Casa Serafini

Three tables face the kitchen directly, with a wood fire burning behind the pass, and those are the ones to ask for. This is a contemporary Italian restaurant in the Emilia-Romagna hills, run by a young chef who trained in starred kitchens before coming home to do things his own way. The menu comes in three versions, ranging from an open-handed tasting format to a vegetarian route, all built around a cooking style that shifts as he goes.

One honor, in evidence: