Local Food and wine
Needless to say, food is a key part of Tuscan life, and you´d be missing out if you weren´t to experiment and try as much as you can while you are here. And don´t think that means you have to spend a sack-full of cash on glam restaurants either. That would give you a very one dimensional view of Tuscany…
Cheap eats
The cheapest way to eat in Tuscany is to cook for yourself. And that´s a great deal easier than it sounds. Simple Tuscan dishes are quick and easy to prepare. It´s the quality of the ingredients that makes all the difference. And even supermarket food here is extraordinarily good, especially fruit, vegetables, meat and fish. And if you make the extra effort to buy from smaller stores, butchers, grocers etc, you will be even more surprised at just how good a piece of sheep´s cheese (pecorino) and a couple of sliced ripe tomatoes can taste.
The markets are another great source of tasty fresh food. This is such an important part of Italian living we're got a whole chapter here. Don't be afraid to ask to taste before you buy, and don´t be afraid that your pidgin Italian won´t get you very far – the locals are used to English speakers and are always happy to help.
Things you should definitely try include:
- Find the stall that sells freshly roasted chickens etc at any large market (including Poggibonsi). Buy one. They are fantastic. And if you are feeling more adventurous, ask if they have any roast bunny (coniglio) – very tasty – and try some fried polenta (not my favourite but the Italians love it).
- Look for the stalls selling freshly roasted pork, or porchetta. There are two types, normale and salata (salted). Ask for a bit of both. Goes really well with a well-dressed fresh green salad (salt, pepper, wine vinegar and a good oil).
- Buy lots of small pieces of different cheese and salami. Again, don´t be afraid - the vendors are used to Italian grandmas buying a couple of slices of everything.
- Look for the fishmongers and buy some fresh fish (make sure the fishes´ eyes are black, not cloudy, and ask them to clean the fish for you).
There are also lots of small inexpensive restaurants you can eat at. Ask us when you get here for our current favourites, but a long-standing haunt of ours is the famous ´truckers´ restaurant, always busy with workers during the day, and packed with locals in the evening. Cheap, and excellent. Also, if you like pizza try the San Donato football team pizza place (they run it during the summer to help raise funds for the team…at least that´s how it started). Open air, trestle tables, no pretensions, but very good pizza indeed.
Mid-priced
There are lots of restaurants that fall into the €25-€50 per head bracket, but here are a couple of our local choices:
- Macereto – still my all-time favourite. Run by Wyn, half Italian, half Welsh, speaks excellent English, and his kitchen serves up some of the best food in Tuscany, bar none. Great service, and a lovely atmosphere.
- La Toppa - San Donato. Family-run concern (charismatic father Otello, mother and English-speaking son Luigi) in the heart of old San Donato. Great food, very good value, lovely setting. Visited by royalty!
- Pestello – just around the corner, this simple restaurant offers a wide range of Tuscan dishes in very pleasant surrounding…and only a 30 minutes walk home…quite fun in the dark after a bottle of wine.
- Solociccia - a restaurant in Panzano run by the famous sermon-preaching local butcher. 6 meat courses for €30 including wine. Expect to be seated at a table with others. Great fun and great value.
- La Campannina – very Tuscan country cuisine, including some speciality dishes. Very nice atmosphere with plenty of outdoor seating. Unpretentious and good.
A bit more
Again, ask us when you get here, but try:
- Ristoro di Lamole - lovely place perched on top of an isolated hill-top village in the middle of the hills just past Panzano. Good food, lovely setting, and superb service with multi-lingual staff.
- La Locanda di Pietracupa - San Donato - highly rated by our vistors and friends, and only a few minutes away. Nice setting, excellent food and service.
- Settimo´s in Florence – only just makes it over the €50/head barrier, and really very good fish indeed. Unless you have a specific request go with the flow and let you bring you what´s on offer. You won´t be disappointed. Not in a pretty part of Florence, but if it was, it would be twice the price.
But don´t worry too much about planning. Restaurants cannot survive on tourism alone (unless they are in the main square in San Gimignano) and Italians are extremely fussy eaters.
No restaurant would survive here unless it was good, so feel free to experiment and let us know how you get on so we can put the information up here.
Wine Tasting
Well, the choices here are endless, but here are some of the tours people have enjoyed:
- Casa Emma - just down the road. Excellent wine, and a good wine-testing lunch available. You will need to book.
- Antonori's Badia a Passignano - beautiful spot, and a very educational (and not-at-all patronising) wine-tasting session from the wine makers from between €15 to €35 depending on the quality of the wines you taste. Restaurant too.
- Le Cantine di Greve -highly recommended by Emma and Sebastian in June 2008. Clever card system that allows you to sample 140 different wines in a stunning cantina.
- Isole e Olena – needs booking, and the wine is not cheap, but you do get what you pay for. Marta who runs the tours is lovely.
- Setriolo – a new discover for us in 2008. Stunning wine (possibly on the best I’ve tested, ever) in a small, out of the way spot. Needs booking 48 hours in advance. €10 gets you a generous tasting of their wines with some snacks. Suzanna is charming and their place is beautiful.
- Vignamaggio, near Greve on the way to Lamole (so you could kill two birds with one stone). €20 gets you the tour, tasting and snacks. Everyone who has been has loved it.
