A taste of Emilia Romagna in an urban setting, DALP restaurant is the antidote for a City Girl lost in the Bolognese hills, missing home and flung away from city life during times of Covid.
I thought I'd been transported back to Milan when I stepped through the doors of DALP, into the urban-inspired, newly opened restaurant concept by chef Davide Maron. Located in Osteria Grande outside of Bologna, the slick, converted space with an open kitchen and a spritely, eager staff is more than ready for the next chapter in Italian cuisine, they're redefining it.
EDITORIAL
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An Urban Oasis in the (Bolo) Hills, DALP Restaurant Opens.
THE RIGHT OPPORTUNITY FOR THE RIGHT ENTREPRENEUR.
Between the city of Bologna and Rimini at the sea are picturesque small towns like Osteria Grande and Ozzano dell'Emilia that among basic services, also host an impressive abundance of unused and available warehouse space and commercial real estate. Known as an industrial and also agricultural area with one of the country's most prestigious veterinary schools nearby, the rolling hills are flecked with manufacturing, distribution, and other large spaces, both occupied and empty. Dining options are limited since historically, many people have chosen to go home for the lunch hour. However, having spent so much time inside during the pandemic, there is a desire to be outside, socialize, and discover.
Ozzano dell'Emilia is home to the Italian manufacturing titan IMA, a 1.5 billion dollar company that designs and manufactures industrial machines for the processing and packaging of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, tobacco, tea and coffee" and is only a couple kilometers down the road from the next town, Osteria Grande where DALP has strategically chosen to open.
A GROWING LOCAL WORKFORCE, A PLACE TO EAT.
IMA has continued to expand during the pandemic, raising up new manufacturing plants and office space, complete with the construction of new roads, prepared for the influx of new workers. The proximity of agricultural products in the region, combined with the arrival of new professionals looking for a quality meal in a serene setting makes the area ripe with opportunity for the right entrepreneur, who in this case was the Chef Owner, Davide Maron and his restaurant DALP.
Carrying on the tradition of cooking learned from years spent in the kitchen with his mother, supported by a culinary education at the prestigious Alma, and years of working in kitchens in London, the culinary concept has been edited to a short and precise menu, reimagined in Chef Maron's modern approach to Italian cuisine, expressed in his deliberate attention to detail.
SMOKED AND SIMPLE; ELEVATING LOCAL FLAVORS.
If you're the type to judge a restaurant on it's simplest dish, you'll already be convinced by the time you bite into the bread and butter. Massimo Bottura has often remarked that the greatest challenge for a chef is to elevate the simplest of ingredients, and from the perfect crunch of the bread crust to the house-made, salt-flecked butter made from local dairy, I'd say chef Davide Maron nailed it.
Joined by two cooks in the kitchen, the sommelier-to-be Valentina Levorin, and a small wait staff, the Chef Owner Maron works in symphony to deliver attentive service and quality dishes.
This chef loves smoke, pine nuts and dried fruit. With a barbeque in the kitchen, flanking the induction burners, the crew turns out filling and flavorful options like beef filet with sweet and smoky onion puree and pan reduction, Palamita beef filet with fregola pasta, and revisited classics like the three tomato maccheroncini with three different tomatoes prepared three ways, and pasta e fagioli, with a creamy sauce made from a bean puree, an infused rosemary oil, and crispy pancetta.
From the food to the service to the ambiance, DALP is the missing piece the area has been lacking and a City Girl's salvation. An innovative and modest approach to food and service softens the elegant ambiance solidifying its potential as a future gathering place for workers, executives, fashionistas and families looking for local flavor and authenticity, elevated.
Special thanks to DALP restaurant.
For reservations:
Call (+39) 051 4683165
Book Online here.
Opening Hours:
Tuesday through Saturday Lunch: 12.30-14.30 Dinner: 19.30- 22.30
CLOSED Sunday and Monday