Foodies Alert:
Yesterday we traveled to the little town of Panzano in Chianti to seek out a particular butcher and a particular enoteca written up in the book Eating in Italy, by Faith Heller Willinger; we found them and let me just say… WOW!
Our first stop was the Antica Macelleria Cecchini located in the heart of the town. We were there near noon and were afraid that they were ready to close. We were wrong; they were just gearing up for the crowds that were about to descend. We walked in to this little butcher shop and were offered a glass of wine and some samples of their meat loaf, porchetta, cheese and olive oil on bread… all excellent. There were people on the street eating and chatting. We bought a chunk of one of their beautiful porchetta rolls to take back to the villa for sandwiches and went on our happy way.
And since it was lunch time , we walked across the street and found the Enoteca Baldi that we had heard was so good. Here we shared some freshly made quiche, cheese and carpaccio along with salads dressed with their own Balsamic Vinegar and olive oil. We each had a glass of some excellent Tuscan wine and we were set for the rest of the afternoon.
Earlier in our travels, we went to the Argiano Cantina Dal for an impromptu wine tasting. I had my first taste of an excellent Brunello di Montalcino and was duly impressed. Evidently Brunello is one of Italy’s foremost wines and the Argiano is a fine example.
Today was spent in Cortona, a wonderful hill town that is alive with residents (not just a shell that houses souvenir shops) It is charming and filled with history. A former Etruscan village, Cortona has an excellent museum that documents the ongoing excavations at the Etruscan Site Melone II and other eclectic offerings. The Museo dell’ Academia Etrusca is really worth the visit. We had lunch at La Saletta; we had pizza all around and shared one another’s. Every one was really good, from the traditional salami and cheese to the truffle and cheese, we enjoyed our meal. Tomorrow, we check out of our villa and travel to Florence for two nights.
Ciao for now.
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