Ristorante Del Fagioli

Florence, Italy (The Joy of Food) — When I’ve thought about what my last meal on earth would be, something I ponder with alarming regularity, my eternal answer involves dinner at Ristorante Del Fagioli, a traditional trattoria right in the heart of Florence.

You eat pretty well in Tuscany, even if it’s just plates of pasta, cheese, and bread, and the food has a reputation for being simple, comforting, and rustic, but ironically, it’s not revered as far as cuisines go in the country itself. Florence may be the home of Dante, the David, and the Birth of Venus, but if I try to think of a dozen foods that define the region, the way that pizza rules Naples, or carbonara symbolizes Rome, or cannoli represent Palermo, I fall short.

Florence calls carnivores like moths to a flame, and at least one dish that very much symbolizes the area is bistecca alla fiorentina, a slab of beef that will easily satiate up to four people, a giant cut of T-bone that must weigh at least 450 grams, all char and salt and dripping red meat that looks like it’s been carved out of a mountain.

Your server will bring the chosen piece over for show-and-tell before it’s grilled to a respectable rare temperature, no doubt with blood on his apron like he’s just emerged from battle. There are no cherry-plum sauces, crispy onion fries, or decorative herbs, just the meat cut into chunks that are about the size and thickness of a pack of cards, plus the bone. It is an epic feast, and it is magnificent. 

But one cannot live on bistecca alone. To mix it up a little, there’s always pasta. And we’re in the land of fresh pasta, where a plate of handmade pici swimming in truffle butter or a meaty ragù is never more than a few meters away. This is also the place for stuffed pastas, things like cheese-filled ravioli and tortelli coated in even more cheese and guanciale, making something not unlike a pasta alla gricia that’s well known a few hours south in Rome. That sharp salty tang you taste is thanks to the sheep’s or goat’s milk that goes into the regional cheeses, flocks of which live wonderful lives in the rolling green expanses of the Tuscan countryside.

If you need an opening dish, the bruschettina with its crusty bread, ripe pomodori, aromatic olive oil, and fresh basil is your first clue that you’ll be licking your plate clean all night. If it’s on the menu, the minestrone is deliciously hearty and hot, not unlike the intense heat that awaits you outside in summer. If there are side dishes, they are a handful of patate al forno, some simple white tuscan beans in bright olive oil, or the very special fagiolini mangiatutto, a heaping of green beans layered and baked in a pot with sauce and grated cheese on every floor. If you are not much for vegetable dishes, this might be the place to start.

The wine of the house (a Chianti, of course) is some of the best you will ever have for a few euro a pop, and your table might swill entire bottles of it before you even know what’s happening. If you order dessert after your hunk of meat and your many troughs of glorious carbs, it may arrive in the form of a torta della nonna, a silky cut of custard cake pierced through the side with a fork. The classic move in these parts, though, is an order of almond cantucci, served modestly with some Vin Santo for dipping.

Written by Joy

Thanks for reading. The Joy of Food blog celebrates eating well, traveling often, and living la dolce vita. San Diego, California is home base, but thoughts are from all over. Reviews and photos help to highlight wonderful (or not) food experiences from around the world.

Leave a comment below or get in touch with me via my About page.