One such sandwich stall is carved out of a limestone building in the hilltop town of Volterra, its burgundy awning shading a case filled with stiff-crusted doughy bread that’s sliced in half and layered with pork loin, salsa verde and a spread of sun-dried tomatoes soaking in olive oil.
Another is located along the bustling streets of Florence. Its glass display is crowded with an entire pig that’s been roasted for seven hours, seasoned with salt, pepper and oregano and stuffed with other bits of hog meat, from the ears to the liver. It’s developed a crackling crust that eats like pork candy.
Antica Porchetteria Granieri 1916 in Florence served as inspiration for Michael Toscano of Da Toscano Porchetta Shop.
Parker Milner/Staff
Full-service restaurants line cobblestone streets, their patios filled with pasta, wine, dessert and espressos. Meals typically start with antipasti — bruschetta or beef tartare, for instance. Bread with fresh, fruity olive oil is a staple on every table.
Pasta courses are served next, with small portions of curly, straight, wavy and stuffed noodles sauced delicately. At Florence’s Ristorante Giglio, we try one with uni and another with shredded lamb, each portraying a perfect ratio of sauce to noodles, which have a touch more bite than what I’m used to having at home.
Main courses — risotto with duck, beef cheeks, crusted lamb — are the largest and last to hit the table. Sides range from roasted potatoes to light salads with aged balsamic vinegar and more of that olive oil, fresh from the trees lining roads and farms between towns perched on rolling hills.
Bistecca alla Fiorentina at Osteria Le Logge in Siena.
Parker Milner/Staff
Chianti, a ruby red wine with ample acid, is prevalent, as are the Barbarescos and Barolos — both made with the Nebbiolo grape — of Italy’s Piedmont region.
We sample glasses at local wineries and restaurants like Osteria Le Logge in Siena, whose 16,000 bottles are housed in a cavernous cellar beneath its nearby wine bar. I’ll spend the time between now and my next trip to Tuscany dreaming of the combination of the Fontodi Flaccianello della Pieve Chianti Classico and the restaurant’s bistecca alla fiorentina.