Foodie Friday: Balsamic Tasting in Modena

You think you know balsamic vinegar? Think again.

One of my most favorite meals and overall experiences from the honeymoon was in Modena, Italy. It was another recommendation from Anthony Bourdain and it was absolutely worth every calorie!

Pedroni. It’s the only name you need to know. We drove from Florence to the Osteria in Modena. As we walked in, we were greeted by the owner; an older, 80-something man, who speaks strictly Italian. And when I say we were greeted, I mean Mr. Pedroni yelled at us in Italian for a few minutes, picked up a rotary phone, dialed a few numbers, hung up, and then continued to yell at us. If you could only see the stunned look on our faces.. Luckily a woman came out speaking English and was ready to take us on a tour.

We learned all about the process of making balsamic vinegar from start to finish, which, in their case, is sometimes over 25 years! At Pedroni, they do everything in-house, all the way down to the bottling, so while they are making large batches, they only produce 80-100 bottles per year. The rest of the vinegar gets to sit in the wood barrels and continue to age. After the tour was over, it was time to taste!

We started small; balsamic vinegar jam. Holy moly, that stuff was so tasty! The first thing Nathan and I both noticed was that we didn’t get that pucker in the backs of our mouths that we often get from vinegars that we buy at home. It was very smooth and as we continued down the line, it got even better! We tasted four different vinegars; we started with the Italo, aged for 12 years, it was like nothing we had ever tasted before. Followed by the 15-year aged Umberto, this vinegar was aged in oak and juniperwood barrels giving it more of a spicy flavor. The Giuseppe, or the “Extra Old” vinegar, is aged 25 years in oak and chestnut woods. And finally, the Claudio. This cream of the crop “Extravecchio” is aged over 25 years in chestnut and cherry woods. It is so silky, smooth and has a slight fruity flavor. If only it weren’t so pricy, we would have taken home a barrel! 😉

We did, however, bring home a bottle of the Italo and a few jars of the jam. We just couldn’t leave without it; there is nothing that we’ve ever tasted before that could compare. And we will definitely be ordering more when we sadly finish this bottle!

Happily, the tasting didn’t end there. It was lunch time! We started with a bottle of their homemade sparkling red wine. YUM! [We will also be adding that to our online order.] The pasta was served family-style but it was just for the two of us so we had no problem digging right in!

First Course
Fresh ricotta tortelloni drizzled with the Italo vinegar. Have you ever had fresh pasta? It completely melts in your mouth. I could have eaten the whole plate myself!

Second Course
Tagliatelle with ragu sauce drizzled with the Umberto vinegar. Northern Italian ragu is completely different then what you’d expect. It’s more of a meat sauce with just a touch of tomato. Pasta ragu was definitely one of my favorite meals to get on the entire trip. We added a little extra vinegar for those last little bites 😉

Third Course
Chicken with onions, a couple ribs, and frittata drizzled with the Giuseppe. To say that this frittata was the best I’ve ever had would be an understatement. Nathan, who never ate eggs before, asked me if I would kindly follow the recipe and make him one at home. He devoured it!

Dessert
Crema gelato drizzled with the 25+ aged Claudio. Good golly! We practically licked all of our plates and bowls clean, which is a very good thing because Mr. Pedroni does not let you leave without finishing everything on your plate!

And if that wasn’t enough, they brought about 9 or 10 bottles of different liqueurs, one being their homemade grappa. Being the polite guest that I am, I promptly began tasting! I might have had 1/10th of a shot of each.. I don’t think I could handle any more but I sure am glad I tried all of them.

Nathan and I wrapped up our amazing [and incredible filling!] two-hour meal and concurred that this was one of our top experiences of the trip. If we do make it back to the Tuscany area, you can bet we’ll be heading to Pedroni for lunch!

Food for Thought

What is the best experience you’ve ever had at a restaurant?

When you return to a travel destination, do you go back to the same places, or do you try something new?

Foodie Friday: Honeymooning in Paris

I truly believe that my feelings of blogging post-honeymoon made it far too real that I have to come back to real life. I didn’t want to come back from the honeymoon; in fact, I still don’t want to be back. But here I am [guess I have to be a grown up again, huh?]. And it’s time to finally recap some of my amazing experiences!

Honeymooning in Paris

Nathan and I are huge fans of Anthony Bourdain. We watch all of his shows and when it came time to research restaurants for the honeymoon, that definitely came into play. I recall watching his Paris episode of The Layover and seeing a place called L’Avant Comptoir. I was immediately intrigued by the small [some may call it cozy] atmosphere, the shared bread baskets [oh my gracious, the bread in Paris..!], and the menu—cards with pictures and names hanging down from the ceiling.

The whole restaurant!

The menu hanging from the ceiling.

This was a place I had to go. Every time we talked about Paris, I told Nathan I wanted to go to the place with the hanging menu. And I am so glad we did! In fact, we liked it so much, we went back a second time!

We lucked out both times, getting spots right up at the main bar area [on the left in the photo above]. We ordered a couple glasses of wine and fudged our way through ordering a few plates to share. My apologies for the picture quality.. tight quarters called for the easiest camera I could grab [my phone] and the fastest picture I could take!

Beef carpaccio

Fried chicken & frites [Nathan’s fave!]

Fabulous cheese & fig preserves

Chocolate pot de creme

Holy cow. It was absolutely amazing! I only stole a bite or two of the chicken because I know how much Nathan loves fried chicken. I stuck to the beef and cheese.. no complaints here! It was also one of the cheapest meals we had in Paris! All of the plus 2 glasses of wine for 29€. Seriously, we couldn’t even find lunch for that cheap!

Our second time back we were a bit more adventurous. We’d already filled up on a couple beers beforehand so we weren’t quite as hungry.

Andouille

Foie gras

Neither of us ever had foie gras before but we saw someone order it the first time and I decided we had to give it a try. It was fantastic! It had a nice sear on it and was paired with roasted red pepper and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. If that’s what all foie gras tastes like, I could eat it all day long!

If Nathan and I make it back to Paris, I will definitely be stopping here again [whether he knows it or not!] It was not only some of my favorite food that we had on the honeymoon, it was also one [or two] of my favorite experiences. If you’re going to be traveling, hit up Mr. Bourdain for some tips. He knows his stuff!

Food for Thought

Are you a fan of Anthony Bourdain? Do you ever consider any of the traveling food shows when you go away?

What I Ate Wednesday #26 – Doing It Up Miami Style!

Have you entered my KIND Snacks giveaway? It ends tomorrow night.. don’t miss out!

Friday night, Nathan and I jet setted to Florida for a long weekend. I have family in the Ft. Lauderdale area so it’s always nice to be able to get away and go visit them, especially this time of year when it’s freezing at home! And since it’s not enough to just go to Florida, we planned a full day in Miami; completely revolving around food, of course!

We spent the day roaming South Beach with completely full stomachs. Seriously, this was not planned well. We had far too much food at every stop! But I guess if that’s my only complaint, it’s not so bad 😉

[Brunch]
Yardbird

“A house of worship to farm-fresh ingredients, classic Southern cooking, culture and hospitality.”

This place is great! I loved the decor and all of the little touches, from the clever chalkboard drawings, right down to the paper napkin ring.

The staff was super friendly and really helped to make the experience so enjoyable and relaxing. I think my eyes lit up when we walked in and didn’t stop until we left. The kitchen was open to the restaurant and I loved being able to see everything being made and brought out. I definitely tried to scope everything out as it went by!

Shares
Butter Lettuce and Grilled Mango salad with smoked pecans and benne seed vinaigrette.
Chilled Watermelon with cayenne pepper, lemon, and herbs.

His
Mama’s Chicken Biscuits with homemade pepper jelly and house-pickled cucumber, onion, and okra.
Coffee

Hers
Egg-white omelette with caramelized onions, muenster cheese, and smoked pork, topped with pimento cheese sauce. Buttermilk biscuit and fresh fruit on the side.
Coffee

Thoughts
The salad was tasty and I would recommend it if you’re looking for a light, refreshing salad. Next time, we would definitely look for something that packs a little more punch. Same idea goes for the watermelon; we like bold flavor!

Best biscuit ever? I think we both agreed on that one. It was light and flaky. Just the right consistency to peel layer by layer. The chicken was perfectly fried and the homemade pepper jelly was slightly sweet and spicy which was the perfect compliment. The omelette was chock full of mix-ins and flavor. I’d never had pimento cheese before but I think this may have converted me.

Overall, it was a great experience. I would definitely recommend a visit if you’re in South Beach and I’ll definitely be back again!

[Lunch/Snack]
Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs during brunch, but somehow we managed to put away all of that food. Which meant when lunch time rolled around, we weren’t hungry. Joe’s Stone Crabs were part of the original plan, but not being able to buy 1 or 2 for a little snack meant I skipped them all together.

Instead, we went over to the Hofbrauhaus.

It had been a few hours and we’d done a few miles of walking so it was more-than-time for some beer. Or 1 liter each. And with all of that beer, clearly you need something to wash down!

Enter the meat and cheese platter with a side of soft-baked pretzel. Good thing we had the tiniest bit of room in our stomachs for this mound of deliciousness! We had no idea there would be so much food. But once again, we finished it. All of it.

And it’s worth noting, the people watching in Miami is second to none! You get a great view from the outdoor seating at this place.

[Pick-Me-Up]
Nathan has not stopped telling me about Aroma Coffee since he went to Israel 2 years ago. It’s the only coffee shop over there and they have the best coffee. So when he saw there was an Aroma Coffee in Miami, we had to stop in. And who doesn’t need a little iced cappuccino after a liter of beer?

[Dinner]
With no room left in our stomachs, we made our way over to Michael’s Genuine. It was featured on The Layover so we knew we had to check it out.

Unlike brunch, this time, we shared everything! We started with the Crispy Pig Ear. And if you can forget what you’re eating, it’s really delicious! They’re perfectly spiced and wonderfully crispy (just like the name!)

Next, we got the Crispy Sweet & Spicy Pork Belly with kimchi, crushed peanuts, and pea shoots. I love anything peanut so I was really digging the flavor and crunch on this.

Finally, for our meal we ordered the Grilled Leg of Lamb with salsa verde and the Wood-Roasted Brussel Sprouts with pancetta and lemon aioli. Unfortunately, I have to admit that this part of the meal fell flat. I was disappointed with the portion size of the lamb for the price, not to mention, it was cold when it came out. It wasn’t seasoned well and didn’t have tons of flavor. The brussel sprouts were good, but not anything really special.

In an attempt to make up for the lamb, we were comped a dessert of chocolate cake topped with ice cream and whipped cream. This happened to be the best part of the entire meal (and also the part that I didn’t photograph!)

With such a high price tag, I don’t think we would go back. The whole experience felt a bit over-hyped and even though we had a decent dinner, I’m sure we could have spent half as much and enjoyed ourselves much more elsewhere.

Overall, we had a great day in Miami. We were filled to the gills the entire time and couldn’t get enough of the sunshine and summery weather! Not exactly what you think of around the holidays, but a nice change of pace.

Food for Thought

Have you ever been to any of these restaurants? Have you ever gone to a restaurant that was recommended by someone famous and found that it didn’t live up to the hype?