Regional Tuscan Cooking at it's best!
During one of our lightening fast trips to Tuscany for work, we stopped in at a restaurant
and locanda we had passed by in the car on numerous occasions but never
had the time to stop in. This is a gem, one worth planning your trip
around just to immerse yourself in an atmosphere of top notch Tuscan
country living.This is a small
locale hosting rooms as well as, the restaurant and being the curious
one that I am, we requested to see the rooms; such a nice surprise to
find them done tastefully and with all the amenities one might wish.
Granted, it is over the autostrada and
very close to the exit so if you plan on staying for a while, it might
be noisy but then again, while soggiorning at Hotel Rosati, I never
noticed the traffic noise and this hotel is just a few steps away. Great place for an encounter, dinner downstairs and just crawl or race to the room afterwards.
The decor of t
he dinning room is ultra classic rustic
Tuscan tables, with tables out side for the hotter months. This is a
wonderful place for a quick meal or for something completely sumptuous,
slow and satisfying. The waitresses are patient and friendly and the
food is cooked to order; (grilled
specialties). One of my favorites was the bruschetta done with freshly
grilled/roasted Tuscan bread (which as you all know is salt free not to
detract from the food). If you are dinning with more than two people,
order different appetizers and share, the salame, cinta senese products
as well as the
cinghiale are out of this world and NOT to be missed. Do not expect a wine list, when asked she trotted
back with three bottles of red, all Tuscan of course, a Montepulciano
Rosso, and two Brunellos and all three super reasonably priced. I just
picked one, the Montepulciano red and we were super satisfied with it, a
perfect marriage with the meal. Two other "not-to-miss" dishes are the
fagioli al fiasco and the ceci both boiled and served piping hot in
their own cooking juice and dressed with a splash of fresh pressed olive
oil (yes it was November time of the olive harvests).
Anything chosen from the grill is fabulous as are the pasta dishes and
the deserts are all homemade (did not have room for even a glance at
those).
So, next trip to Tuscany or first timers, plan a journey
through Chiusi (Etruscan heaven), Sarteano (wonderful tombs to visit),
Montepulciano, Perugia, Orvieto and Siena and make base camp here at the
Chiusi Chianciano crossroad, (Loc. Querce al Pino) you will save a few
pennies as well as find some of the best Tuscan meals to be had. Oh, and
do not forget to make a stop off in Pienza at the cheese and salame
shops, pick u
p a finocchiona and salame both made from the Cinta Senese pork...your taste buds will thank you.La Locanda della Ribollita
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