Chianti has a lot to offer; along secret roads, in small shops and groceries which become places where you can eat like a king. They aren’t only for tourists, and many locals are clients. Here are some choices among a whole world to discover in various towns along the roads of Chianti Classico.
In Castellina in Chianti, you can eat in a butcher shop, the “Macelleria Stiaccini”
The shop is currently run by Riccardo (Giovanni’s grandson, Francesco’s son). He is assisted my his mother Silvana, and Marzia. The butcher shop has been open for 80 years. It’s winning card has always been the ability to combine tradition with experience along with a family run business.
They have known how to modernize their business without losing their identity. For this reason, a cold cuts section was created in the 1990s, alongside the butcher shop.
They are famous for their homemade sausage, in the classic version as well as with black truffles, and their sandwiches, meeting the needs of tourists who are always passing through Castellina in Chianti.
The two activities have been running together since 2014, when the name “Di cotte e di crude” was added and a rich offer of food for take out or eating in was created; classic Florentine beefsteak, lampredotto and tripe, fried chcken and rabbit, liver, stew, tartare, “lesso” and “quinto quarto” to name a few. Riccardo proposes delicacies which are not usually cooked at home, “convinced of the value and quality of the food and of everybody’s right to eat healthy and well. strongly motivated to ensure that the heritage of tradition and culture tied to food doesn’t dissapear”.
Steak in Tavarnelle…cooked and eaten in the piazza
In the months of June and July, you can eat steak under the stars. On Monday evenings, in the main piazza of Tavarnelle Val di Pesa, you can choose your meat from the butcher shop (the “macelleria” owned by Morando Morandi) and have it delivered to the griller who cooks it to perfection. You can then enjoy it on the open air tables in the center of town.
The town is alive with open shops and the perfumes of the summer (and steak) which inebriate the senses.
Eating in Montefiridolfi at “A Casa Mia”
We close our eating tour a few kilometers away. Going up towards the town of Sambuca, we arrive at the charming village of Montefiridolfi, in the Township of San Casciano. Here, next to the main piazza, is an unusual restaurant; or, as their owners, the Simoncini brothers like to say, “un ristorantino.” We are talking about “A Casa Mia”, a room which was turned into a restaurant.
A Casa Mia is open from Wednesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner. There is seating for about 20. It has an original formula, made up of excellent Tuscan dishes in an atmosphere which will make you feel at home with its pleasant owners. Simplicity is the key word: everyday silverware, coffee makers and frying pans served at the table with an essential setting, mis-matched plates and glasses. As its name says, everything contributes to the atmosphere; welcoming, informal and homey.