A Food Lover's Guide to Tuscany

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Where To Go Next: Tuscany
By Carla Capalbo

Florence
Teatro del Sale
Chef Fabio Picchi's new spot in a 14th-century food cellar is one of Florence's most theatrical restaurants—especially at dinner, when musicians and other entertainers perform on stage. It's much more tranquil, and economical, at lunch: $19 (plus the $6 annual membership fee) buys access to a large table of delicious Mediterranean-inspired dishes like spaghetti dotted with anchovies, or spicy fish stew with couscous. Teatro del Sale is right across the street from Picchi's other restaurants: the famed Cibrèo and Caffè Cibrèo (which is great for light suppers). DETAILS 111r via dei Macci, Florence; 011-39-055-200-1492.
Chianti

Villa Bordoni
Scotsman David Gardner, a partner in Florence's Beccofino and Baldovino, has a gift for creating successful restaurants. His latest project has taken him out of town. "I wanted to move to the heart of Chianti's countryside," he says, "and then I saw Villa Bordoni and fell in love." Gardner completely remodeled the blue 16th-century country-house hotel outside Greve, decorating the place with hand-stenciled motifs and Spanish textiles, and restoring the walled garden. Young Apulian chef Francesco Fineo uses the original wood-burning oven for dishes like succulent veal chops with San Marzano tomatoes; he also teaches the villa's cooking classes. There are big names in the cellars, including acclaimed Super-Tuscans like Rampolla's Sammarco (six vintages are on offer). DETAILS 31–32 via San Cresci, Mezzuola, Greve in Chianti; 011-39-055-884-0004.

In or Near Siena
Enoteca Italiana
Siena's Enoteca Italiana, inside a Medici fortress, has always been one of the country's most exciting wine emporiums, with a collection of over 1,300 great Italian wines. Until recently, the place offered only cheeses and salumi. But now there's an inexpensive buffet lunch provided by a rotating list of local chefs. The menu varies, but there's always a hot primo, such as white bean soup or baked pasta, followed by a secondo, like beef braised in Tuscan red wine; desserts might include a fresh ricotta and fig torte. DETAILS Fortezza Medicea, Siena; 011-39-0577-288-497.

Ristorante Walter Redaelli
As chef at the renowned Locanda dell'Amorosa near Sinalunga, a half hour east of Siena, Walter Redaelli served an exceptional Mediterranean menu. Now he's opened his own intimate country inn and trattoria in nearby Bettolle, where his specialties include pici (handmade pasta ropes that resemble thick spaghetti) and porcini-flecked gnocchi topped with grated black truffles. Redaelli has also compiled a Tuscan-focused wine list with top Montepulciano producers, like Poliziano and Boscarelli. DETAILS 72 via Bandita, Bettolle; 011-39-0577-623-447.

Adler Thermae
Unlike most spas in Italy, the luxurious new Adler Thermae in the heart of Tuscan wine country is worth visiting just for its food—broccoli rabe flan on cannellini bean puree and spicy tomato-based Livorno fish stew—and the panoramic views from the rooftop dining room. The spa, which is in a large villa in Vignoni, makes a point of featuring organic and biodynamic products, such as the highly regarded Corte Pavone wines from nearby Montalcino. DETAILS Bagno Vignoni, San Quirico d'Orcia; 011-39-0577-889-000.

Montepulciano
E Lucevan le Stelle
Montepulciano is one of Tuscany's most dramatic hill towns; its Piazza San Francesco, where this hip wine bar is located, has some of the best views. Cinzia Caporali, whose family runs the successful local winery Valdipiatta, and her husband, Luca De Nicolò, restored an abandoned building to create this stylish enoteca with a long bar, sofas and an outdoor terrace. It's an especially fun place to stop for an aperitivo and a snack from the vast spread of artisanal prosciutto, salami and mortadella, as well as local cheeses and house-marinated peppers and eggplant. The wines, from all over Italy, are selected with the help of Caporali's winemaker sister, Miriam. DETAILS 5 Piazza San Francesco, Montepulciano; 011-39-0578-758-725.

Maremma Region
Silene
Monte Amiata, southern Tuscany's highest peak, is covered with national parkland. "These woods are famous for their wild mushrooms and game," says chef Roberto Rossi, who opened his restaurant in the pretty hill town of Seggiano. "The mountain communities base their traditional dishes on these seasonal foods." Rossi's specialty is meat: His scottiglia (a Sunday farmers' stew made with chicken, pork, beef and a hint of tomatoes) and his pigeon with Sienese tarragon and hand-cured salumi are sensational. He also uses his excellent artichoke-scented olive oil, Il Silene, to dress vegetables such as the spinachlike erbette. DETAILS Loc.Pescina, Seggiano; 011-39-0564-950-805.

Da Caino
Having a world-famous chef as a mother might intimidate some cooks, but Andrea Menichetti, 28, son of Italy's revered Michelin two-starred Valeria Piccini, has perfected his own innovative style. The family restaurant, Da Caino, in Montemerano, features several of Menichetti's recipes: ravioli filled with extra-virgin olive oil, served with raw tomato coulis and anchovy colatura (the sought-after drippings from salted anchovies caught on Campania's Amalfi Coast) and pasta with a sauce of bottarga (cured fish roe), herring, celery and ricotta. DETAILS 4 via della Chiesa, Montemerano; 011-39-0564-602-817.

This article originally appeared in Food and Wine Magazine in October, 2006.