A special meal in Florence

We have been in Florence for a week and I was waiting to write about something special. Well, the time has come--last night was special. Let me start by saying that while I know Tuscan food is supposed to be wonderful, our experience last time and this has been much more ordinary.

Starting with the bread. In NY, Tuscan defines good Italian bread. Our experience has been disappointing. They just don't have freshly made bread with a great crust. Most stores sell manufactured bread in plastic bags. Where they do have "freshly baked" bread it reminds me of the supermarket par-baked bread in NY. Also, the bread is made without salt (because 1,000 years ago, in a war with Pisa, salt was rationed and the Florentines decided to make their bread without salt as spite).

We've eaten mostly at little wine bars or at home. The typical fare is pasta and meat. A large pieces of grilled beef (up to a kilo) is a Tuscan specialty. In Europe that may be special, but to a New Yorker its pretty ordinary. The best meal we had until Sat. was Pizza at a Cafe near the Piazza Signoria. It was made with a thin crust and fresh tomatoes, Pecorino cheese and Boar Salami. It was fabulous. I could eat lunch there every day. From Chris: he's forgotten about the wonderful little wine bar just yards from our front door where the sausage, salami and pecorino are outstanding and provide just the kind of food that we love!

This Saturday night we finally went to a restaurant that was really special:

Cibreo

8 Via Andrea del Verrocchio

This is a small restaurant with a price-fixed menu. The waiter comes to your table to discuss it. There is no printed copy. Just the waiter who sits at your table and discusses what's available and your order. What makes this especially interesting is there is almost nothing on the menu you have ever heard of! They specialize in peasant dishes using unfamiliar ingredients. The picture is of my main course - stuffed chicken neck (like a sausage) and head with homemade mayonnaise. Chris had roasted pigeon stuffed with mustard fruits (in the background); both were delicious.

Our starters were a little more ordinary (we wanted to be sure we had something we could eat). Chris had Polenta with Asiago cheese and I had "pana pomadore" (pureed fresh tomatoes & bread with basil). We thought they worked well together.

The wine was a wonderful Chianti area 2004 Orano. I had never heard of it but they assured me Robert Parker had given it 98 points!

For dessert, we had a lemon tart that was delicious. They were upset we only ordered one dessert so they gave us an extra slice of flour-less chocolate cake. Coffee and a tisane followed--by the way, we've not had a bad cup of coffee here! A memorable meal, served by attentive, friendly staff--we would definitely go back and will try their smaller, less expensive cafe before we go home.