Tuscan cuisine is highly revered throughout food-focused Italy. In general, the food is rustic and simple, relying heavily upon fresh vegetables, legumes (pulses), meat and game.
Where to Eat
Italy has three traditional types of place to eat: a trattoria, a ristorante or an osteria. At first they may appear to be similar, and this is increasingly true, but to Italians they signify different types of dining experiences. A trattoria is more casual, serving basic regional dishes in an informal setting. Trattorie are often family-owned and have no frills. A ristorante implies somewhat fancier dƩcor, more formal service, and more elaborate and expensive food. To make things more confusing, the osteria is historically a tavern-like wine shop where you can buy a glass of wine and perhaps a hunk of cheese, but the word is now used almost interchangeably with ristorante or trattoria.
Yet another type of eating establishment is the tavola calda or rosticceria, both of which are cafeteria-style places where several selections of hot dishes are prepared daily and served from a counter. You generally pay in advance and show the receipt to someone working behind the counter, who prepares a plate for you.
Although pizza has become a national dish, it is not one for which Tuscany is particularly famous. Eating in a pizzeria costs considerably less than in a ristorante or trattoria, and they generally serve only pizza and appetisers.
In general, a ristorante or trattoria serves both lunch and dinner. Lunch is generally from 12.30 to 3pm, and dinner from 7.30 to 11pm. Most establishments close one day a week and occasionally for lunch or dinner immediately preceding or following that day. Most Italian eating establishments close for holidays (ferie) once or even twice a year. Many restaurants close for at least two weeks around 15 August and sometimes another week or two in the winter.
What to Eat
You will notice that just about all menus are divided into more or less the same categories: antipasti (appetisers), primi (first courses), secondi (second courses), contorni (side dishes) and dolci (desserts).
Antipasto means ābefore the mealā, and these selections are usually served in small portions. Many restaurants offer an antipasto misto (mixed appetiser) that is often served buffet-style from a table laden with such dishes as melone con prosciutto (ham and melon) or grilled vegetables, and insalata caprese (mozzarella, tomatoes and fresh basil). Typical Tuscan antipasti are crostini, tomatoes or liver pĆ¢tĆ© on toasted bread; prosciutto di cinghiale, ham from wild boar; finocchiona, pork sausage laced with fennel.
Il primo is the first course, and in Tuscany that generally means hearty soup or pasta (increasingly you will also find risotto). Typical Tuscan primi include: acquacotta, onion soup that is a speciality of Arezzo; minestrone alla fiorentina, a vegetable soup with beans; panzanella, a bread salad often found on summer menus, whose ingredients also include tomatoes and basil; pappardelle con lepre or con cinghiale, broad noodles topped with a rich sauce made from hare or wild boar; ribollita, a rich vegetable soup with bread mixed into it; cacciuco, a rich fish soup that is reason in itself to travel to Livorno.
Il secondo is the main dish of meat or fish, usu...