We never tired of Italian food during our month in Bologna. Between the different pastas and sandwich options, there was plenty of variety! Since we didn’t always want to sit down at a restaurant for a full meal we explored several of the takeaway options near our apartment.
Mo Mortadella – A favorite from a previous trip, we stopped in twice for takeaway. I stuck with mortadella-based sandwiches while Eric tried two prosciutto options. Happily, it is still a very good value. Highly suggest going off-peak as the waits are shorter!
MIGARBA La schiacciata – This small, unassuming place had the best sandwiches of our trip! Over our three visits, we tried a variety of sandwiches with mortadella, prosciutto, and cotto. The bread is fantastic, and so are the ingredients, and I fell in love with their truffle pesto. We made a point to get sandwiches for the train ride to Milan the night before we left so we could have them one last time!
Tamburini – the only purchase we made in the Quadrilatero market was takeaway pasta – tortellini with parmesan cream sauce (quite nice) and tagliatelle with ragu (a little dry, but good flavor). Paired nicely with the sparkling rosé we picked up earlier that day from the Mercato del Novale Slow Food Bologna.
La Borbonica – visited for takeaway dessert and pastries. The bite-sized sacher torte and bignet al pistachio were standouts and the turrita (a small chocolate/ ginger sandwich with ham!) was a surprise flavor combo. Their cornettos are a little hidden on the second counter, but both the chocolate-filled and pistachio-filled were a nice weekend breakfast treat.
Dal Piadinaro – another close-by spot, open primarily for lunch, they specialize in a thin wheat-y flatbread filled with ingredients of your choice and folded in half. Eric had the Montanara with speck, fontina, and greens with mushrooms and he liked the strong whole wheat flavor and nice chewiness. I got the Salmone – salmon with cream cheese and spinach – but I found the bread to be too overwhelming for the delicate flavors of my sandwich.
Le Sfogline – a very well known and popular fresh pasta shop located across from the Erbe market on Via Belvedere, I had to wait in line both times but it was worth it! The ladies there speak excellent English and seemed happy a tourist was making pasta at home like a local. :) The tortellini had a nice meaty, hammy-ness, and the brodo concentrate I picked up from Tamburini was perfect.
Pistamentuccia – stopped in for Roman-style pizza takeaway pizza as our first choice (30 E Lode) was inexplicably closed. Eric got two slices of the the speck and fontina (lots of tomato sauce), while I tried a slice of sausage and mushroom and a squash blossom with ham. Pretty good for a quick pivot!
Pasta Fresca Nonna Cesira – picked up fresh tortellini for dinner. Also delicious but we found the pasta at Le Sfogline (the place closer to us) to be a little meatier and more tender.
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30 E Lode – Pizza Alla Pala – We each got our own takeaway pizzas but could have split one as they were a good size. Eric got the Non è Mai Troppo Tardi (tomatoes, fior di latte cheese, prosciutto, basil) – chewy crust, lots of cornmeal, liked that the prosciutto was added after baking. I got the Cotto e funghi (tomatoes, fior di latte cheese, porcini mushrooms, cooked ham, basil). Both of our pies lacked basil so I’m not sure if they just forgot or didn’t have it.
