainly been the best pasta we had ever had.

For our secondi course, we opted for their house made sausage, which the waitress assured us was their specialty.  We decided to trust her on that, wisely.  The sausage was formed in perfect disc-shaped patties, coated in a light breading, and deep fried until it had a perfect golden crust to encase the savory juices within.  The sausages were accompanied by a perfect zabaglione, which is an incredibly light custard made with whipped egg yolks, sugar, and Lambrusco wine.  Having a sweet accompaniment to such a savory dish was surprising at first, but when we tasted them together, it was indescribably delicious.  Who ever thought of that should be knighted.

To finish the meal, we couldn’t pass on their homemade ice cream drizzled with a reserve aged balsamic vinegar, an absolute treat, after which we expected to have to request a wheel barrel to tote us out to the street.  Remarkably, though, we felt wonderful, which is a testament to the perfect portion sizes and simplicity of the food we had just eaten.  Or perhaps it was the ease on our wallet that left us feeling so great – the whole meal cost less than sixty Euros.

We left through the back door, which puts you at the very end of a long alley.  Just outside the door, accross the alley, there was a wine store that carried an innumerable collection of Italian wines.  The lights were low and no one was presently in the wine shop, but the door was open nonetheless, despite the fortune of wines within.  Only in Italy!  We were pleased at the opportunity to just snap a few photos and let the high from that most incredible meal carry us back to our hotel in Bologna.