Hubby had been raving about this restaurant near his work and he finally took me there on Friday night.
First, let me explain Correggio. It’s the plastics capitol of Italy, so there is a lot of manufacturing in the area. But it’s also Italy, so it’s also a hub for food and wine. There are vineyards and farms everywhere. There are also food production places – there’s a salumi factory (do they make prosciutto and mortadella in a factory?) in the middle of a neighborhood. It’s just… Italian.
So it shouldn’t be a surprise that one road over from Hubby’s manufacturing plant, there is an amazing farm and vineyard with a restaurant, Come una Volta, and hotel (Hotel Alquicosi) that serves the most amazing, authentic, regional Italian food. Hubby made friends with the co-owner, Marco, because that’s what Hubby does. When we went, Hubby told Marco “I trust you” and Marco brought out the specialties of the house – antipasto platter of assorted salumi; pickled vegetables like onions, peppers, pumpkin (crazy, but delicious); olives; and my new favorite cheeses – buratta and stracchino; cresciontini (aka gnocco fritto – a fried, puffy bread); and two types of tortellini – one stuffed with pumpkin, the other stuffed with spinach.
This was – without a doubt – the best pasta I’ve ever had. The pasta had that perfect al dente texture, and the inside was creamy and full of cheesy vegetable goodness. The sauce on the pasta was minimal and subtle – butter and olive oil with a hint of sage. It came in the perfect portion too, which is something I love about Italy. Pasta may be prevalent, but the portions are definitely for one person.
Hubby asked if I would come back and I answered with a resounding, “YES!” I think that may be the best meal I’ve ever had.
Side note – the restaurant had live music that became karaoke as the time creeped past 11pm (because dinner time in Italy is 9pm). They were trying to get Hubby to do it, and after a few words in Italian and English and a lot of gesticulating, the emcee finally understood that we only spoke English. A guy at the table next to us heard our exchange and tried to be helpful. He held out his phone with something translated on it, which turned out to be AC/DC “You Shook Me All Night Long.” Hubby laughed and the guy gave us a big thumbs up, encouraging us to sing AC/DC is this beautiful farmhouse-style Italian restaurant. Hubby agreed, but since it was approaching midnight and we’re old and American, we left before his turn.
