Ah, the last meal in Tuscany! (except for breakfast) We took a couple hours to visit the cute little town of Certaldo. The old town is up on a hill and you ascend by funicular. The town was great, but there weren’t a lot of restaurant options. We chose the most likely looking.
At the end of the main drag.
And the dining terrace turned out to have this rather lovely view.
The now familiar panzanella. Last time you’ll see it though as we’re leaving Tuscany.
A risotto with vegetables, peculiar in being slightly soupy, but supposedly decent.
A truffle risotto soup (haha, just a soupy risotto). Tasted good though.
Local pasta in pomodoro sauce.
Spaghetti alla carbonara. Not bad, although perhaps not as eggy cheesy as it could have been.
Ravioli with cheese, butter, and sage. Those that ate this felt the ravioli might have been packaged.
THe same ravioli, but with a truffle sauce. They were fine.
Roasted potatoes.
Pork fillet in balsamic sauce.
Saltimbocc alla romana. Veal with ham and sage. Pretty tasty actually, but salty.
And a bit of gelato to finish.
This was a decent meal. The patio location — which we had entirely to ourselves — was absolutely world class. The food was good. Not great by any meals, but decently executed. The company, though, was as good as the view, so all was good.
The wine guide who took us to Montacino seemed to have very good taste in food, and so we’d asked him where the best pizza in Tuscany was. He was confident it was a place in the tiny town of San Donato called Pizzeria Pretorio. We trekked for 30 minutes each way just to find out.
San Donato is one of those pretty small stone towns. It wasn’t very big, so it didn’t take long to just stumble into the joint.
And they turned out to have such a terrible view.
And cramped unappealing terrace — not!
The menu.
One thing about this terrace — it was hot hot hot in the Tuscan sun. So I took an artsy water bottle shot.
And we felt that pizza called for beer, in this case the special premium “silly beer!”
La fabrizino: small tomatoes, sausage, porcini, mozzarella and arugala.
Then the piece du ressistance: the four seasons. We don’t know exactly what was on this, but clearly the green pesto & zucchini part was spring, the sausage winter, the squash part fall, and the remaining one summer.
Overall Pretorio was some damn fine pizza in an impeccable location.
Then walking out we stumbled onto this: an artisan gelato place.
Oh the hardship. This turned out to be one of the three or so best gelatos I had in Italy too.
The didn’t have a lot of flavors, but those they did were really good.
Chocolate.
Lemon.
And my trio: Cassata di Siciliana (ricotta with candied fruits), chocolate with cherries!, and nutella. All three flavors were fabulous, but the nutella was hands down the best nutella gelato I’ve ever had (and I’ve had plenty). It was so thick I wondered if it just WAS nutella, but really I know better as even at fridge temperatures nutella becomes unspreadable.
On our first day in Florence we had walked by this Gelateria with huge lines (not far from Nove IX). And then coincidently I was talking to our wine country guide who was a definitive foodie and a Florentine native and he recommended the very same place as the best in Florence.
So on our second day we had to try it.
I mentally think of gelato as falling in two broad flavor groups. These are the “non fruits” (i.e. chocolates and cream flavors).
Some more of them, and some hybrids like cherries and cream.
Then we have the fruits.
A couple more angles on this stuff.
Yum.
I went for “creamy” this time, with pannacotta and tiramisu type flavors.
Half the group going to town.
This was indeed one of the best Gelato places we ate at on the trip, although there were certainly lots of very good ones. I asked them for a sample of their pink grapefruit too and it was totally spectacular, making me want to get a whole second cup.
As a second opinion though, my wife thought Vivoli, was more to her taste because she loved the “chocolate mousse” fluffy style flavor. In 1986 I spent five days in Florence, and I went to Vivoli at least twice on each of those, as at that age, and not having much gelato it was mind blowing. It was certainly still good, but I thought Santa Trinita was a little better personally.
On our second day in Florence we came out of the Pitti Palace starved and thirsty.
One of our guide books directed us to a spot just across the street from this grand piazza, which is a location always fraught with peril for “over touristy” restaurants. This one surprised. Yeah they had an all English menu, but the food was very good. Plus there was a special truffle menu that had some delicious items (one of which, sadly, I forgot to photo /cry).
We took a most excellent wine tasting tour of Montalcino (the home of the one and only Brunello). This was led by a top flight young guide named Matteo Perinti, who took us to a pair of top flight small wineries (but more on that itself later). In between we stopped at Montalcino the home base for Brunello.
Montalcino is one of Tuscany‘s long list of ugly locales — just kidding. It’s a gorgeous mediaeval village — with a LOT of wine for sale.
We went to the restaurant owned by the Le Potoazzine vineyard, which was one that we visited. Not only was their wine incredible, but they run a nice restaurant.
For lunch we actually had their IGT Tuscan, slightly down the curve than this amazing Rosso Di Montalcino, but I didn’t get a photo. If you can find the above wine in the states do — it was incredibly seductive.
After our self selection failure on Saturday, we got another restaurant recommend from our host (the owner of our villa). He sent us to this casual but very good seafood restaurant in Poggibonsi.
As usual there is a nice outside dining space.
And a gigantic menu.
This being all seafood we got both a prosecco.
And a local white from San Gimiangano. This is one of those joints where the wine is like E10. I like this light quaffable, almost Greek-style, white.
Caprese.
One of my friends and I ordered this “assorted fish appetizer, min 2 people” which was E10 a person, it came with this and EVERY dish until the pastas! An amazing assortment. This one was “Tuna with balsamic dressing.”
Marinated white anchovies and onions.
Crostini with white I think is a fish row mayo.
Marinated Salmon with red peppercorns.
What I think are winkles, or little sea snails, in a delicious garlicky sauce.
Octopus pulp. Also garlicky.
Muscles.
Scallops stuffed with a kind of pesto scallop paste.
Some tasty but undetermined shellfish “stew.” Wow, that’s a lot for two people and E20 total.
Home made pasta with a kind of tomato pesto.
White Risotto with mixed seafood. This was good, and unusual in that usually seafood risottos have some tomato in them.
Risotto with squid.
Strozzapreti with Fish ragu. This was highly unusual (for me) and really good. It was essentially a ragu made using shellfish instead of ham. It was very salty, with a significantly briny taste, but very tasty. The al dente shells were a fantastic foil.
Pizza Margherita.
Mixed fried fish. Lightly fried and delicious.
Branzino, simply grilled and filleted at the table.
A very very typical fish preperaration all over the Medditeranian, but done very well here.
The final presentation of the fish.
Not only was this restaurant a bit different, being all seafood, and very good, but it was an incredible deal. The bill was less than E20 a person and we had an incredible amount of food.
What better intersection of my interests than a meal based on Ancient Roman cuisine. On Thursday July 14 and 15th the Getty Villa offered a combination of lecture on ancient food and a meal of authentic Roman dishes based on the legendary recipes of Apicius. I had used this very same cookbook as the basis for our Empires of the Ancient World Ball back in 2006! The event page for the Getty dinner is here, although it might eventually go away.
We enter the new Getty Villa, which mixes a gorgeous setting, the lovely and semi-authentic original villa, and Richard Meier‘s over-modern Travertine slabs (I personally think the architecture of both Getty’s should have been entirely traditional, as I DO NOT subscribe to the ornament is dead school of thought).
Food historian Andrew Dalby starts the evening by exploring dining practices in the city that once ruled the Mediterranean. He identifies the range of luxuries that comprised a fashionable meal 2,000 years ago: great wines, local farm produce, and exotic spices from India and beyond. Dalby illustrates how invitations and place settings at the table were calculated to impress, persuade, or seduce. Gaius Julius Caesar understood better than any of his rivals that food could serve as a means of persuasion. How did Caesar, a relatively unknown politician, build up the influence that made him a dictator and gave birth to a new political structure? Dalby shares examples from the ruler’s feasts and entertainments to shed fresh light on this pivotal period of Roman history.
Andrew Dalby is an historian and linguist with a special interest in food history. He collaborated with Sally Grainger on The Classical Cookbook (Getty Publications, 1995), which explores the culinary history of ancient Greece and Rome and includes recipes adapted for the modern kitchen. His bookDangerous Tastes (2000), on the origins of the spice trade, was a Guild of Food Writers Food Book of the Year. His other publications include Empire of Pleasures (2000), which addresses food and other luxuries in Roman writings; light-hearted accounts of Bacchus and Venus (Getty Publications, 2003 and 2005); and a new biography of the Greek statesman, Eleftherios Venizelos (2010). His latest translation, Geoponika (2011), brings to light a forgotten primary source on food and farming in Roman and Byzantine times.
Then we proceed into the main villa for dinner.
The food portion was supervised by Sally Grainger, who trained as a chef in her native Coventry, England, before developing an interest in the ancient world and taking a degree in ancient history from the University of London. Combining her professional skills with her expertise in the culinary heritage of the Greek and Roman world, she now pursues a career as a food historian, consultant, and experimental archaeologist.
Grainger’s recent projects include Roman food tastings at the British Museum and the Bath Roman Museum in England. She has demonstrated ancient cooking techniques for English Heritage and also Butser Ancient Farm, a reconstructed Iron Age village and laboratory for experimental archaeology. Grainger recently acquired an M.A. in archaeology and is currently researching the extensive trade across the Roman world of the fermented fish sauce known as garum. With her husband, Christopher Grocock, Grainger published a new translation of the Roman recipe book Apicius for Prospect Books. She has also published a companion volume of recipes, Cooking Apicius.
An aperitif of saffron and honey infused wine. This tasted pretty much the same as the “wine coolers” I made at my party by mixing Soave (a traditional Venetian white that lore has Livia the wife of Augustus praising) with honey.
“Traditional White Spelt Loaf: spelt flour, bread flour, yeast.” Rustic roman bread. Food this simple hasn’t changed much, it was pretty bread-like.
“Cucumber in a Mint‐and‐Honey Dressing: cucumber, honey, fish sauce, vinegar, black pepper, mint.”
“Sweet‐and‐Sour Egg and Leek Dipping Sauce with Crudités: cumin, myrtle berries, black pepper, parsley, leek, eggs, honey, white wine vinegar, olive oil, fish sauce”
The cucumbers were very tasty. The sauce was good too, it just had a slightly odd flavor that took a little getting used to.
It’s worth mentioning the infamous Roman fish sauce, garum. This was a type of fermented fish sauce condiment that was an essential flavour in Ancient Roman cooking, the supreme condiment. Although it enjoyed its greatest popularity in the Roman world, it originally came from the Greeks, gaining its name from the Greek words garos or gáron (γάρον), which named the fish whose intestines were originally used in the condiment’s production.
Around the outside edge:
“Chicken Meatballs with a Dill and Rice‐infused Sauce:
Meatballs: chicken, pheasant, sweet wine, black pepper, fish sauce, egg, bread crumbs, dill hydrogarum (cooking liquor): pepper corns, fish sauce, sweet wine, water, Spanish camomile, celery leaves
Sauce: chicken stock, fresh green dill, black pepper, salt, celery seed, arborio rice, defrutum (boiled and flavoured grape juice)”
The meatballs were good, like chicken meatballs with a slightly sweet flavor.
Then in the center:
“Calf’s Kidney stuffed with Coriander, Fennel Seed, and Pine Nuts: calf’s kidney, pine nuts, fennel seed, fresh coriander, black pepper, pigs caul fat, fish sauce, olive oil”
I can’t say I’m a big kidney fan, and this is, well kidney. It was rubbery, with a very very long finish. I just can’t say it was a pleasant one. It’s all the kidney’s fault though, not the recipe per se.
“Oysters with oenogarum: fish sauce, white wine, honey, black pepper, ground celery seed.”
Wow. These were interesting. The oysters are oysters, but the flavor in combination with the oenogarum was REALLY interesting. It added a pleasant, slightly vinegary, sweet briny taste which lasted in the mouth for a good minute or two. I could only describe it as “essence of maryland blue-crab aftertaste.”
“Zucchini Stuffed with Calf’s Sweetbread, Dressed with oenogarum and Served with Mixed Greens: zucchini, calf’s sweetbread, oregano, lovage, fish sauce, eggs, black pepper, mixed baby greens.”
These tasted good, but as usual it’s hard for me to get over my brain aversion, although that was entirely psychological.
“Sea Bass Fillets in a Green Herb Sauce: sea bass, fresh fennel, coriander, mint, rue, lovage, honey, fish sauce, oil, black pepperMain.”
Like herby sea bass!
“porcellum hortolanum: Whole Stuffed Roasted Pig
Stuffing: chicken, pork, eggs, cumin, fennel seed, oregano, savoury or thyme, pine nuts, parsley, pepper corns, pepper, salt, bread crumbs.”
Now this was some good stuff. I was reminded of this crazy pig video (below). They have essentially taken a roasted pig, taken out everything inside, and then packed the skin together with sausage, the meat and all sorts of other goodies to make a giant piggy-shaped meatloaf!
The pig plated.
Shredded Cabbage and Leek with Coriander and Caraway: white cabbage, coriander, leek, olive oil, black pepper, caraway, fish sauce.”
Roman cole slaw! Tasted like slightly sweet herby slaw.
“Beans in a Honey‐Mustard Sauce: black‐ eyed peas, pine nuts, honey, whole grain mustard, rue, parsley, cumin, white wine vinegar, white wine, black pepper, fish sauce”
Again slightly sweet and herby, with a distinct mustard taste. Actually very yummy beans.
I guess this stuff has survived more or less, because I’ve had this greek candy Pasteli that is very similar. Sweet and nutty, kinda dry.
“libum: Honey‐infused Cake Served with Apricot Patina: ricotta, eggs, flour, figs, white wine, honey, dessert wine, defrutum (boiled and flavoured grape juice), cumin, black pepper, apricots.”
This is sort of the ancient version of biscuits with stewed apricots. But like all Roman dishes they are more willing to play with the conventional rules of sweet/savory. Hence, the black pepper! The overall affect was pleasant enough, but certainly not radical.
Luna watches over the festivities.
Overall this was a very enjoyable evening. While a bit strange to our palette, it did show how Roman food was anything but primitive (of course I already knew this :-)). Certainly this was a rare treat. Now I just have to find someplace that serves dormice in walnut sauce! It also made me further appreciate the job Celestino Drago did with adapting recipes from Apicus for our 2006 Ball, as they were nearly as authentic. We did, however, skip the kidneys!
We were in Poggibonsi to drop my brother off at the bus/train station and we spent a few minutes wandering around and then picked a likely random lunch restaurant. This turned out to be our worst pick of the trip compared to expectations. It looked like all the other likely places — and it was even very touristy — but the food just wasn’t very good.
The menu.
This inexpensive Chianti Classico (probably 10-15 euros) was perfectly nice though.
Classic bruschetta with liver. These weren’t bad, one of the places better items. They weren’t however even close to the best bruschetta we’ve seen.
Mixed bruchetta, also fine. Starting from upper left and going clockwise. Fava beans, lard, mushrooms, and tomato.
Spicy pici with walnuts. This pasta tasted like glue. Paste. It was pretty gross. I think they added flour to the sauce, making it like elmers.
Tagliatelle al pesto. Edible, but very mediocre pesto.
Green tortelli with fossa cheese and yellow pumpkin cream. I didn’t try these.
Linguine with cheese and pepper. This was really bad too. Not even close to the amazing pepper and cheese pasta at Trattoria Pepei. I could barely eat a few bites. The pasta was pasty. Those thin slices of pecorino has an unpleasant melted cheese taste, and the sauce — there barely was one — tasted of paste.
Penne pomodoro.
Tagliatelle with tomatoes, olives, capers and hot peppers. Didn’t try this either.
Chicken, green beans, tomatoes, mushrooms. This was fine, not horrible. Not really a dish that does it for me though.
This place was completely unique for this trip in that it actually had bad dishes, several of them. That pretty much makes it the worst meal, even though it wasn’t horrible or anything. But it goes to show, eat out 50 times in Italy and you can find a dud!
This is our third year renting a villa in Europe for a big chunk of June. I’ve experimented with different ways to handle the breakfast situation for a large number of people (9-15 is what we’ve had). It’s not practical to go out everyday, it would just take too long to wrangle everyone, and a free for all at the house (which we tried last year) has all sorts of issues. Namely the challenge of restocking the groceries and cleaning up. So, our houses at this year’s villa arranged to set and clear a continental breakfast table, to which we added some local products. Overall it worked out very well.
The first thing I need is my coffee. Cappuccino this time of morning. Our hosts made them, which was convenient as last year my dad was making them straight for 90 minutes every morning. Given that many people have two, and the slow speed of the little home machines, it’s hard to churn a lot of them out.
The full spread.
Various dry goods, yogurts, jams, cereal, orange juice.
Fruit, cookies, toast, blood orange juice (yum).
We also put out some of the local cheeses, mostly Pecorino.
And more.
And the stubs of all sorts of them.
A few cow cheeses from the local market.
No Italian breakfast is complete without Prosciutto.
Our Florentine friend brought us to this attractive new place on the banks of the Arno river as the sun was making it’s way into that great tunnel in the west.
It’s actually about three blocks to the left of this, past the Ponte Vecchio. Nove IX is more typical of a city like Florence than most of the Tuscan restaurants we have been eating at in that it’s a bit more modernized, trendy. Still, the cuisine is solidly rooted in the local countryside.
This 90 point Chianti Rufina is readily available in the Florence area. “The 2007 Chianti Rufina Riserva shows the open, opulent personality that makes this vintage so alluring. Ripe, silky tannins frame a core of red fruits, flowers and spices, all of which come together with unsual grace. Though medium in body, there is wonderful generosity to the fruit, not to mention fabulous overall balance. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2015.”
This is a tartar of beef with parmesan.
And on a more modern note, a tartar of tuna with avocado and tomato.
And one of white fish (perhaps even yellowtail) with citrus and a light frise-type salad. Certainly showing those Matsuhisa type influences.
The Nove IX take on the mixed salad.
Risotto with spigola (sea bass), lemon, and Florentine zucchine.
Spaghettini with pesto of zucchini flowers.
Paccheri (wide pasta) with tomatos, mozzarella and fried eggplant.
Shellfish ravioli in creme of zucchine sauce.
Trofie alla genovese. Traditional twisted little pasta with pesto (basil, olive oil, garlic, parmesan, and pine-nuts) as well as a bit of sliced potato and green beans. This was the best pesto I had until we got to Liguria (where pesto comes from).
Chopped chicken with green beans and balsamic sauce. Not so far off from a chinese dish!
Nothing at all wrong with Nove IX. The food was great, and it was a welcome change to see a little bit more updated menu without compromising at all on quality.
All Things Andy Gavin 