{"id":2833,"date":"2025-03-08T01:20:42","date_gmt":"2025-03-08T08:20:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/?p=2833"},"modified":"2025-03-08T18:17:27","modified_gmt":"2025-03-09T01:17:27","slug":"feast-on-ferrari-at-ristorante-cavallino-and-visit-the-famed-automakers-italian-factory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/golf\/courses-and-travel\/2833\/feast-on-ferrari-at-ristorante-cavallino-and-visit-the-famed-automakers-italian-factory","title":{"rendered":"Feast on Ferrari at Ristorante Cavallino and Visit the Famed Automaker\u2019s Italian Factory"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\u201cThe<\/a>

\u201cThe Prancing Horse\u201d is Ferrari\u2019s logo and the name of its gourmet restaurant. Photo by Harrison Shiels<\/p><\/div>\n

One typically does not have high expectations when dining in a museum\u2019s restaurant or a corporate commissary. But Enzo Ferrari created a canteen for himself and the founding executives of his Italian car company in 1950. And now, in the modern era, an acclaimed gourmet chef, Modena\u2019s own Massimo Bottura and his prot\u00e9g\u00e9 Ricardo Forapani, are manufacturing the menu\u2019s offerings, and the doors are open to the public. Step on the gas to get to Ferrari\u2019s Ristorante Cavallino, and loosen your seatbelt when you get to your table.<\/p>\n

Ristorante Cavallino, managed by Luiz Diaz (once awarded Italy\u2019s best young ma\u00eetre d, is near the Ferrari Museum, but is no concession stand. Operated by the Francescana family, the tasteful indoor\/outdoor restaurant\u2019s Ferrari horse logo (\u201cCavallino\u201d translates to \u201clittle horse\u201d) makes this gourmet experience immediately recognizable as the \u201cFerrari of dining experiences.\u201d Ferrari\u2019s artistic \u201cPrancing Horse\u201d logo silhouette is sometimes prominent and sometimes subtle, such as when embroidered into Cavallino\u2019s curtains.<\/p>\n

Ristorante Cavallino is just across from the Ferrari headquarters and factory, which is its own \u201cCitarella:\u201d a small village, technically in Maranello, Italy, just outside Bologna. Passing under the shaded, leafy patio and entering this enclave of a ristorante, I realized Cavallino, with some historical photos themed to honor its Ferrari legacy, is not a Disney-style\/Plant Hollywood\/Hard Rock Caf\u00e9-style kitsch kitchen. Cavallino is more like a cucina club \u2013 subtly warm and classically elegant with splashes of \u201cFerrari red\u201d – the chairs, for instance – and hints of visuals of the cars or engines.<\/p>\n

\"Bologna<\/a> \"Bologna<\/a> \"Bologna<\/a><\/p>\n

Ferrari\u2019s 1947 historical entrance, a Willie Wonka Factory-style gated archway through the orange office building, is across a little street. Inside, Ferrari\u2019s campus includes the corporate offices, design center, paint shop, wind tunnel, test track and the assembly line factory buildings, which are more like clean, well-lit, partly-robotic laboratories with assembly technicians worthy of gracing the cover of any Italian glamor magazine. The architecture of the buildings is fanciful and head-turning, like the vehicles.<\/p>\n

Access inside the factory grounds is available via the Ferrari Museum next door, which displays Formula 1 race-winning cars; trophies, priceless custom Ferraris, a sneak peak at Ferraris of the future, and has a driving simulator.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat beautiful car you are looking at is what I would describe as an \u2018entry-level Ferrari,\u2019\u201d my museum guide explained. He schooled me that one does not just buy a Ferrari. With patience, a purchase places a Ferrari owner in a hierarchal society of lifetime enthusiasts who honor codes of conduct and culture as they trade up to other models.<\/p>\n

Lunch is very important in Italian culture, and the Bologna region is lauded for its cuisine. Cavallino\u2019s menu shows a vintage photo of founder Enzo Ferrari feeding one of his executives in the restaurant\u2019s dining room. The one-of-a-kind dishes served are plated as colorful and visually delicious as the gorgeous sportscars being handcrafted across the street and devoured by collectors.<\/p>\n

\"Food<\/a>

Photo by Harrison Shiels<\/p><\/div>\n

I don\u2019t want to ruin your surprises around every turn, but some of the chef\u2019s culinary creations parked in front of me were deer tartare, Grasparossa grape, roasted beetroot, and salmi sauce, followed by handmade ravioli stuffed with pumpkin and foie gras, bitter almond and apple mustard, under an orange reduction with nutmeg. Tiny tortellini arrived snuggles inside a tart crust, and \u201cintense,\u201d 36-month aged Parmigiano Reggiano was often used.<\/p>\n

Then came Quasi un risotto alla parmigiana e tartufo, with milk, buttermilk, wild blueberries and white truffle. Depending on the season, you might also taste roasted woodpigeon, marinated chicory, pear, chocolate, and Sichuan pepper jus. The traditional pork sausage alongside foie gras served with pan brioche, sour cherries, and black truffle shards, like all the other menu items, was a visual work of art.<\/p>\n

I savored the vibrant flavors with a sensation similar to that which I felt when hearing, in my stomach, the purring, rumbling, commanding sound of a Ferrari engine. I lubricated my taste buds with sips of locally produced 2021 sparkling Lambruscos \u2013 both white and red.<\/p>\n

You can feast on the entire Ferrari experience all day or even over a weekend. With a Ferrari Maranello Museum ticket, you can also book a Factory Panoramic Tour, during which a shuttle will drive you inside and through the factory complex, right up Viale Enzo Ferrari Drive and out to the Fiorano test track. You can be shuttled or drive to the dazzling Enzo Ferrari Museum, 20 kilometers away in Modena. Enzo was born in the brick building, and you can see his original office there, next to an additional stylish, modern museum building. Modena, a UNESCO World Heritage city, is an intriguing, authentic town and worth an overnight or more.<\/p>\n

This entire Emilia-Romagna Region of northern Italy, between Venice and Florence, is anchored by Bologna and includes Parma, the walled village of Imola, and many culinary and medieval treasures, cities, villages, and castles. You can also tour the Lamborghini, Maserati, and Ducati automotive operations. The annual \u201cMotor Valley Fest\u201d is in late May, preceded by the F-1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in Imola. Automobile HQ tours are in high demand, so reserve ahead \u2013 or plan via an expert, custom travel company such as\u00a0ICBellagio.com\u00a0and visit\u00a0EmiliaRomagnaTurismo.com.<\/p>\n

Contact Michael Patrick Shiels at\u00a0<\/em>MShiels@aol.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0His new book: Travel Tattler \u2013 Not So Torrid Tales, may be purchased via\u00a0Amazon.com\u00a0Hear his radio talk show on WJIM\u00a0AM 1240\u00a0in Lansing weekdays\u00a0from 9 am \u2013 noon.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One typically does not have high expectations when dining in a museum\u2019s restaurant or a corporate commissary. But Enzo Ferrari… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":2835,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,17],"tags":[4998],"class_list":["post-2833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-courses-and-travel","tag-michael-patrick-shiels"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2025\/03\/Ferrari-1-e1741482997596.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2833"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2833\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2842,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2833\/revisions\/2842"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}