Dear Mr. Gold:

I have fond memories of childhood summers in a small town named Cervia, on the Adriatic coast in the Emilia-Romagna region. And I have clear memories of walking to piadina stands for a taste of that distinct flatbread, which I loved. It would be nice to have a place in Los Angeles where I can enjoy the modest bread I remember so well.

—Eric S.

Dear Eric S.:

Piadinas, as you know, are native to Romagna but are almost as common in Italy as hamburgers are in Los Angeles — soft, floppy flatbread usually layered with something like prosciutto, arugula and a bit of fresh mozzarella, folded in half and grilled. It’s a default snack at places like swimming pools and cocktail bars, anywhere there isn’t really room to cook, as well as at specialty piadinerie. There’s also a lot of piadina in New York, for some reason — I used to live across the street from a restaurant actually called Piadina — although there doesn’t seem to be much of it here. You can, though, find piadina stuffed with cheese or sausage lunch times at Locanda del Lago in Santa Monica, a restaurant that concentrates on the cooking of the Lombardy Lake District, things like pizzoccheri or trota alla Comesca, but isn’t dogmatic about it. 231 Arizona Ave., Santa Monica, (310) 451-3525. 

Got a burning culinary question?  E-mail askmrgold@laweekly.com.

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.