Antica Osteria del Mirasole

​There is a place half an hour distant from Bologna, a small traditional restaurant, the ancient Osteria del Mirasole in San Giovanni in Persiceto.
Ancient floors, wooden walls and ceiling, wooden tables set with white tablecloths, numerous bottles of various types and vintages on shelves on the walls and a barbecue corner to cook grilled meat, such a really warm and cozy that you feel like entering a friends’ house for a lunch or dinner.

​Prepare yourself for strong flavors, strong contrasts and dishes prepared in respect of local raw materials and with an eye on traditions... sometimes reinterpreting it.
As for the tortellini with cream of milk, a dish that deserves the trip itself.

​The one in which you see the tortellini floating in the photo is not the usual cooking cream but that cream coming from the milking of the evening that is used for the local production of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese: it is obviously used raw, unpasteurized and not heated and the result is a very delicate taste of milk.
 
An alternative to try, the tagliatelle (noodles) with the old backyard sauce.
Thick and utra-rough paste, knife-cut offal, a delicate sauce, embryonic egg, an authentically traditional dish.

​Included in the starters, it was served after the tortellini to not 'cover' the delicate flavor of milk, the soft omelette with spring onion and 12 years balsamic vinegar, a delight, typical dish of yesteryear but so current, every bite reminded me of my grandmother, I have appreciated it very much.

​Among the seconds, if you like that kind of flavors, try the pork livers in the net with laurel.
Certainly for corageous palates but the then and the thyme compensate for the strong flavor of the livers.

​Among the desserts I tried the ice cream 'topped' with balsamic vinegar.
It is strange because the acidity of vinegar, although not excessive, tends a little to overhang the delicacy of the eggnog, it lacks a bit of balance in my opinion.

​The final bill can't be called cheap (starters 10-24 euro, first courses 14-19 euro, seconds 20-25 euro) but it's fair considering the genuineness of the raw materials and the dip in the tradition that can offer a meal to the ancient Osteria del Mirasole.