November 2019

Parma, Italy

The Emilia Romagna region is known for three things – Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma, and luxury cars (Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati). Since we are not into luxury cars and would rather be eating, I looked into ways we could explore the process of making Parmigiano Reggiano and Prosciutto di Parma. Since we did not have a car, it provided a bit of a challenge to find a company that would accommodate our needs. Luckily, I found Parmalook Food Tour Experience who was not only able to provide transportation but also to incorporate both Parmigiano Reggiano and Prosciutto di Parma experiences into one tour.

We had an early morning out of Bologna for a 7AM train to Parma, about an hour away, for our pick up with Parmalook.

Read about how Parmigiano Reggiano and Prosciutto di Parma are made!

While sampling cheese and ham held us over, with breakfast it was certainly time to get a proper meal. I had a few places marked in Parma, including Trattoria Corrieri or Il Gallo d’Oro, but our guide Matteo recommended elsewhere. As a local from Parma, I threw my trust to him and we ate at Trattoria al Trabunale.

A local spot, the place was packed with people but we were taken upstairs to another seating area with no wait. Simple, rustic menu, this would do just fine – thank you Matteo!

I ordered the Tagliatelle al tarrufo (black truffles!) and Kevin went with the Tortelli d’erbetta (ricotta and spinach ravilolis). My dish was creamy with black truffles throughout – oh it was perfection. I was so happy with my pasta! No bad meals to be had in all of Emilia Romagna – do your research ahead of time, go with the local recommendations and you won’t go wrong.

We wanted to spend time exploring more of Bologna so we made our way through Parma to the train station, passing many historic sights before stopping at Matteo’s gelato recommendation – Ciacco Lab – Gelateria Artigniale Laboratoria Sperimentale – fancy name! Honestly, every walk should come with gelato – delicious.