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"La Giostra" in Italian
literally means merry-go-round,
and stepping off the street on
Borgo Pinti and through the
doors here, is where a ride of a
lifetime begins for your
taste-buds.
There is a long list of high
quality ingredients that are
purchased fresh daily and
combined in highly creative ways
using traditional Tuscan
methods. Combined with the
enchanting almost magical
atmosphere inside the doors, a
night out in Florence can begin
and end here.
Because we always like to step
into the kitchens of every
restaurant we dine in and can
see first hand and up-close the
techniques and ingredients that
go into every dish, we were
quite literally taken aback with
the skill each and every member
of the staff displayed. In
addition to the fine technique,
we could quite literally see the
quality of the meat and the
studious method with which it
was prepared.
Unlike some restaurants in
Florence where "Cingiale" (wild
boar) is served in an almost
grated and stringy like fashion,
in the Picci (thick spaghetti)
at La Giostra, there were large,
savoury pieces of the meat that
we haven't had the pleasure of
experiencing anywhere in Tuscany
before this.
The wild boar picci, in addition
to the Pear and Gorgonzola
Ravioli, were two of the best
first course pasta dishes either
of us have ever enjoyed, due
partly to the originality of the
dishes, but also the
presentation. Let's just
say, if our stomachs (and
waistlines) could have handled
it, we would have gladly ordered
more first courses, like the
Porcini Mushroom linguine, which
our neighbouring table decreed
was nothing short of heaven on
earth.
However, we also wanted to try
some of the secondi piatti,
considering we had heard from a
local Florentine and restaurant
owner himself, that the
Florentine bistecca (steak) that
is served here is some of the
best - anywhere, hands down.
Our friend, Giullio, was right.
The steak served up here was the
kind that you hardly have to
chew. It was so incredibly
tender and flavourful we had to
know if this was a different
variety of cow or animal all
completely. It was a
Tuscan cow, raised on the
incredibly sweet Tuscan grass,
hence the incredibly tender,
mind blowing meat.
The wine list at La Giostra is
longer than the menu and the
staff can offer excellent
suggestions of local wines to
accompany the local cuisine.
We
managed a bottle of Brunello di
Montalcino that evening and saw
for the first time, the
sommelier "curing" the wine
glasses, something that is not
done in many restaurants in
Florence anymore.
Saldano and his twin brother,
the owners of the restaurant
since their father's recent
passing, know every wine
produced in Tuscany by the
largest to the smallest
producers. We mentioned a
vintage from the Montalcino area
that only produces about 500
bottles of year, and right away
Saldano was on the phone to his
brother to find out more.
We
managed a bottle of Brunello di
Montalcino that evening and saw
for the first time, the
sommelier "curing" the wine
glasses, something that is not
done in many restaurants in
Florence anymore.
The sommelier took a small
amount of wine after the initial
tasting, swirled it over the
inside of the glass, then
transferred the wine to each of
the other glasses and swirled it
in those glasses, then he served
the wine from the decanter,
a ritual still alive
here.
At our table that evening, many
different languages surrounded
our table, giving us the
distinct impression that La Giostra ha rightly earned an
international reputation has one
of Florence's culinary
landmarks.
Indeed, scattered throughout the
restaurant are pictures of
actors, actresses, singers,
sports stars and the who's who
of Italian society.
Indeed, many people have walked
through these doors and will
continue to do so.
There is an unmistakeable
artistry that is held to the
highest standard here and it is
for this reason why we love
Florence and the region of
Tuscany so much; people are
passionate and like the many
artists who have walked through
Florence's streets, there legacy
in many ways still abounds in
the local culture.
Reviewed by Jesse
Andrews and Darcy Aubin Photographer, VisitsItaly.com
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