Generally, Verona’s gastronomy is as scandalous as its literary portrayal. Romeo and Juliette were most certainly wolfing down horses, just sayin’.

Horse meat, Caval, is a Veronese favorite up to this day, and somewhere, in a hush way, they serve donkey meat, which used to be extensively consumed.

Back in the day, under siege, a law was passed, allowing the citizens to devour all of the freezing four-legged human companions, after soaking them in wine and spice, to avoid poisoning.

These sad times of local gastronomical history are long gone, and Verona is now packed with restaurants of all kinds, but Caval, along with risotto di amarone, still tops the bucket lists of all the wandering foodie pilgrims.

We don’t care for Michelin. We want makeshift and «wow».

Like always, we got to some shit hole of a place and found a treasure more amazing than any dead donkey’s ears.

Tortellini shop Bottega della Gina with take-away does not serve up any overdried dwarfy stuff, instead, they are real fresco, gigantic types. After a portion of 8 you leave happy and satisfied.

That day they had 16 varieties.

The BOMB is the one with radicchio and red wine. To blow your head off, there is spinach and lamb. All-around proper ones are with truffle and white mushrooms. To be overwhelmed beyond, get the three meats type.

The menu and the shelves held not a single bottle of wine, but the owner interpreted our signals correctly and straight away arranged for some bottles of amarone to be brought to us from the neighboring shop. One of which we finished off right on the spot, taking the others to go.

I steered clear from the horsemeat tortellini. Not in this lifetime, not yet. Not Veronese in spirit. We also skipped the newly-built Juliette’s house.

Instead, we walked off those tortellini, washing it down with amarone, hanging around the streets of this unique city, one of the most beautiful in Italy.

It is not at all about Juliette or Romeo.

May Shakespeare forgive me.