Travels in Italy (2) - Tuscany

We had five days in Tuscany, and in those five days, with a car and a trusty TomTom we covered most of the area. I have no idea why but both The Boyfriend and I had very high expectations of Tuscan food. For some reason we seemed to think that even if we ended up in a Tourist Trap food would still be much better than your average restaurant. As if any restaurant in Tuscany was automatically destined to be better than the rest because of the region's culinary heritage. How wrong we were. Of the ten meals only three were memorable. Another three were goodish, and the other four were either okay or crap. They are ranked in a complex equation of quality of food + view or venue + price, and by complex I mean we just vaguely remember which ones were the best -a suprisingly difiicult feat (but understandably difficult if you look at how much wine we consumed, sometimes I'm amazed we even managed to take photos of the stuff). Anyway, here goes.







1) Da Bado, Volterra (Day 4 - Lunch) 

Da Bado  was the only place we found truly wonderful pasta. Volterra, not far from San Giminiagno, I barely remember because for the most of our wander around the town all I could think was " that was such good pasta." The restaurant itself isnt in the centre of Volterra but on the road from Florence approaching it. The venue itself is nothing special but we didn't hear one English voice there and totally struggled to communicate with our waitress - a perfect sign we were about to get authentic Tuscan food. We weren't let down. 

The Crostini we started with wasn't the best we had in Tuscany (that will come up later), but it was very very good. 2 parts perfect fresh tomato, one part soft mushroom, one part gentle liver, and another part the most wonderful garlic and butter concoction.

Going for a light ( light only in Italian terms) lunch, we had just one plate of pasta each. The Boyfriend's Parpadelle with Boar was unlike any other we tasted in the five days, and as you will see below we tasted a whole lot. The absence of oil and tomato was instantly noticable. rather than smother the Boar losing the flavour to what could have been any tomato sauce this was all about the meat, and it paid off. 

My Zucchini pasta was similarly satisfying. This place had really got the art of the perfect pasta: sauce ratio in that once the pasta had gone so had the sauce - no lingering mounds of creamy mess left behind. It worked perfectly together, like a team, rather than two sides battling it out to dominate one flavour. It was perfect. I cant elaborate more as we drank 500 ml of some local white with this meal so my memory of the meal lacks details. But I remember loving this pasta, which was easily the best, sauce aside, we tasted, Definitely home made.


We finished with a honey tart which was fabulous. Not overtly sweet but crumbly and light, and a great way to end the meal.

The total cost came to around 45 euros, for two with 500 ml of wine and two courses a piece. For the quality, a bargain.

2) Conti di San Bonifacio, Ribolla (Day 2 -  Dinner)

Quite possibly the best dinner of the trip. I mean just look at the view! They could have served us dog food and it still would have been a good dinner. Luckily they didn't. This was the one meal we ate at our hotel (full thoughts about the hotel here), and we were totally suprisied by the quality of the food. The hotel has 5 rooms, so the logic/economics of hiring a fab chef just didnt seem to make sense and yet they did. 

We started with crostini (starting to see a pattern yet..?). A combination of tomato, liver, something I cant remember, and sausage and cheese. The tomato and liver crostini were good - no room for complaints  but the sausage and cheese crostini were amazing. 

Next came a a typical "Maremma" pasta, Maremma being the area of Tuscany Ribolla is located in, near the sea. The pasta filled with ricotta and spinach was the best of this kind we had. The Boyfriend went for a meat ragu whilst I stuck with the a more classic butter and sage. Personally, this was my favourite, it allowed the pasta and the filling to shine through, whereas the flavour got lost in the meat otherwise. 

Our main course was easily the best meat dish we ate. Game is famous in the region and that night they served Rabbit with Polenta and deep fried Zucchini. It was perfect. I don't think I have ever eaten rabbit before, but post this meal I am a convert. The Polenta was also wonderful - the only polenta we ate on the trip but perfectly seasoned.

We finished with a glass of Vin Santo and Cantucci, another tuscan dish. Whilst we were eating the Solar Exclipse was occuring so we enjoyed the sight of the pinkish moon from our dinner table. 


For three courses from the set menu each day it was 45 euros a head. Wine was roughy about 5-7 euros a glass. For the evening we had which was so lovely in every way it was a total bargain.



3) Bocca di Vino, Montalcino (Day 5- Lunch )

Just outside the Montalcino, we stopped at Bocca di Vino for lunch. Suprisingly, they served a slightly different menu to the typical Tuscan restaurant. By our fifth day in this area The Boyfriend and I were sick of the Crostini/ Pici with Boar/ Raviolli with Ricotta and Spinach/ Bistecca menu, so this was a welcome change. The place, situated with a terrace above the road is surprisingly peaceful, and bar the odd truck that went past we barely heard the traffic. 

Perhaps the most brilliant idea for a wine menu ever...?

A complimentary tomato and bread soup came first and made us both wish we had eaten more soup during our time in the area.

Our Charcuterie was nothing to write home about but good nonetheless. 

The Boyfriend's Chickpea soup with prawns was a welcome change. Nervous about ordering seafood in an area not known for its seafood, the sight of the two giant prawns was reassuring. The flavour was perfect, finally something different! It should have been heavy and too warm for soup given the thirty degree whether outside but in fact the dish was oddly, light. 

I didn't love the restaurants take on carbonara. The asparagus tips added an unneccesary vegtable flavour in my opinion I like my carbonara to be classic and creamy, but The Boyfriend adored it. The pasta itself, was among the best we ate in the whole trip, thick strips of home made tagliatelle.

Total cost? 40-45 euros, for the food plus three glasses of wine and espresso