We had tried this restaurant in 2005 with a friend, but I hadn't remembered the name. It must have been a Monday, when our two favorite restaurants in Bologna were closed. We all enjoyed the lunch and I was happy to find Da Carlo once again. The menu is classic Bolognese and the prices are very fair. We look forward to coming yet another time. With so many good restaurants in Bologna to try, it may take awhile.
Considering the amazing red brick building that houses Ristorante Da Carlo, I'm surprised that the prices aren't higher. Lovely brick arches surround the portico covered outside dining area, while the main dining room is inside. It was a bit damp this particular evening, but the outside space was very comfortable. As is customary in Bologna, a basket of hard bread rolls, dry as sawdust and just as tasteless, is always set on the table, but this basket actually had crackers, something you expect to be hard and dry. They were a refreshing change.
I repeated my starter of two years ago with smoked goose breast, a very moist cold cut that I've never seen elsewhere. I suspect this is one of those wonderful Jewish Italian delicacies developed as an alternative to the pervasive pork culture in Italy. Butter on the toast was a bit overkill, since the goose was padded with a nice layer of fat that melted in your mouth. Makes me wish I could find this at home, but it's very seldom that I have ever seen it on an Italian menu.
My dining partner ordered the "rustico" salumi platter and it also had it's share of fat on the plate. Fitting since Bologna is also referred to as "La Grassa" the fat. Far from rustic, the cold cuts looked refined and were all so very fresh. I wondered if they were made in house or merely purchased from a local salumeria. Bologna is filled to the brim with wonderful resources for food products.
Several risotti were listed on the menu and this was my first chance to try a radicchio risotto. Luckily for me, it was also made with Tellegio cheese, a semi soft, ripe, unctuous, cow's milk cheese and one of my favorites. In the risotto it was distinctly milder, but I'd never eaten it cooked before, so I suspect the heat took a bit of the edge off this cheese. It was remarkably creamy and made a nice counter balance to the bitterness of radicchio on the palate.
My dinner partner and I went our separate ways when it came to our third course. He settled for dessert while I insisted on a "secondo", the course after the pasta. Cheese and fruit are often served as the dessert course in Italy. He ordered the cheese course that included Parmigiano, a soft as well as semi soft cow's milk cheese and a fresh mozzarella probably made from water buffalo milk. It was a bit disappointing to see vegetables rather than a piece of fruit on the plate.
My dining partner ordered the "rustico" salumi platter and it also had it's share of fat on the plate. Fitting since Bologna is also referred to as "La Grassa" the fat. Far from rustic, the cold cuts looked refined and were all so very fresh. I wondered if they were made in house or merely purchased from a local salumeria. Bologna is filled to the brim with wonderful resources for food products.
The Rustico came with a plate of crescentini, the puffed up fried bread that we first tried in Parma. In fact we have traveled to Parma just to eat it again. It is the perfect foil to the fresh, fat laden salumi, because the fat melts on the hot fried bread puffs and there's enough heat to also enhance the aroma of the meat. Often, I've hoped everyone traveling to Italy will try this combination at least once. So far, we have only come across it in Emilia Romagna.
Even though we ordered Tagliatelle Bolognese, these look wide enough to be pappardelle. What they truly were was deliciously rich egg noodles with a classic Bolognese sauce, rich with meat, complex in flavor. This photo was taken before it was blessed with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
Even though we ordered Tagliatelle Bolognese, these look wide enough to be pappardelle. What they truly were was deliciously rich egg noodles with a classic Bolognese sauce, rich with meat, complex in flavor. This photo was taken before it was blessed with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
Several risotti were listed on the menu and this was my first chance to try a radicchio risotto. Luckily for me, it was also made with Tellegio cheese, a semi soft, ripe, unctuous, cow's milk cheese and one of my favorites. In the risotto it was distinctly milder, but I'd never eaten it cooked before, so I suspect the heat took a bit of the edge off this cheese. It was remarkably creamy and made a nice counter balance to the bitterness of radicchio on the palate.
My dinner partner and I went our separate ways when it came to our third course. He settled for dessert while I insisted on a "secondo", the course after the pasta. Cheese and fruit are often served as the dessert course in Italy. He ordered the cheese course that included Parmigiano, a soft as well as semi soft cow's milk cheese and a fresh mozzarella probably made from water buffalo milk. It was a bit disappointing to see vegetables rather than a piece of fruit on the plate.
It's still puzzling to me that a baked fish dish would come wrapped as a duck, but what does it matter. It served to make me laugh as I saw it coming towards our table. My secondo was composed of red mullet, mussels, clams and squid with a clove of garlic, onion slices, and fresh tomatoes thrown in for good measure. It was good, delicate, and not overcooked. But I'm discovering I'm really more interested in meats and poultry, so I won't order this again. Besides, I really hate eating something that is looking up at me from the plate! I don't mind fish heads per se, they make great stock, but please don't put one on my plate.
Via Marchesana, 6
Via Marchesana, 6
40124 Bologna Italy
Phone +39.051-23.32.27
Fax +39.051-26.30.46
Sometime after May 2009 (my last visit) Da Carlo had been replaced by 7 Archi
Their menu looks quite good and so does the wine list.
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