Italian food experience - why I may decide to go native

Friday 24 May

Non foodies needn't read on, but for everyone else - this is better than trains!

We went out for a traditional Tuscan meal to a restaurant just out of Florence - called I Tre Pini (The Three Pines) if you are ever there. It was amazing! A real experience (at least for tourists) and one that may have convinced me to become Italian after all. I Tre Pini prides itself on fresh, traditional Tuscan food and on trying to provide genuine Tuscan hospitality. The owner and head chef, Libero, is a good friend of ours now.

So lets record it in the approved fashion (scores are out of 10):

1. Aperitivo - blue (yes) wine, rather sweet but an interesting start to the meal. I don't know how it got to be blue, but who cares.  10/10

2, Antipasto - liver pate on bruschetta, tomato on bruschetta, sun dried tomatoes, pizza bread, prosciutto with soft cheese, deep fried pasta bread, polenta cakes with tapenade.   12/10

3. Pasta - ravioli cheese filled, with ragu sauce.   12/10

4. Meat - florentine steak. Giant T bones, many cm thick, medium rare and cut up to share. (A hot stone was provided on the side in case you needed to cook it more.) Superbly tender!   15/10

5. Potatoes and fresh salad - to accompany #4.  10/10

6. Choice of dessert - the best was chocolate fondant, but all the others were fantastic too.  12/10

7. Coffee and digestivo (limoncello of you were a lady, grappa if you weren't).   12/10

All  accompanied by the local red and white wine made by Libero's family, and by roving musicians singing traditional Italian songs like Fernando and Stairway to Heaven. It was guitar plus singer - they were actually very good. So good I bought their CD!?

If this is Tuscan food then I could easily live here!