Bologna by winter

Winter can be very cold in Bologna, one of the best preserved medieval cities of central Italy, considered by some the international food capital. The restaurant and bar offer is huge, and can be daunting to look for the perfect fancy dinner spot. But this is not one of those days, this is just a cold early afternoon, you are alone, you skipped lunch and need food and shelter; or maybe it is after the movies and you are meeting your friends, some of them will want just a glass of wine, others would not mind to have some food with that wine. A good idea is the Ambasciatori bookstore, in the very core of this city: go to the top floor (there are other restaurants in the building but this is the best), and enjoy a meditative pause among books and wines. Go up by the stairs, so you will have the chance to see the beautiful inner facade of this old building, and work an appetite.

On my last time there I was alone (and in a very bad mood!) and sat at the bar. My spirits soon restored to my usual cheerful self: the waiters are super nice and they make sure you are taken care of. This is not a full service restaurant, rather a simple wine and cheese place with an additional two or three entree choices and a couple of salads. The great news is that they had a vegan choice on my visit, which was a delicious roasted cauliflower with a heavenly capers-bread topping, accompanied by a tiny beautiful and mild potato cake. One of the most appealing offer is a cold-cut plate, prosciutto, salame, and the mortadella that the city is famous for worldwide. Everything is fresh and mostly organic, so this is also a healthy choice.

If you drink wine, order local and daily special, you will drink top of the line wines at decent prices. If you are with friends, grab a bottle from the shelves and you will not be charged corkage. I generally have "Pignoletto dei colli bolognesi", the still type. It is local and delicious, a strong white which is perfect with just about anything you can eat here. Soon after my entree arrived, I got lost in its taste, and in people watching. Shelves full of interesting wines and beers grabbed my attention, and so did a couple of women discussing their Christmas plans. My bad winter day was cheered up, and so will yours. An additional bonus of this place is that you can browse books on the way out. If you can read Italian, of course!


Eataly (Osteria, top floor, Ambasciatori bookstore)
via degli Orefici 19
Bologna, Italy
http://www.eataly.it/
Mon-Sat 8am-midnight
Sun 10am-midnight
$$

Morocco in Paris

Paris in winter is magic, yet cold! You absolutely need to nestle in a warm, welcoming, scented place where you can snuggle with your honey or relax with your friends. All the other bistros offer the usual Parisian fare of "steak frites" or "salmon a la unilaterale" (more about those in future posts) but today you need a good vegetarian meal in a charming place. Maybe your travel companion(s) need a good carnivore meal in a charming place? Think no further and go to "Le Marais" to eat at 404, the best Moroccan restaurant in Paris.

You will be welcomed by attentive and smiling waiters, they will take your coat and direct you to the very belly of this enveloping place. The floors are carpeted, but the feeling is that your whole world is carpeted and you feel pure comfort. You will get shoe-horned into your table, so if you need a lot of space with your meal don't come here! I generally do need space, but the style of this place was so perfect that I feel I did not mind the intimate closeness with the other (mostly Parisian) diners. If you need to be in control when you dine, don't come here. You will be served slowly and be in a very small space for a long time. On the other hand, if you enjoy to approach your meal and wine with abandon, you will be very happy. Sip your wine or mint tea (my best ever) and look around, beautiful people and gorgeous food and earth-ware will come by, you can catch up with the latest fashion and chat with your dining companions, or just get lost in the scent and color of the place.

Order red Moroccan wines: they are way cheaper than the French ones, and they are fully satisfactory. We are talking about top of the line French winery in Morocco here! I had a perfect appetizer of fried sardines, but fried veggies were also available. The sauce, tomato-y and simple, was pure bliss. The main course for me was a vegetable pastry-encased dome, a similar concoction but filled with seafood or meat was also available. The pastry was flaky and tasty, the filling delicious. When I asked if the pastry was butter-based, I was very kindly told that it was not, and that it was a vegan option. My companion had a dish of lamb and vegetables which was, in his opinion, perfect (and he is a man of taste!). The bill was quite steep in the end, but well worth the food, atmosphere, and decor. This is a perfect spot for a cold, elegant winter night. You will go back to your hotel or apartment quite happy, the mint tea flavor lingering, and you will long to be back there!

Restaurant Le 404
69 rue des Gravilliers
Paris 75003, France
open:Monday through Sunday
$$

Oysters/ Huitres/ Ostriche

There you are, in Paris at last, your lifelong dream fulfilled. The tour Eiffel, the Louvre, everything is in its place! Or maybe you are in Paris often and like to be back there often, every time your dreams renewed? You are here on your own, or with friends, or maybe with your spouse for a romantic getaway. No matter your style and travel companions, there is a thing that you must do in Paris: eat oysters! Do not dream about leaving the Ville Lumiere without an oyster meal.

First things first: oysters are winter catch. You will see them year around in fancy touristy places, but this is another meal I am talking about. If you are in Paris and you still are wearing a coat, walk to boulevard Saint Germain and get to the Huitrerie Regis. You will not regret it! Oysters are fresh and the variety is stunning. They open them as you watch, and they go by the dozen per person; if you like fewer oysters then you might be asked to stand up at the bar.

Oysters come fresh with lemon, delicious bread, and Normandie butter. White Sancerre and Champagne is all they have. Do you need anythings else? I don't think so! Everything is delicious, reasonably priced, and oh so Parisian. The setting is simple, bright, and elegant. Last time we were there we were the only tourists in the place. Enjoy!

Huitrerie Regis
3, rue Montfaucon
75006 Paris, France
open Tuesday- Sunday 11 am to midnight
$

Benvenuti/ Welcome

I am an Italian/American traveler who loves to find a good spot to eat alone, with her significant other, and/or with friends and family. Every time I am in a new city I wish I could read an honest independent review of the type of places I like to go for a bite and a sip, and this motivated me to start writing. I am pesco-vegan (I eat from the vegetable and mineral world, with only occasional incursion in the ocean bounty) and my sweetheart is omnivore, thus this guide will carry comments on the vegan-friendly atmosphere of a place. I will give the address and, if known, the phone number of the place. But this is not a tourist guide, rather, a guide of taste and atmosphere. Thus practicalities about the place will be kept to a minimum. I also attach a dollar sign to each place ($=reasonable, $$=expensive, $$$= very expensive), but this is only an indication. Enjoy and buon appetito!