At the end of the story of my "With a little help from my friends", Massimo Bottura's new menu at the Osteria Francescana in Modena, I made an appointment for you to visit his other interpretations. Three to be precise if we want to stay in the city and its immediate surroundings, because if we moved to Florence or Dubai, things would be more complicated at least from a logistical point of view. But we stay, and it is a great pleasure to be, a Modena.

And suppose you are, like me, aficionados of the gastronomy of the mood. That is to say that one day you want to eat with a group of friends, another in a tête-à-tête; one day you want to have daring experiences, another to give you a reassuring moment, yet another to experience a "great restaurant". And, in our case, always with the same cook.

How to eat at Casa Maria Luigia

So, just a few kilometers away from each other, Massimo Bottura offers you different cuisines and atmospheres. Let's suppose, for example, that rather, why not, before tackling his new revolutionary menu in Osteria Francescana, you want to get to know the "classics", the ones that for twenty-five years have marked "his" way. So 10 minutes from the center, but already in the green, there is Maria Luigia house, guest house and restaurant. Like saying a vacation home in the city. In what used to be the stables of a country residence, now furnished with common tables and great works by Damien Hirst on the walls, you can experience the encyclopedia of Bottura's emblematic dishes, a fundamental step in getting to know his cuisine. Nine courses, three and a half hours duration, the timing from college (you start eating when all the guests have arrived, the price is 310 euros. Those who arrive late skip the courses already served), the open kitchen that allows to follow all the preparations, fun (and fundamental) the story of the genesis of each dish. Most locavore: The 5 seasons of Parmigiano Reggiano in different textures and temperatures; the greediest: The crunchy part of the lasagna; the most pictorial: Camouflage, inspired by Picasso; the most instagrammed: Oops, I dropped my lemon tart, which is also the most Botturian in the sense that it arises precisely from that incident that occurred in the kitchen. But: "the right idea comes from the mistake," he says.

A stop at Franceschetta 58

Then there is the Franceschetta 58, younger sister of the Franciscan woman, who in the panorama of "gastronomy of the state of mind", can occupy various moments: lunch with friends, tête-à-tête, business lunch; aunt's birthday. In the sense that, for instance, you can choose, in a space of great beauty and fun, between the ease ofHamburger (in its own way) and the gustatory sophistication of the Ravioli with bitter herbs, chamomile, black and goat garlic, or of the Cacciatore grouper. The price division is Spartan: 12 appetizers, 14 first courses, 18 second courses. For each other. And, for those visiting the city, I recommend the sensational one I love Modena, seven courses for 72 euros with citations in dialect.

Fast like Ferrari

And if you want to combine a now legendary chef with an even more mythical place, then go to Maranello at the Cavallino, the restaurant founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1950, renovated to make Reds fans dream. Among ailerons, engine parts, historical photos and memorabilia, you will eat the best sellers of an Emilian: fried dumplings, tagliatelle with meat sauce, cotechino alla Rossini, trifle. The five-course course costs 65 euros. All of Botturian quality.