Wandering through the streets of Florence is a fun pastime and on each trip there, I work on walking in neighborhoods I haven't seen before. One of these days I hope to know the downtown like the back of my hand. I've spent less time in the Santa Croce area than near the Duomo, so on this particular trip I walked from Piazza Signoria passed Piazza Santa Croce and onto the Mercato San Ambrogio, where I made a few purchases before heading back toward our rental apartment. I took out my trusty map and decided to walk along a street that would put me in the vicinity of the Bargello Museum. Then I found the small Piazza San Firenze as I worked my way south; it seemed a crossroads more than a piazza. I was exhausted with a bag full of groceries, so decided to have lunch as soon as possible to take a breather. That's when I spotted Osteria De' Peccatori, a simple, unassuming restaurant.
The menu posted outside was exhaustive, so I knew I could easily find something to order. I had no idea. The list of pastas alone was as long as my arm. Antipasti looked classic, meat and fish offerings looked good. It must have taken me 15 minutes to read the menu and I only looked at the first 2 courses. I settled on a grilled vegetable antipasto and ravioli. This was an unexpectedly great little lunch that energized me for my trek back to our rented apartment.
The restaurant had many customers speaking different languages, but mostly Italian. Few of the waiters were fluent in anything but Italian, so I had a good opportunity to try my communication skills without hearing the answer in English, a big plus in my opinion. The grilled vegetable antipasto was just perfect. It was light, refreshing, and not overcooked or greasy with olive oil. I was hungry for vegetables and this was a more than satisfactory choice.
It took a bit longer to select the pasta. There were so many classic pasta dishes, but also some with sauces I had never before seen on a restaurant menu. I finally settled on one with classic Tuscan ingredients used in a style that was very new to me. I'm looking forward to returning to De'Peccatori to try some more of their unique pasta selection. All the pasta is made in house and included ravioli, pici, tagliarini and more. This particular ravioli was made with a potato filling, the first I have ever eaten. The dressing on it was very rustic, and very Tuscan with the cavolo nero and sausage as the main ingredients. I found it very inspiring to eat such a simple yet original pasta.
Piazza San Firenze 14/r
Florence Italy 50100
055 287462
No comments:
Post a Comment