One thing I really do like about traveling in Europe is the ability to hire affordable yet relatively sturdy cars; the roads are generally quite decent quality, and the fact that you have the flexibility to explore other cities. Being a person who likes to plan our trip around just food – we saw the documentary on Osteria Francescana on Netflix and wanted to try, but unfortunately they were completely booked so our concierge suggested Franceschetta58, which was a sister restaurant and also located in Modena.
We got there a little earlier than anticipated because the traffic was not bad at all – and found that the young bunch of cooks were playing around with a football before dinner service – we decided to walk around the area – although frankly – there really isn’t much to see as the restaurant is located on the outskirts of Modena (and outside of any ZTL). Once dinner service was available, we were welcomed by some very friendly staff and shown to our table – which had a simple setting – suiting the more “relaxed” dining that Franceschetta58 is aimed at.
Next we were presented with the menu and also provided with some very soft and fresh bread whilst we inspected the menu – which generally, I’d consider the pricing to be reasonable compared to some of the over-hyped meals that you sometimes get in Hong Kong.
Now, I have to admit that I did some research prior to coming, and Burgers are hard to pass by, so to start off with, Ms. Buddha and I decided to get a couple of mini-burgers as starters. The meat in the burger was done medium – which is good whilst the bread was really really soft – the cheese and sauces was quite nice although I do think that the beef overpowered the sauces a little too much.
Next was the “First Course” – which Ms. Buddha went with the gnocchi (of course!) and I went for the “Cacio e pepe” which is effectively pasta with cheese and pepper. Ms. Buddha sadly didn’t enjoy the gnocchi saying that the sauce was way too salty – although texture was good. My pasta had a good flavour to it, although I would’ve preferred the pasta to not have been cooked as thoroughly (since that it was a little soft).
For the Mains, Ms. Buddha went for a fish with the Roasted snapper slice and I went with the Roasted lamb rack. Ms. Buddha stated that the fish itself was a little too well done so the juices has somewhat evaporated from the flesh – otherwise, the sauce itself was decent – but unfortunately not “wow”.
For the lamb fillet, the cooking was good in the fact that the flesh was still pink – although the mash that came with just didn’t taste that fantastic.
We both declined the dessert offer as both Ms. Buddha and I were quite stuffed, and although the food was generally okay, I have to say that we left feeling that it may need to be refined a bit more further in order to match the mother restaurants “best restaurant” title.
Buddha Explores 