Alla BOLOGNESE

Prosciutto, Parmigiano-Reggiano, tagliatelle al ragù.... The Italian city of Bologna and the surrounding Emilia-Romagna region have given the world some of its finest culinary treasures. But its chefs and producers aren't done yet.

- Marcia DeSanctis

WHEN YOU ARRIVE in Bologna, the gastronomic capital of a country that is arguably the gastronomic center of the world, it's best to arrive hungry. I arrived with a molar that had fractured on a cough drop en route to Boston's Logan airport. The concierge at my hotel procured an appointment with a dentist shortly after I landed. My toothache throbbed all the way down my neck as my cab passed shop windows filled with fresh pasta the color of spring hay, icebergs of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and ladies forming tiny tortellini around their fingertips, before dropping me off at an anonymous building in the centro storico. Salvation appeared in the form of Dr. Celestina Leporati, who patched up my tooth, along with my spirits. For her, the matter was urgent. "In Bologna," she said, "you have to eat!"

That night I dined just outside the city center at Ristorante AI Cambio, which is known for its house-made, locally sourced, seasonal menu. The pasta course was a regional classic: tagliatelle with ragù, the purest version of what the rest of us call Bolognese sauce. As it was served, I had the same sense of anticipation as I did when my late, Abruzzo-born grandmother would serve up her handmade noodles, ladling them with sauce made with tomatoes and basil from her garden in Tucson, Arizona. It is hard to capture the elation I experienced as I ate that perfect plate of pasta with a brand-new tooth, and relived one of the most elemental memories of my childhood: my nonna, my Italian heritage, the love that went straight to my stomach.