Our Best Of Florence On A Budget

I think I am growing up... I didn't want to stick around Saluzzo during Carnevale for all the loud music, costumes and confetti. Considering I had 5 days of holiday and was itching to get away anyway, we decided to take a drive down to Florence for a couple days (4 hour drive)! Here is our BEST OF list on a budget:

ACCOMODATION:

Hotel Dali: Prices almost like a hostel (60€/night). We tried the scary "out of room bathroom" experience which turned out to be ok. It was all worth it for its incredibly central location and free parking (which is a nightmare in Florence")

view from hotel

BEST BAR:


Our first night in Florence we spent "freestyling" and found a very cool bar for aperitivos called VOLUME. It was in the Oltrarno area on the other side of Ponte Vecchio. We found this place only because everything else seemed basically deserted! This is one of the pluses of visiting in February...very few people around. Ponte Vecchio was eerily damp and desolated. Well, this old woodshop has been turned into a bustling bar where we happened to meet some American pastry chef trainees. They all were from NorCal and coincidentally had two extra spots available for their dinner reservation.

COOLEST REASONABLY PRICED RESTAURANT:

Of course we took them up on their offer and headed to a chic restaurant in the same area called Il Santo Bevitore. We were served as special guests, and although we were not so hungry after our hefty aperitivo snacks, I ordered a main dish of cream of baccalà with pesto and pine nuts. We were offered a Cauliflower soup with salmon and caviar to start with too. Let's not forget about the lovable tradition of serving prosecco to the customers upon arrival. So cool!

THE MOST AMAZING SIGHT:

In a city full of Renaissance masterpieces it is hard to choose the most beautiful sight but what really struck me was Giotto's works on the "Duomo". I know it should be the Uffizi but the truth of the matter is, that I guess I am not cultured enough to truly appreciate what this museum has to offer.

BEST PLACE TO GET A CHEAP LUNCH:

Normally, I am not a creature of habit but after finding this place the first day, it became our place of refuge for the next couple days. Nerbone is famous for their Lampredotto, a boiled beef sandwich made from the fourth stomach of the cow and covered with sauces...watch out for the red spicy sauce! I had my first Ribollita there, a traditional vegetable soup. However, what I was really eyeing were the artichoke hearts at the other table so. Our combined meals were all under 10 Euros.

BEST STOP FOR FOODIES:

One of the first stops I wanted to make on Saturday morning was at the Mercato Centrale. It is a covered area full of eye candy: fruit and vegetable stands, butchers and the great lunch places like Nerbone. When in dire need of fruit, we came back to this lovely spot too!

FAVORITE GO-TO RESTAURANT AND FAVORITE MEAL:

While with our new pastry chef friends at VOLUME, they told us that the restaurant across the street called Osteria Santo Spirito was a nice place to eat. One night after desperate restaurant searching, we decided to go back over the bridge and trust our new friends, after all they proved to have good taste! The waitress was incredibly friendly, the atmosphere was warm and cozy and the tables were mixed with Americans and locals too. I finally saw Pappa al Pomodoro on the menu and I knew I was going for that! I had been wanting to try this again ever since I ate it at the Wine Blogger's Conference and it didn't disappoint. Pappa al Pomodoro was a "peasant's dish" and a way to use old bread by letting it stew together with celery, carrots, onions and tomatoes. Just my kind of meal. I was more than satisfied with that and some sauteed spinach. I had to keep in mind the traditional custom of  dipping "cantucci"(biscotti) in Vin Santo after the meal. I loved this!

Sunday was forecasted to be rainy. So it would be the perfect day to visit the Uffizi Gallery, too bad everyone else had that same idea! With a two hour line, we decided to ditch it and go see David instead!

Our true dilemma though was trying to find Claudio the best price/quality for a Fiorentina steak. We were recommended to go to I Latini, a family style restaurant famous for their massive "Fiorentina". While we waited for 40 minutes, we realized that EVERYONE was eating one steak shared between 2 people. At this moment Claudio was seriously asking himself why he married a vegetarian! There was no way he could eat a 1.3 kg steak by himself, which would also be a shame to waste at 45 Euros/Kg. As soon as we sat down I started having mixed feelings of disappointment and anxiety when they told us they couldn't make a half order. The waiter gave us attitude, and even though we already had a sip of house wine which was on the table, we decided to get up and GO! Laughing the whole way and feeling devilishly guilty about our rude tourist act, we both felt relieved. But the problem was going through the endless restaurant-searching frenzy all over again so late in the evening. We opted for our safe haven, Osteria Santo Spirito and had two fantastic pasta dishes, rigatoni with tomato sauce and ravioli with cream and walnuts. At least we had plenty of churches to visit the next day to ask forgiveness for our sins!

can you see the scary birds in the sky?

BEST THING TO DO ON A RAINY DAY: 

Monday was rainy and freezing again! We got shelter from the rain in Cantinetta Antinori where we had a crazy know-it-all waiter who served us a beautiful Sassello Super Tuscan and a Vintage '99 Chianti Classico Riserva. They were excellent! The Sassello, still tasted a bit young and revealed red fruits and tight tannins, while the Reserve was salty, and leathery and as Claudio described almost sweaty but very rich and satisfying. Then we went off to a restaurant called Bordino where you could find great deals and get a 500 gram steak which was perfect for Claudio. I know it is not really a Fiorentina, but it satisfied our needs for the night.

BEST VIEW:


We crammed in the Uffizi on our last morning, and went up to Piazza Michelangelo just as we were leaving since it was the first glimpse of sun we got our whole trip. I loved Florence and can't wait to explore the Tuscan countryside next time!

Anselmi Capitel Croce 2007 Not Exactly Soave

It's been dreadfully cold around here the last few weeks and consequently we have pretty much stayed put. No fun adventures to write about but lots of homemade dinners and new wines tasted. I would like to talk about one which particularly stood out for many reasons: Anselmi Capitel Croce 2007. 

I mistakenly called it "Soave" on twitter like it was sold to me in the store. However, I was quickly corrected by my wine buddies who told me that you can not technically call it by this name. Actually I don't even like saying Soave anyway because the song Ricooooo Ricooooo Soaveeeee immediately gets stuck in my head! Besides being an awful song, this name has become symbolic of a type of person which The Urban Dictionary defines as:

"Latin lover type with greesed hair, gold chains, flowing shirt, the whole bit. Said person usually has largely inflated ego and a slight lisp."

When you think about it, we can actually attribute this definition to the preconceived notion about the wine Soave. Unfortunately in the 1970's this wine (made from garganega and trebbiano grapes) was mass produced into bland, cheap "superficial" jug wine. The territory was expanded and regulations were scarce. Just like a Rico Suave, perhaps branding and a one-dimensional character had more of an impact at the time.


Alright, so I'll get to my point. The owner/winemaker Roberto Anselmi wanted to change people's impression of this commercial Soave and take the necessary steps to creating a wine which lived up to its full potential. In fact, he even decided to forego the DOC(G) status in order to have more flexibility and freedom, therefore giving it the IGT wine status. By doing this, Anselmi proved that sometimes DOC(G) does not necessarily guarantee you quality. The debate on this subject is endless but I must say that I admire a guy who can take a stand for what he believes in and did what was necessary, though perhaps unpopular, to make the best wine he could. This is why, in spite of the winery being located in the small Soave Classico DOC zone of Monteforte d'Alpone, it can not technically be called "Soave". 

So let's get back to the wine that started all this mess! Anselmi's Capitel Croce is made from 100% Garganega, aged for 8 months in used barriques and further matured in the bottle for 9 months. It was a beautiful brilliant gold, incredibly aromatic, juicy and mouth-filling. I smelled melony aromas and tropical fruits like papaya. It even changed dramatically with every different ingredient we ate and despite being rich on the palate it had surprisingly refreshing acidity. Anselmi's Capitel Croce was full of flavor and personality and at about 14 Euros it was well worth it. So whether we can call it Soave or not, this particular wine has stimulated a new interest in trying the growing number of quality exemplars of Soave. Drink on!

How To Counter The Cold In Italy

What? Rome is in a state of emergency for the cold? More and more I keep thinking that the 2012 prophecy is really going to happen. Well, after a mild winter we got blasted with a Siberian snow/ice storm here too. No morning espresso is needed to wake up before school since the frigid -13 temperatures are a sure-fire way to get those eyes open. So what have we been doing to counter the cold temperatures? Obvious: eating and drinking.

Last week despite the cold, we were able to transport ourselves to the warm, Mediterranean climate of Sicily by sipping one of the best Passito di Pantelleria that I have ever tried! As we swirled Donna Fugata's Ben Ryé Passito delicately in our mouths, we could taste an overwhelming reminiscence of sun-kissed apricots and candied orange. Our friend Marina, made her own almond biscotti (cantucci) which were the perfect pair for this toasty treat. Oh yeah.. and we threw in some fruit pasticcini too!

On Saturday night, though we would have rather drunk a cozy red wine we decided to be patriotic and choose a Piemontese white which would go well with our baked salmon. So we tried Piero Busso's Langhe DOC Bianco (50% Chardonnay 50%SavBlanc) which turned out to be the perfect choice. This winery is known mostly for its Barbaresco but this white was aromatic, crisp and pleasant for our fish dinner! A good recommendation for a Piemontese white.

I must admit...I am kind of enjoying this cold weather! It's a good excuse to stay in and drink and eat well! Stay warm!

BLAST FROM THE PAST: NOV.1 2004 TOTAL CONFUSION

Ok...talk about panic! I missed both my trains back to Saluzzo and this train station in Torino is CRAZY! Everyone is rushing around, no-one speaks English, and finally after calming down I call my boss to ask if she can speak to the Saluzzo secretary "S" and explain the situation. They tell me to go to some Svegliana or something like that (it is actually called SAVIGLIANO;)). So I try asking the green jacket info guys for Svegliana and they tell me n.3 at 7:35 which is just about now. I run with all these military soldiers who are wearing black and red suits (maybe they were the carabinieri).  ahhhhhh....

Midnight: 

My life is hilarious. So "S" picked me up form the train station in Svegliano. Then S can't speak any English but she still talks a lot anyway! So she took me to my flat and I saw that while I was gone they put sheets on the bed and provided me with the essentials. She showed me how to use the confusing keys and gave me: one placemat, two robes, towels, beer, wine, coffee, raw sugar, milk, water both natural and fizzy, one jar of marmalade, four apples, cookies and a coffee thingy for the stove...oh yeah... and toilet paper!

She showed me how to use the water heater switch but I am not sure if I am supposed to keep it on or not. Maybe when I take a shower I am should turn it off? It doesn't make much sense to me but oh well! Then I learned how to use the scary gas stove and she was laughing because I was such a chicken about it. Then I also had to practice with her how to turn on the gas "boomba?"and turn it off again. As if that wasn't enough confusion for the day, I asked her how to make coffee from one of those apparatuses which really shocked her! We went back and forth about so many things because I would just nod like I understood but of course I didn't. I don't think she understood me either!

boomba or otherwise known as bombola!

It is nice though that it is already furnished with cups, plates, etc. but maybe I should invest in a TV. I sat down and had an apple and some cookies for dinner. Much different that the quantities I have eaten until now!

EWWW! I can hear the guy above me hacking ... I can hear everything! So that is why I went outside to talk on the phone and decided to walk around Saluzzo. I think I love it. Lots of people were out and I also noticed there were lots of nice cars, children's clothes shops and lingerie shops. I came back and tried to find a wireless signal but no luck. Tomorrow I am excited to go grocery shopping and buy some stuff for the apartment. I don't have to be at school till 2:30 pm. Time to read and go to bed (my bed is two old twins put together) Hilarious!

Anna Maria Abbona Dolcetto Tasting

In Piemonte, the native grape variety Dolcetto can often be perceived as just being your average table wine. However, a few Dolcetto winemakers from the D.O.C.G. wine appellation and town called Dogliani are taking it more seriously and producing some phenomenal stuff! The first "WOW" Dolcetto that I ever tried was at Chionetti and since then my thoughts have changed about this varietal.

As I had heard through the "grapevine", there was another top-notch Dolcetto di Dogliani winemaker, famous for its superb wines and ethical philosophy. The winery is Anna Maria Abbona (not to be confused with the bigger winery Marziano Abbona). Everyone always raves about this wine both for the friendly winemakers and their attention to producing the highest quality wine which is achieved by factors like their high altitude, low yields, and resistance to increasing production. For that reason, I was very excited to attend a 5 glass tasting at our local bar in Saluzzo called Turnover.

This tasting event made me realize that the ambience can be a key factor in maximizing the "wine experience". The neon lights and the loud clubby atmosphere took a little bit away from concentrating on the sensorial elements of the wine. But it was fantastic to meet Anna Maria there with her son (who also does just about everything at the family winery) who generously brought along 5 Dolcettos from different vintages: '09, '07, '04, '01, '99, all from their oldest vines which they call Maioli. My favorites were the extremes, the youngest '09 and the oldest '99! They were completely different but both had a distinct character.

The 2009 Dolcetto Maioli was pleasant to drink as an aperitive, lighter, with a scrumptious red berry aroma and taste! As I got to the '01 Dolcetto, I actually smelled what they describe as barnyard which I thought was rare for the usually fruity and sometimes spicy varietal. The '99 was slightly barnyardy too but was fuller and better balanced. It was actually quite shocking how well it aged if you consider that they say Dolcetto should be drunk young. After having tasted this along with recently trying Forti Del Vento's '90 and '91 Dolcetto my mind is starting to change. Maybe if vinified especially well, even Dolcetto can get better with time!

Well, I now know that this will be my next visit when I go to Dogliani because their long family history, friendly attitude, and beautifully crafted Dolcettos have cast a spell on me! They distribute through Oliver McCrum Wines in California too!