Ristorante Diana in Bologna

This photo alone should be enough to attract a food lover to this restaurant. Ristorante Diana has been written up in many travel books and cookbooks for that matter, but it wasn't until October of 2006 that we finally went to see for ourselves what a great dining experience this restaurant could offer. The trio of pastas is not a regular menu item, but the friends who took us to this restaurant are acquainted with the chef and we were delighted that he allowed us to order what amounted to a tasting menu.

[Photo] [Photo]Lets start with the first course. The Spuma di Mortadella was my choice since I had never seen it before. It was essentially whipped mortadella with ricotta cheese, very delicate in mouth feel as well as flavor.

[Photo] [Photo]Prosciutto di Parma was served with the most flavorful cantaloupe I have ever tasted. I ended up buying seeds for several different Italian melons in order to try and duplicate this taste stateside. The other antipasto plate was a selection of salami, prosciutto, mortadella, and if I'm not mistaken, a slow roasted porchetta.

[Photo] [Photo]After the pasta trio we were treated to a selection of roasted meats including pork, lamb, veal and turkey. Each and every one was roasted to perfection and succulent to the last bite. But back to that pasta...[Photo] [Photo] Tortellini was sauced with a bechamel that was liberally laced with parmigiano cheese. The restaurant is well known for their tortellini (usually served with chicken broth) and I can understand why. The rich filling is made from mostly prosciutto, parmigiano, and mortadella. Tagliatelli Bolognese is another classic pasta of Bologna and this one did not disappoint with rich meat sauce and egg pasta.Lasagna Verde Bolognese is the best of the best. We've ordered it all over Italy but no one makes it better than home town restaurants and Diana has to be the winner so far. Each layer of spinach pasta is covered with a layer of meat sauce and kissed with bechamel, then dusted with grated parmigiano. The recipe is so labor intensive that i have personally only made it once, but it was worth the 5 hours of back breaking work. Please don't tell the chef, but at eight to nine euros per order, he's giving this away!

[Photo] [Photo]Don't think you can't find a vegetable here, the artichokes were tender and delicious sauteed in olive oil, finished with lemon, and sprinkled with parsley. The Veal Bolognese was a big hit too, covered in prosciutto and parmigiano with a dab of tomato sauce and pesto on top.

The restaurant is located at 24 Via Indipendenza almost half way between the train station and the cathedral. Phone 231 302