I can't remember the last time I was this full. For me there are different levels of fullness: Not hungry, full, stuffed, and dear God my stomach will burst. This night fell into the last category.
We basically had a seven-course tasting menu but served family-style. So I'll just follow the progression of the evening.
We sat down to bottles of red wine, bottles of water, and baskets of bread and foccacia. This was all pretty standard for any restaurant although everyone LOVED the wine and the foccacia. They were finished pretty quickly, but the attentive staff kept bringing more and more.
Our first course was "crostini fiorentini" which was a liver pate spread on toasted but tender crostini. VERY LIVERY. Yet somehow everyone, even people like me who shun liver, loved it. I'm not sure how to explain. Usually people like liver when it doesn't taste like liver, but this tasted quite livery but surprisingly quite delicious.
Next was minestra di pane ribollita, a very famous Tuscan soup that is made of bread and vegetables. This was so hearty and filling despite being the only meatless course we had. It was so thick it was almost a paste and not a soup.
Then there were polpettine in umido, genuine, authentic Italian meatballs, about two inches eand diameter and in a red sauce. Pretty much as delicious as you'd expect.
We next had penne salsicciae finocchietto, pasta with generous hunks of sausage. Is it redudant to just keep saying everything was delicious???
After that was groppa scaloppata al pecorino, seared beef covered with pecorino cheese and served with rosemary, juniper berries, and olive oil. This was fantastic. The restaurant staff seemed unsure we could handle "another meat course," but we assured them we could and polished this off despite our stomachs' protests. This was completely the "I really shouldn't eat another bite but this is so good I'll have as many bites as it takes to finish." Luckily the meat was carefully sliced, as thin as possible while preserving the texture, moistness, and a satisfying thickness.
The contorno it came with was patate in padella, parboiled potatoes fried in olive oil, rosemary, and sage. As with every other plate, this was demolished.
Of course, what would a meal be without dessert? They brought us "Dai Dai." These are basically like ice cream bon bons but a million times better. They are semifreddo (semi-frozen) cream inside a shell of dark chocolate and pine nuts. They are made in a factory here in Tuscany and you CANNOT buy them. The factory is way exclusive and only sells to a handful of restaurants in the area. They brought us two big bowls of them. Everyone tried to have only one, but we finished it.
This was the best restaurant meal I've had in Florence. Ever. So from me and my "fourteen dates," Buca Dell'Orafo gets a standing ovation. Oh wait, we can't stand because our new guts won't squeeze past the table.
We basically had a seven-course tasting menu but served family-style. So I'll just follow the progression of the evening.
We sat down to bottles of red wine, bottles of water, and baskets of bread and foccacia. This was all pretty standard for any restaurant although everyone LOVED the wine and the foccacia. They were finished pretty quickly, but the attentive staff kept bringing more and more.
Our first course was "crostini fiorentini" which was a liver pate spread on toasted but tender crostini. VERY LIVERY. Yet somehow everyone, even people like me who shun liver, loved it. I'm not sure how to explain. Usually people like liver when it doesn't taste like liver, but this tasted quite livery but surprisingly quite delicious.
Next was minestra di pane ribollita, a very famous Tuscan soup that is made of bread and vegetables. This was so hearty and filling despite being the only meatless course we had. It was so thick it was almost a paste and not a soup.
Then there were polpettine in umido, genuine, authentic Italian meatballs, about two inches eand diameter and in a red sauce. Pretty much as delicious as you'd expect.
We next had penne salsicciae finocchietto, pasta with generous hunks of sausage. Is it redudant to just keep saying everything was delicious???
After that was groppa scaloppata al pecorino, seared beef covered with pecorino cheese and served with rosemary, juniper berries, and olive oil. This was fantastic. The restaurant staff seemed unsure we could handle "another meat course," but we assured them we could and polished this off despite our stomachs' protests. This was completely the "I really shouldn't eat another bite but this is so good I'll have as many bites as it takes to finish." Luckily the meat was carefully sliced, as thin as possible while preserving the texture, moistness, and a satisfying thickness.
The contorno it came with was patate in padella, parboiled potatoes fried in olive oil, rosemary, and sage. As with every other plate, this was demolished.
Of course, what would a meal be without dessert? They brought us "Dai Dai." These are basically like ice cream bon bons but a million times better. They are semifreddo (semi-frozen) cream inside a shell of dark chocolate and pine nuts. They are made in a factory here in Tuscany and you CANNOT buy them. The factory is way exclusive and only sells to a handful of restaurants in the area. They brought us two big bowls of them. Everyone tried to have only one, but we finished it.
This was the best restaurant meal I've had in Florence. Ever. So from me and my "fourteen dates," Buca Dell'Orafo gets a standing ovation. Oh wait, we can't stand because our new guts won't squeeze past the table.
2 comments:
Great overview of this place. It's by far my favorite place I've eaten at here in Florence. Those potatoes are like heaven in your mouth. Mmmm!!!
:) Toni
we LOVE this place. We haven't been in about 6 years but are currently planning our return next month and bringing our parents and children to experience the Buce Dell'Orafo!!! Our favorite restaurant ever! The only downside is it's become highly popular over these years...it used to be a great secret find!
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