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Trattoria "Il Cortile"

Two months ago I found out to be coeliac and do you know what I thought at first? No, not “Goodbye forever pizza, focaccia, friselle and any kind of bread”, but “Now how could I do when I travel? I won’t be able to taste all typical dishes!” Yes, sometimes we travel lovers are not totally objective and logical. Then, a day, I realized I could, always in certain limits, indulge in some tasty pleasures: I discovered the project “Alimentazione Fuori Casa” ( Eating outside) from AIC ( Italian Association of Coelic desease), where you can find where a coeliac can eat without getting worried and being afraid of getting sick.

Parma has been my first travel destination after the fateful discovery. After some months not having seen my boyfriend, we deserved a romantic date dinner, so I found the first restaurant that that very useful list offered to me. The place I am talking about is the trattoria “Il Cortile”.

The environment was completely different from what I would call trattoria: for my standards, I could say that it was like the best restaurant in Taranto: a glass wall decorated with plants giving a touch of relaxing green to the room, candles on each table, soft light, quiet atmosphere, all the necessary for a romantic date.

Segreto iberico con rosty di patate

Obviously, I booked telling in advance of my intolerance, so when I arrived, they gave gluten free menu to me, which was the same as the “normal” one, except for some little unimportant detail, like the absence of row coppa among cured meats. So, did I want typical dishes? And typical dishes came! As appetizer we chose raw ham of Parma, sausage, cooked coppa and Parmigiano Reggiano. For the main dish, I took something that, I admit it, was not exactly typical: “Segreto iberico con rosty di patate”. It was a Spanish pork steak, cut in stripes with crispy roasted potatoes, which melted like cream once in your mouth; meat was simply delicious: outside it was really crisp, whereas inside it was soft. What I liked the most was that it was not like tagliata, which is cooked outside but half raw inside, but it was completely cooked in each part. I have never tasted such a steak! At the end, dessert: cream-flavoured semifreddo with red berries sauce. We combined everything with a sweet and bubbly Lambrusco from their wine cellar. Would you believe me if I’d say that I ate everything almost in a state of admiration?

Ravioli with beet tops (I didn't eat them, but my boyfriend said them were very good)

Semifreddo with red berries sauce

Anyways, even though it is a fundamental part when you talk about food service, food was not the only thing I appreciated. I had read some negative critic about the staff of the restaurant but I found it very kind and careful of my food necessities. They also paid great attention to their behavior with plates to avoid any risk of contamination with gluten and other precautions that I do not say not to get you bored. The point is: a coeliac pays attention to these things and he’s happy when he sees that he is not treated with sufficiency.

The price was not exactly cheap, but I can say that we were glad to pay that money because they really deserved it.

Do you want to know how I was after dinner? Well, I spent the rest of the night with some friends and a glass of wine and with an happy belly!

Trattoria Il Cortile

Borgo Paglia, 3

Parma   

www.trattoriailcortile.com