More Pasta, More Ragu & Some Pizza – MI & BO

We ate pasta with ragu the first night, but just like gelato in Bologna, when it’s good, why not have more? People who say too much of good thing is bad are just dead inside.

The ragu at Trattoria Fantoni — a quaint, local restaurant with al fresco dining — was more simple and more finely textured than at Diana, but just as lovely. David ordered the tagliatelle al ragu (€6/$8) which was comprised of ragu with thick, homemade tagliatelle cooked extra al dente. At home, David would have complained if I made pasta that al dente, but in Bologna, he was content to do as the Bolognesi do.

I had the tortelloni al ragu (€6/$8), ricotta-filled pasta morsels also cooked very al dente under a generous pile of rich, umami-intense ragu.

After pasta and a little wine, we did some more sightseeing, and before we knew it, it was time to catch our train back to Milan.

But first, we had to have a few squares of pizza at Pizzeria Altero, which was conveniently across the bus stop back to the main train station. The Sicilian-like slices are made throughout the day, and although the slices aren’t reheated upon order, it was a nice snack to gobble down as we waited for the bus. We ordered one artichoke and one mushroom (€1.60/$2.30 each), and I preferred the artichoke slice which was made with brined artichoke slices. The acid helped cut the oil. Nothing mind-blowing, but lukewarm food never is.

An hour later, we were in Milan waiting for the connecting train to Zurich, and with time to kill, we decided, why not eat more pizza? Alvin had mentioned a really great pizza place nearby that specialized in round Sicilian-type pizzas. So with luggage madly rolling behind us, we made our way to Pizzeria Spontini. Fifteen minutes later, we were back at the train station with half a pie (€17/$22.68) wrapped in pink wax paper and stapled onto a piece of cardboard.

Was it good? Eh, it was OK. Alvin mentioned them drenching the pizzas in olive oil so I’d imagined Di Fara-esque pizza in Sicilian form, but it was nothing close. America wins at being oily! Also, the slices were thick and fluffy, almost cloud-like, which is an awesome quality in say marshmallows, but when it comes to pizza, I need a crunchy crust, or at least a crisp one. These slices were devoid of any contrasting texture. Nevertheless, every pizza cloud has a silver lining, and in this case, the sauce was light and bright, and the best part, we didn’t starve on the five hour train ride back to Switzerland. YES! LIFE!

Which meant more pizza and more pasta to come.

Trattoria Fantoni
Via del Pratello 11A (map)
40122 Bologna, Italy
00 39 051 236358

Pizzeria Altero
Via Indipendenza, 33 (map)
40121 Bologna, Italy
00 39 051 234758

Pizzeria Spontini
Via Gaspare Spontini, 4 (close to Corso Buenos Aires; map)
20131 Milan, Italy
00 39 02 204 7444