Parma is a bustling college town in north-central Italy, about halfway between Milan and Florence. We’ve stopped here for lunch while driving from Bellagio to Santa Margherita Ligure. I thought I knew what I was doing when we ordered, but I should have included a question in my order: Cosa sono i gamberi? (What are gamberi?)
While we were sitting at our table on the sidewalk, two ladies came and sat down at one of the other tables. They looked like they were locals, and they made themselves right at home. When the waiter came out, they exchanged pleasantries and ordered some vino. We were glad to no longer be the only two people eating on this otherwise deserted sidewalk in central Parma during the height of the lunch hour.
I had ordered penne with eggplant, mushrooms, and tomatoes. My Better Half had ordered pasta “con gamberi.” As noted last time, I had erroneously advised her that “gamberi” were little baby shrimp. Since our food had not arrived, we had yet to discover that my culinary counseling had been slightly amiss.
Whoa!
Pretty soon the waiter brought out our orders. When we saw those “little shrimp,” our eyes almost popped out. There were no tiny shrimp peeking out from amongst the strands of linguini, as we had imagined. Instead, there were three MONSTER shrimp lying across the top of a small pile of linguini. They reminded me of a deer strapped across the hood of a successful hunter’s car during hunting season.
The monster shrimp were completely intact, with body, legs, tentacles, heads, and eyeballs all on display. Neither my BH nor I had ever seen a dish like this. Those “gamberi” were huge.
I know from making shrimp stock that the head of a shrimp is where the most flavor is. And I’m pretty sure the heads weren’t still on these gamberi just for looks. We, er, uh, my BH, was supposed to eat ‘em. Oh, yeah.
Heads, Legs, Tentacles, and Eyeballs
I’ve seen it done. You grab the head with one hand, grab the body with the other, then twist. Now you take the head and suck all of that juicy goodness right out of it – an amazing taste treat! Well, that wasn’t gonna happen. Maybe some day, but not today.
Even without the head, that dish was fantastic. My pasta was amazingly good, too. Seemed like it was the best I’d ever had. How can they get so much flavor out of simple ingredients like eggplant, mushrooms, and tomatoes? Maybe the extra-good Parmesan cheese on top had something to do with it. We were in Parma, after all.
After we had cleaned our plates, (except for the heads, legs, tentacles, and eyeballs), I had to use “il bagno.” The next time the waiter came out to check on us, I asked him where it was. He pointed inside the door.
I mentioned last time that the doorway looked more like the entrance to a small apartment than to a restaurant. Now I’d get to find out what was on the other side of the door.
The Other Side of the Door
I walked over and peeked inside. There was nothing but a desk in a small entry area. But there was another doorway that, after a few steps down, opened into a subterranean room, almost like a cave.
That was the only way I could go, so I stuck my head around the corner. What I saw, to my great surprise, was the dining room of the restaurant, jam-packed full of people having lunch. No wonder our server said he was busy. Now I see what he was talking about!
It was unbelievable that this beehive of activity could be happening so close to us without us knowing. Everyone in the dining room seemed to be having a great time. The scene reminded me of the movie, “Darby O’Gill and the Little People.” Remember that one? You gotta go way back. WAY back.
The story takes place in Ireland. As I recall, Sean Connery, (in his first lead role in a movie), happens to meet a leprechaun. One thing leads to another, then the leprechaun says something like “Follow me!”
Sean Connery follows him into a crack in some nearby rocks. On the other side of the crack, he’s amazed to see a huge underground chamber full of tiny people dancing around. They’re having a time, hootin’ and hollerin’, dancing to fiddle music. That’s what it was like when I peered into that subterranean dining room. (But without all the dancing, hootin’, hollerin’, and fiddle playing).
You’d have to have a pretty good memory to remember Darby O’Gill and the Little People. It came out way back in 1959. Along with Sean Connery, it starred hundreds of very little people. Well, that’s what I thought back then. I was just a wee lad. Very impressionable.
Ready to Go
When we finished lunch, we were rested, relaxed, and ready to go. We said our good-bye’s to the nice and very busy young server who had taken care of us. Not only had it been a fantastic lunch, but it had been educational, too. Now we knew what “gamberi” are.
We walked back to the car, set the GPS for our hotel in Santa Marguerita Ligura, and headed back toward the highway. It had been a fun stop. I was kind of sad to be leaving Parma so soon. Little did I know at the time that Parma wasn’t quite finished with us.
To be continued…
Just for fun…
Cosa è… – What is…
Cosa sono… – What are…
Il bagno – The toilet
