Trattoria Il Fantino: A Lively Restaurant In Modena

It is claimed that one hamburger restaurant or stall opens every 55 minutes in more than 100 countries around the globe.

Today, for those meal times which people have begun to see as a time-consuming activity among all their busy schedules, most of us have given into hamburgers as a substitute for slow food.

Fortunately, in this hustle and bustle, Italy tries to not only promote its pasta and pizza but also inspire people to protect the Italian culture as well as their own unique cultures.

Created by the Italian Journalist Carlo Petrini 20 years ago, Slow Food Movement is encouraged as an alternative against fast life styles, aggressive and bad-quality consumption, and the loss of local cultural values.

Just like every other country which wants to promote its culture as a solution to the fast food problem, Italy too has begun to advertise its two distinctive culinary concepts: osteria and trattoria so as to protect the artisan producers, to adopt a better diet with better food and to re-connect with the local cultures which started to fade into oblivion.

Osteria is a restaurant concept that dates back to the 14th century. As an osteria is generally specialized in a few local food varieties, it also offers nice wines to pair with its basic dishes. People can enjoy a tasteful lunch and a casual meal after work for little prices.

Trattoria is a similar concept to the eateries that target the shopkeepers in the same vicinity. A trattoria is a less causal eatery than a restaurant and a more casual one than an osteria. It is generally run by a family and offers a great variety of local dishes without a written menu. To accompany the meals, the wines are fresh and mostly made in local vineyards, and don’t come in bottles but rather in “decante”s that look like a jug. Unlike the eateries in Turkey, trattoria appeals to a great range of customers, including the foreigners.

Located in Modena where the biggest automotive brands have their offices in, Trattoria il Fantino is one of my favorite trattorias that I would recommend to you.

A cute typical trattoria situated in a narrow street in the city center, Trattoria il Fantino offers thoroughly local and daily meals to its loyal customers who don’t even check the menu to order their food.

Covered by checkered cloths, the tables are surrounded with chairs around them. As you know, the Italian love crowded and boisterous dinner tables. With the colorful paintings on the walls, the cozy eatery makes you feel like you’re in a real Italian restaurant.

Although the menu features mostly pasta dishes, it also offers alternative snacks as well as cold dishes made with Modena ham (one of the best alternatives to Parma ham) for those who love lamb meat and pork.

In addition to cream-filled tortellini in broth, one of the delicious pastas the restaurant offers is spinach-filled tortelloni.

Although they have similar shapes and tastes, the only difference between tortellini and tortelloni is in their sizes. Tortelloni is 2-3 times bigger than tortellini.

Apart from the spinach filling, tortellonis at Trattoria il Fantino come with two other fillings: sage and ricotta. Following the dishes flavored with a large amount of butter and perfectly cooked al dente, lamb ribs is another marvelous dish that I must recommend to you.

Flavored with Lambrusco, a type of local, smooth sparkling demi-sec wine, the delicious baked lam ribs are served with soft dough dumplings called “gnocco” which amply enhance the taste of the dish.

As for desserts, I find the mille-feuille with cherry sauce more successful than the mosaic cake. I recommend you to finalize your meal with mille-feuille’s crispy taste.

As I mentioned above, trattorias offer local and daily meals with a reasonable pricing. Trattoria if Fantino is a fine eatery where you can buy all of these Italian dishes including the fresh wine for just €35 per person.

 Those who happen to be in Modena and love to try the local cuisine should note it down…

Bon appétit and enjoy the taste of life…

Trattoria il Fantino

www.trattoriailfantino.it

Via Donzi, 7, 41100 Modena MO, İtalya

+39 059 223646