Road House Chow: Eating Well in Italy's Emilia-Romagna Region

One of the great things about traveling through Italy without a guidebook is the availability of great food when you're not exactly expecting it. We were on a discovery expedition, searching for Romanesque churches south of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region when Martha pulled the Peugeot into the parking lot of a roadside restaurant called La Vallata. There was nothing about the externals of La Vallata that could possibly convince you that it was a temple of gastronomy, including, happily, the prices. But the food!

We ordered antipasti, but they were out of "champignons," the commercial white mushrooms that came on one of the dishes we ordered (and for which the Italians have adopted the French title). Not to worry, our waitress mentioned, fresh porcini were available. Well, there's a substitution I could live with. So I had a "Insalata di Porcini Freschi," a salad of thinly sliced fresh porcini, celery, and curls of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese--a great dish for a hot day. Martha had the Caponata di Verdure, an eggplant and red pepper dish which was also refreshing.

Then there's the chef's special pasta you see in the picture above. That's my Gocce Rosa, red tortelloni stuffed with radicchio and speck, the smoked prosciutto from the north, in a cream sauce showered with poppy seeds. Martha had squash-filled totelloni with a topping of shaved parmigiano, zucchini and balsamic vinegar. Each dish was also garnished with a flourish of real balsamic vinegar, not that industrial dreck you buy at the supermarket, but the thick, complex, slightly sweet, well-aged vinegar Modena is known for. The pastas were a bargain--a mere 6.50 € each. Still, it was way too hot to order a secondo.

So if you're ever south of Modena in the Emilia Romagna, the little village of Piantacroce Pavullo and the Ristorante La Vallata awaits your hunger.

Get More Travel Information: Emilia-Romagna Map | Eating Out in Italy - The Italian Meal