Every time I'm in Italy and not in Italy I dream about the pastries at Dino's! The brioche with…read morecream is my morning favorite, but while I'm feeling full after, I can't help myself and eat the chocolate everything and the calzone and some cookies to go. All of this and I have still not mentioned the coffee... I drink a few until I'm shaking and clearly should stop. If you are ever in Bologna, take the short trip to Dino's for a real taste of Italy at breakfast... It's one of those places and meals you don't forget.

Using Yelp, we found and drove to this wonderful out-of-town eatery. It's a classic Italian…read morerestaurant serving excellent local food and some creative specialties. We started with these heavenly puffs of pastry - half clouds from heaven, half thinly sliced local prosciutto. Quite frankly, it was amazing and worth a trip just for a serving. We followed this with risotto cooked in a plate made from cooked parmesan cheese - you could (should) eat the plate! Oh man, it was unbelievable. I had steak cooked with local balsamic vinegar. Excellent - and, yes, beef is good in Modena and they know how to cook it to order. Funny thing, when I asked for a diet soda (designated driver) our waiter said "no!" ... He then brought me a free half glass of their house wine - a decent lambrusco - surprisingly, not too sweet. Overall, the meal was one of the best we had in our trip and when I go back to Italy, I'll make sure to revisit. Stunningly good food ...

We were looking for a local restaurant that offered local specialties and found this one on Yelp…read morebut when I called to make a reservation they didn't speak English! Our hotel came to the rescue and it appeared we were the only non-locals in what turned out to be a busy night. Mostly families ordering pizza, but we opted for the fried bread, balsamic steak & pasta dishes.