Killing Batteries

My awesome Florence Explorer city guide app (iPhone) (Android) has only been out for a few weeks (and at only $2.99 it’s by far the best value Florence app in recorded history – please tell 132 of your friends), but I’m already collecting ‘how to make it awesomer notes’ for version 2.0, including an ‘Author Favorites’ feature for the eating listings. But the release of the next version is untold months away! Who can wait that long for my carefully selective and sometimes whimsical recommendations? Not me, that’s who.

So, in the meantime, in the grand tradition of purely subjective lists (fueled by extraordinary research and expertise in this case, obviously) I’ve decided to put together a spoiler list of the best restaurants in Florence right here. Let’s begin.

Budget

Trattoria Mario
Via Rosina 2
Mon-Sat noon-3:30pm; closed in August
A wildly popular, second generation place started in 1953 and run today by Mario’s sons Fabio and Romeo and their kids. It’s a local institution – legend has it that some customers have been coming here daily for decades – appealing to working-class folks seeking a quick refill and visitors looking for an undiluted, shoulder-to-shoulder, Italian lunch experience. Seating is intimate (i.e. tight) and arriving after 12:01pm will probably result in a short to medium wait out on the sidewalk. Once inside order food one course at a time off the hand-written menu on the wall (the English translation is written to the side in tiny pen, so bring your glasses). Specialties include the tripe (served on Mondays and Thursdays) and beef (bistecca). It’s a cash-only place.

Vestri
Borgo degli Albizi 11
7:30am-9pm, except on Sun when it opens at 9:30am
In my line of work, it’s often ethically frowned upon to unequivocally declare anything to be hands-down ‘the best’ anything, but this gelato is really something else. Seriously, you gotta try it. The selection isn’t huge, but what they do, they do very well. They are also, and more famously, a chocolate maker with a generous selection of items, both for immediate enjoyment and transport home as gifts to soon-to-be-very-grateful friends and family. Unfortunately, they don’t seem all too concerned with sticking to their posted hours of business. Three out of four times I walked by, they were unceremoniously shut. So, I’d warn against walking too far out of the way just to visit this place, because, believe me, the disappoint is tremendous.

Al Tranvai
Piazza Torquato Tasso 14
055 22 51 97
Closed  Sun
Loved by locals, this popular eatery puts you shoulder-to-shoulder with a flood of regulars at itty bitty tables. If the crowds aren’t enough evidence, lay your eyes on the  window full of Slow Food endorsement stickers, dating back more than a decade. The hastily hand-written menu suggests frequent changes, so I’ll simply say expect a no nonsense, but satisfying typical Tuscan meal that everyday Florentines cherish.

Trattoria Sergio Gozzi
Piazza San Lorenzo 8
055 28 19 41
Lunch Mon-Sat, closed in August
No one can agree on the name. Trattoria Gozzi Sergio? Da Sergio? Even the sign above the door seems to be uncertain. Whatever the case, I’ve list it here exactly as it appeared on the hand-written menu presented to me during my visit. This miniscule Slow Food recommended place has a rep for openly loathing tourists, but I was treated with flawless courteousness when I was here, so go ahead and join the line of table-waiting patrons without worry. Between the racket from the market stalls just outside the door and the dinning room rush, you won’t feel like you’re getting a typical Tuscan lazy lunch, but you will get a choice of four simple primi (first courses) and a bunch of unpretentious secondi (second courses) including rabbit, tripe, roast beef and grilled chicken. The lone dessert option pretty much sums up the no nonsense atmosphere: cantuccini (dry, sweet biscuits) dipped in Vin Santo (sweet dessert wine). Simple, yet unspeakably delicious. You’ll likely be seated shoulder-to-shoulder or even at the same table with the handful of regulars, lone men that appear to have been among the original patrons when it opened in 1915.

Trattoria Bordino
Via Stracciatella 9
055 21 30 48
Lunch and dinner, closed Sat
This much-recommended, simple place is well hidden only about a minute from the Ponte Vecchio. The list of primi dishes includes crepes and pastas covered in spicy lobster sauce, salmon or clams. Among the many secondi is the least expensive bistecca alla fiorentina (rare t-bone steak) I’ve ever seen (15 euros). There’s also a selection of seafood such as trout, shrimp, sole, sea bass and salmon. A welcome glass of prosecco and the inexpensive carafes of wine make for a tipsy walk home. The dining room is notably dark, nearly the equivalent of eating by candlelight, which, with the décor, gives the meal a pointed medieval feel.

‘Ino
Via dei Georgofili 7
055 21 92 08
11am-8pm Mon-Sat, noon-5pm Sun
There’s an impressive list of panini here (5-8 euros, glass of wine included), all made with local gourmet ingredients, but when you walk in the door and that fog bank of truffle aroma hits you, it’s hard to think about anything else. Popular and casual, you can either take your sandwich away or try to find seating in the next room filled with stools and barrel tables. Order and eat, pay after. They also sell a variety of products like sauces, cheese and pesto.

Midrange

Olio & Convivium
Via di Santo Spirito 4
055 265 81 98
Mon 10am-3pm, Tue-Sat 10am-3pm & 5:30pm-10:30pm, closed Sun
Up front is a delicatessen, with fancy and fragrant food and the occasional spectacle of watching a grunting guy halve an enormous wheel of cheese. In back is a truly special restaurant, with a super daily lunch menu (18 euros) comprised of a photogenic plate of flavorful cold hams, cheeses and mousse, with a glass of wine or water, and a generous dessert. The seasonal a la carte dinner menu may include duck breast stuffed with figs, with balsamic honey reduction sauce or a crispy suckling pig with sweet and sour spring onions.

Enoteca Le Barrique
Via del Leone 40r
055 22 41 92
Dinner only, closed Mon
This enoteca (wine bar), unsurprisingly, has a massive wine list and generous pours, with the added perk of a short, but impressively varied menu, offering cold platters, a few pasta plates, and dishes like duck breast in Vin Santo sauce or squid and calamari sautéed with cous cous. The menu varies from month to month, so expect changes. The welcome glass of prosecco and an amuse-bouche (tiny, pre-appetizer) are a nice touch. They’ve gotten a hearty thumbs up from the Slow Food people and are thusly popular. Arrive very early or reserve in advance.

Osteria L’Antico Noè
Volta di San Piero 6r
055 234 08 38
Noon-midnight, closed Sun
It’s an infinitely debatably point, of course, but by my estimation the sandwich shop side of this combo place is assembling the best sandwiches in the city. Even before you bite into one, you have to respect the long line of students who are wise to the 18 varieties of budget-priced, handheld, quick eats. Equally, sit down next door for a more mid-range priced proper meal, like the “Rigatone Noè” (tomato eggplant, cheese, pine nuts), tagliaerini tartufo (pasta with truffles) or the tortelli di patata ai fiori di zucca (pasta stuffed with zuchinni flower). Secondi options include roast beef with spinach or uovo al tegame con tartufo (eggs with truffle). They also have a somewhat pricey make-your-own salad option.

Trattoria Cibrèo
Via dei Macci 122
12:50pm-2:30pm and 6:50pm-11:15pm, closed Sun and Mon, closed in August
Warning: this place doesn’t accept reservations or credit cards and they defiantly do not serve pasta or coffee. Instead, the more affordable, eight-table sister to the famed, adjacent Ristorante Cibrèo (the trattoria curiously serves many of the same dishes at much lower prices) blows the minds of patient diners with the wondrous dishes coming out of Fabio Picchi’s kitchen, considered one of Tuscany’s top chefs. A multi-year Slow Food designee, Cibrèo’s always-changing, short primi list may include, if you’re very fortunate, the potato and ricotta “flan” with ragu sauce and fresh parmesan, one of the most original and flavorful items I’ve eaten in Florence. The secondi list is generous, with unusual zingers like the rabbit in chocolate sauce. There’s no English on the menu, but the servers are happy to sit (literally) and discuss the food with you. Some people will find the portions a tad small, though this perceived shortcoming fortuitously guarantees you’ll have space for dessert, which should be the chocolate tort if it’s on the menu when you visit. Arrive before 7pm, or risk a very long wait.

L’Osteria di Giovanni
Via del Moro 22
055 28 48 97
Lunch and dinner, closed Tue
This place was so good that I went twice. The dish that brought me back was the exquisite pear and ricotta-filled tortelli. I also enjoyed the sea bass carpaccio and the potato raviolini with porcini mushrooms and black truffles. They pour an always welcome prosecco apéritif as soon as you sit down. One heartening oddity, the bottled water is free! Also, my mom insists I mention that the bathrooms are nice.

High-end

Alle Murate
Via del Proconsolo 16r
055 24 0618
closed on Mondays
This restaurant/museum combo is located in the restored 14th-century Guild of Judges and Notaries. Seating is available both by the second level frescos, most notably the oldest known portrait of poet Dante Alighieri, or the subterranean Roman and Medieval archeological site. The frequently rotating, non-traditional Tuscan menu with southern Italian influences is something of a sight as well.  After dinner stroll around and admire the remainder of the museum, complete with audio guide.

Osvaldo (or Club Culinario Toscano da Osvaldo)
Piazza dei Peruzzi 3r
055 21 79 19
The restaurant and its chef/owner have built a breathless word-of-mouth reputation that’s nothing short of legendary. With a menu that changes as frequently as this one (monthly) it’s probably not smart to list specific dishes, but here’s a few just to give you an idea: shrimp with truffled potato; crab-stuffed ravioli with a truffle sauce; potato ravioli with veal ragu; risotto with zucchini flowers and squid stuffed ginger and herbs; lamb with pistachio sauce; quail with olives, pine nuts and potatoes. The wild boar, among other game on the menu, is truly wild. A friend of Osvaldo’s who hunts in the Maremma Region in southern Tuscany is often responsible for what appears on the menu. Osvaldo’s popularity and limited seating mean that reservations are a must, though pop-ins occasionally get lucky.

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*The following paragraph is unrelated to the post above

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[UPDATE: If you're reading this now, you've missed the free download period. However, my Florence app is now selling for the nominal price of US$2.99, quite the bargain considering that the content could keep you busy sightseeing and happily eating for a couple weeks. If you download and enjoy the app, please rate it. For iPhone. For Android. Thanks!]

As part of the promotional blitz for my brand new, red-hot Florence Explorer app (For iPhone | For Android), I’m making it free for anyone to download today and tomorrow (June 21st and 22nd).

Feel free to share this freebie information with anyone (read: everyone) you know that’s armed with one of these devices. After Wednesday, the app will cost a mere US$2.99.

As many of you already know, I spent the better part of March, April and May researching and writing this app, including two solid weeks on the streets of Florence. My guide features dozens of the city’s best sights and activities, as well as over 60 eating & drinking options and over 40 sleeping options. My exhaustive work is being published by Sutro Media, who have developed a dynamic, user-friendly travel app platform and have already built a massive catalogue of travel apps for destinations in the US. My Florence app is among their first guides on a growing list of destinations outside the US.

[The app works just fine without a cellular data connection, including the maps, so no need to fret over ludicrous roaming fees. Make sure your phone is in ‘Airplane Mode’ and you’ll be fine. The only limitation is that external internet links that I’ve embedded in the app will not work unless you’re connected to a wi-fi hub.]

And now for a humble request:

Being that iTunes/Android Market popularity/sales are largely fueled by user ratings and reviews, I would deeply appreciate a brief review of the app after you’ve had a chance to play with it. If you hated the app, you are encouraged to omit this step.

I did this gig for royalties only, expenses right out of my pocket, so every download (after Wednesday) means I get a little closer to recouping those expenses and, someday, paying for a fraction of my food, rent and wine.

Thank you in advance for any tweets, links and/or other help you can provide.

For most of us, drinking a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino is a special occasion on par with celebrating a birthday divisible by ten or being rear-ended by Donald Rumsfeld in front of a military hospital while 500 beered-up, wounded vets are attempting to set the world record for piñata smashing. As with any comparable special occasion, the drinking of Brunello should be carefully planned and, ideally, conducted under borderline preposterously controlled conditions.

For those not familiar, let me quickly explain why this guide is necessary. Brunello, among the world’s top wines, is produced with select, intensely scrutinized mutations of the sangiovese grape found in a mere 26 square kilometer radius area in central Tuscany, around the city of Montalcino. Over the years it’s become legendary, both for its borderline astonishing exclusivity and price as for its quality. With import tariffs, the price of a bottle is far beyond my budget in the US. But when I’m in Montalcino, my frugal Norwegian sensibilities can just swallow the price of a decent bottle in the local shops. Incidentally, I wrote this guide while enjoying a bottle of Podere Brizio 1999, with a bitch-slapping 14% alcohol content by volume.

So, suffice to say, you don’t take an event as singular as opening a Brunello lightly. When you buy a bottle, they tell you to open it and allow it to breath for two to three hours before drinking. While this is accurate, it’s also a criminally deficient modicum of the sum total of information you’ll be needing on the subject of preparation. In fact, your to-do list, if you want to do this properly, is significantly longer and you’ll need every minute of those two to three hours to adequately prepare your body, mind and spirit.

First you must cleanse the exterior. You will, of course, need to shower. And not one of those four minute showers before work. This is a lather, rinse, repeat kind of shower. Break out the most expensive body wash you own, like something from Brazil made with seaweed, volcanic ash and iguana tongue. Exfoliating is critical too. Try to get your hands on a Balinese luffa, impregnated with thrice distilled kiwi citrus. Then shave your whole body.

Once clean and smooth, do not dress. You must remain naked for the remainder of the evening to properly absorb the Brunello. Or go ahead and put on clothes and ruin everything. Ingrate.

Then you must cleanse the palate. Get a green teabag, fasten it to a toothbrush, get it nice a wet and, yes, brush your teeth with it. This neutralizes whatever crap you put into your pie-hole earlier that day without paralyzing your taste buds with that tartar-control, palate-stomping poison everyone uses now. And don’t you dare touch any mouthwash! Are you trying to make a grown man cry? Because I’ll cry.

Next, decongest your nose. I don’t care that you don’t feel congested. Two hundred years ago, guys would perform surgery without washing their hands because they looked clean. So, just do what I say and 200 years from now I’ll be vindicated and you’ll be super embarrassed if you don’t listen to me. Again, since you have the time, you have the luxury of using an oral decongestant rather than a nose spray that will leave the combination scent of Windex and McDonald’s bathroom in your nose for hours.

Now you must cleanse your mind. Women will want to meditate to soft music for 45 minutes. Men, you watch world-class, women’s beach volleyball on nothing smaller than a 50 inch HDTV.

OK, you’re finally ready. Get into your over-sized, reclining Wine Chair ($1,599.99 from The Sharper Image), raising the legs to slightly above heart level, so blood pools in the torso and genitalia. Then carefully, carefully!, remove your Brunello from the bottle holster. Pour into clear, crystal glass of no less than 100cl in volume. Yes, this looks like you’re drinking out of a fish bowl with a stem, but it’s necessary both for the lunar orbit-caliber swirling you’ll need to do and the expansive surface area for studying and appreciating the ropes.

Raise the glass to your lips, put the other hand on an erogenous zone and… Well, you can figure out the rest.

There. Now you know how to drink a bottle of Brunello. Keep checking back here for my soon-to-be-released video, “How to take a nude bath in Strongbow with Scarlett Johansson,” produced by PBS because it will be, by any definition, a public service.

Members of the travel industry ritually self-harmed this week when it was announced that felonious halfwit Tommy Lee would soon be debuting his own travel show on the Syfy channel.

In related news, travel TV producers on both coasts unanimously did not spit out their coffee upon hearing the breaking news that an alarmingly photogenic, professional travel writer, with 47 countries under his belt, and co-author of the Lonely Planet Tuscany & Umbria that’s currently gracing bookstores, announced that he was going to lead his retired parents on a two week tour of Tuscany.

But wait, it gets better. The travel writer’s father has never left the US! In fact, he’s only been on two commercial flights in his life: round trip Minneapolis to LA. His mother has left the country twice: once to visit her eldest and cutest son in Paris in 1993 and a brief trip to Mexico.

Oh, it gets even better! The travel writer in question rarely travels with other people, because, well, they’re often annoying. And he’s never traveled with people who aren’t accustomed to his patented three-minute, single-breath cursing jags and prodigious capacity for wine consumption.

Sweet pole-dancing Jesus, what manner of morbid, viewer-satisfying hijinks will come of all this??

Yes, my friends, the travel writer is me and the parents are, as such, my parents. The time and leisure of retirement has inspired them, finally, to see what consumes the vast majority of my life (outside of drinking Strongbow and watching TV). It helps that both have evolved into enthusiastic restaurant goers over the years, with a special affinity for Italian cuisine. Furthermore, my father, an amateur cyclist/racer since I was a wee boy – who in 2010, at age 66, rode over 10,000 miles, right after a hip replacement – is bringing along his feather-light road bike so as to sweat lavishly all over the Tuscan countryside and possibly recreate key scenes from the 1979 film “Breaking Away.”

Now while Tuscany has its own special brand of travel challenges (unselfconsciously inflated prices, useless signage, dreadful public transport, atrocious internet access), it’s no, say, India in so far as culture shock goes. I’m sure my parents will cope just fine, particularly with me leading the way through an area that I know intimately. Though I do worry slightly that zapping them straight into one of the most visually pleasing places on Earth will spoil them for any possible future trips. I’m belatedly wondering if I shouldn’t have sent them to Berlin, Naples, Andorra or Monaco first.

Feigned drama aside, in all likelihood this trip will be filled with mellow days and lavish meals – until I introduce my parents to my 18 year old, Italian, exotic dancer fiancée. (In case any travel TV producers are still reading.)

Seriously, I’m looking forward to this. I have never actually vacationed in Tuscany, so this will be a bit of a novelty for me too. And I hope that Tuscany’s business owners, with their astonishingly long memories, will see fit to sing embarrassingly elaborate praises about me to my parents. No really guys, sing embarrassingly elaborate praises about me or I’ll drop you from the book. Haha, just kidding.

(No, really.)

This is it folks. For the final post of Tuscany Month, celebrating the release of the totally redesigned 2010 Lonely Planet Tuscany & Umbria, I am listing, by my modest estimation, the best places to eat in Tuscany. I’ve selected restaurants from the full budget range for various reasons that will be made clear in the reviews, however I’m leaving out the Michelin starred places, because featuring those would just be too easy and probably too expensive for most visitor’s inclinations anyway.

Caveats: the restaurants on this list are merely my personal selections, chosen on the strength of my two thorough Lonely Planet research trips through the region. However, this list has not been endorsed by Lonely Planet, nor for that matter, anyone with unassailable Tuscan dinning expertise. I have eaten at all of these places, usually only once, though sometimes twice, and I fully acknowledge that a single visit to any restaurant is not a wholly fair judgment of its full potential (or shortcomings). Also, again, I have not accounted for Florence and northwest Tuscany in this list, as this is not my research area. For my purposes, prices for a ‘meal’ include a pasta dish, a meat dish, a dessert and the coperto (service charge), but no drinks/wine. All prices listed were accurate as of spring/summer 2009.

Cantina Senese (Livorno)
Borgo dei Cappuccini 95; meals €17-20
Sound familiar? That’s because they made the “Best cheap eats in Tuscany” list too. It’s really a special place, for great food, reasonable prices, local color and all around atmosphere. The front half is a guys-guy hangout area, with food at prices that locals will pay on a weeknight being served just beyond at long wooden tables. It’s been almost a year, but I frequently think about the mussels and cacciucco di pesce (fish stew) that I had here. If, for whatever unlikely reason, you end up spending the night in Livorno, you may consider staying longer just to eat here again.

Antica Osteria da Divo (Siena)
Via Franciosa 29; meals €45-50
Despite my sizable eating obligations in Siena, not to mention the top-end prices here, I couldn’t help but eat at Divo twice last year. It’s very much a tourist place, but holy smokes is it ever good. Most seating is in the carved-out cellar with rough-hewn walls said to be former Etruscan tombs. The inventive menu includes dishes such as cannelloni with ricotta, spinach, grilled sweet peppers, tomatoes and Tuscan pesto sauce. The buckwheat lasagna au gratin with pheasant and fennel seeds in a creamed garlic and squash sauce is, obviously, quite the sight. Avert your eyes from the prices and enjoy an incredible eating experience.

La Libertaria (Portoferraio, Isola d’Elba)
Calata Matteotti 12; meals €28
This was an unexpected treat. Though I was directed here by the local Slow Food guy, I had initial misgivings as the place looks pretty moribund from the front. Seating capacity and backdrops are meager (a tent in the alley or out on the sidewalk, 5cm from speeding traffic), but the food is divine. Also, in the unlikely event that nothing on the menu turns your crank, the kitchen is open to requests! The linguine sarde e finocchietto (pasta with sardines and fennel) is unexpectedly excellent (I don’t normally dig on sardines) and the cooked-to-perfection tonno in crosta di pistacchi (tuna fillet with pistachio crust) was one of my favorite meals of the entire trip.

Gelateria di Piazza (San Gimignano)
Piazza della Cisterna 4
This is, hands-down the best gelateria in Tuscany. Oh you think you know a better one? One that’s not right on a famous, tourist-trap main square and therefore more authentic? Actually, you don’t because I probably ate the gelato wherever you’re thinking and I know what I’m talking about. Still unconvinced? Ask world famous gelato expert Tony Blair (OK, he’s nowhere near a gelato expert, but you know the guy has had the best of the best of everything) who is quoted, right on the wall, as saying “all the family thought the ice cream was delicious” See? Case closed. Master Sergio uses only the choicest ingredients, like pistachios from Sicily and cocoa from Venezuela. There’s a variant based on Vernaccia, the local wine, and, if you want to be more adventurous, saffron cream.

Il Pino (San Gimignano)
Via Cellolese 8-10; meals €37-42
When I first ate here in 2007, I had the raviolone di pecorino delle crete con lingua stufata e carote e porri all’aneto (sheep’s milk cheese ravioli with stewed meat, carrots, and leeks), which still ranks as the greatest pasta dish I’ve ever had anywhere in Italy. Sadly, it wasn’t on the menu in 2009, but the massive pasta plates and truffle-based specialties were still exceptional. The atmosphere here is spruce, vaulted and airy and the service is friendly and attentive. The ‘chocolate mousse with chocolate’ might sound funny, but the joke’s over when you taste it and realize it’s factually correct – and devastatingly good.

Ristorante Don Beta (Volterra)
Via Giacomo Matteotti 39; meals €30-45, fixed price menus €12-21
If you read my 2009 Best and Worst of Tuscany list, you’ll remember this place, as it earned the title ‘Best Meal’. And unlike most higher end Tuscan restaurants, both times I was here, the place was filled with locals. It’s all about the truffles at Don Beta. Four truffle-based primi piatti, and five secondi are enhanced by their fragrance. This is the place to sample the fungus, people. Prices aren’t listed, as truffle costs vary on a weekly basis, so it’s a good idea to inquire about prices before ordering, though they are generally reasonable. Alternatively, choose the mouth-watering tortellone di sfoglia di Spinaci Noci e Radicchio (spinach ravioli with walnut and radicchio sauce) or the Bistecca di Cinghiale alla griglia (amazingly tender wild boar fillets grilled with rosemary).

La Tana del Brillo Parlante (Massa Marittima)
Vicolo del Ciambellano 4; meals €30-35
OK, I didn’t actually eat at this place, though not for lack of trying. I was there on a weekend and it was totally booked out. However, a waiting list of discriminating locals can’t be wrong, so I’m putting my faith in this place anyway. Satisfying the Slow Food checklist to the letter, the diminutive interior ‘den’ seats a mere 12 people (in summer up to another six can squeeze into tiny alley tables). It’s billed as the ‘smallest osteria in Italy’. If you intend to dine here in summer or on the weekend, reserve 2-7 days in advance. Pork is their fixation, particularly the regional cinghiale alla Maremmana (Maremma wild boar).

Sobborgo (Cetona)
Via Sobborgo 6; meals €40
At the end of the piazza, the attentive staff serve an amazingly savory (and amazingly dainty) ravioli di chianina e dragoncelli con porcini (ravioli stuffed with beef and tarragon with porcini mushrooms). Even the bread here is swoon-worthy. If the idea of a €40 meal makes you take pause, you can off-set the price by staying a few blocks away in the perfectly nice La Cocciara, one of Tuscany’s best hostels.

Ristorante Fiorentino (Sansepolcro)
Via L Pacioli 60; meals €28-32
Exceptionally friendly and, having been in the same family for four generations, one of those legacy Tuscan restaurants known throughout the region. Daughter Alessia, an architect/sommelier with a degree in kitchen sciences and occasional guest on cooking TV shows, is guiding the restaurant into 21st century excellence. Dad, Alessio, still oversees day-to-day business, including the kitchen, where the pasta’s homemade, the imaginative menu changes with the seasons and there’s nary a freezer to be found.

Osteria del Teatro (Cortona)
Via Maffei 2; meals €32-40
Friendly service, fresh flowers on every table and a liberal meting out of truffle shavings awaits diners here. Featured in nearly every Italian gastronomic guide, its walls are proudly covered with photos of actors who have dined here. In summer, expect to find the recurring ravioli ai fiori di zucca (pumpkin-flower ravioli) among the recommended pasta plates.

The Tuscany Month countdown to the release of the totally redesigned 2010 Lonely Planet Tuscany & Umbria is nearing its end. I’ve been saving the best for last, including my carefully considered list of the best hotels, pensions and agriturismi (farm stays) in the region.

As always, the caveats are: this list is merely the product of my personal opinions and is not endorsed by Lonely Planet. I have not slept in all of these places, usually for financial reasons, but I’ve thoroughly toured them all, usually more than once, and on the strength of having seen about a squillion properties in my travel writing career, I’m pretty confident I’ve got this list nailed. I have not accounted for Florence and northwest Tuscany in this list, as this is not my research area. All prices listed were accurate as of spring/summer 2009.

Speaking of ‘financial reasons’, you’ll notice that several of the places on the list are decidedly aimed for special occasions and lottery winners. I have nothing to say in my defense. Oh-wow moments and historic surroundings rarely come cheap, especially in Tuscany.

In no particular order:

Agriturismo La Cerreta (outside Sassetta)
Località Pian delle Vigne; per person per night with half board €55-65
You get a definite hippie vibe here, even before you see the owner’s impressive hair. Once he starts chatting about his 20 years in the business of engineering a “self-sufficient, biodynamic, harmonic project” (all in Italian, so bring your favorite translator), you start to understand that this farmhouse is more about providing a simple, gastronomically authentic Tuscan lifestyle tutorial rather than the run-of-the-mill tourist services – though they can do that too. They raise cinta senese (indigenous Tuscan pig), Maremma cows, and the rare Livornese chicken, among others. Cooking instruction, guided hiking/biking, farm activities and even photography are arranged onsite. Horse tours are nearby and a brand new, three-pool thermal spa was near completion when I last visited. Wwoofing stays are available.

Borgo Stomennano (outside Monteriggioni)
Room sleeping four people €900-1000 per week (including internet and swimming pool)
A sprawling unforgettable property 2km outside Monteriggioni. This historic collection of farmhouses dating from the 1600s has been converted into apartments, furnished and decorated with an amazing collection of heirlooms dating back hundreds of years – children under 14 are not permitted due to the delicate nature of these items. Though geared for large groups (six to 32 people) and events, couples are welcome during select periods. You can self-cater or request full board. Special touches include an infinity pool, welcome bottles of wine (with personalized labels!) and a private trail from the property, through undulating fields, leading to Monteriggioni.

Antica Residenza Cicogna (Siena)
Via dei Termini 67; singles €70-75, doubles €90, triples €130 (including breakfast, air-con and wi-fi)
Springless beds, soundproof windows (priceless with the way sound carries on the streets of Siena), ornate frescoes, wi-fi and antique furniture make this central option justifiably popular. With a mere five rooms and two suites, class exudes from prominent elements such as the four-poster bed, elaborate, thick-framed mirrors and the breakfast space (enormous buffet style). Reception has limited core hours (8am to 1pm), so arrange your arrival in advance. Parking is €18.

Palazzo Brandano (Pretoio)
Via di Valgelata 18; singles €150, doubles €225 (including breakfast, air-con, wi-fi and PC access)
Within the hilltop, 12th-century walls of peaceful, wedding cake-shaped Pretoio, the four-star Brandano is practically an attraction on its own. Rooms are sumptuous, wood-beamed affairs with frescos, classic furniture, plush beds, wi-fi, sensational views, and Jacuzzis. They have an impressive onsite restaurant, with a chef that’s available for cooking classes.

Hotel Leon Bianco (San Gimignano)
Piazza della Cisterna 13; singles €65-80, doubles €80-135, triples €110-135 (including breakfast, air-con, wifi- and PC internet access)
I love this place. When you take into account super expensive San Gim, it’s really a great value. The hotel, occupying a 14th-century mansion, faces the historic central square. It’s smoothly run and friendly, with a ground-floor abundance of plants, a pretty inner courtyard, a breakfast patio, billiard table and fitness room. Wi-fi (extra charge) is available in common spaces, though I was able to hop onto someone’s unsecured hub from my room.

Agriturismo San Lorenzo (outside Volterra)
Doubles €90; apartments (without breakfast) €95-110 (pool, internet available)
This is probably my favorite all-around agriturismo in all of Tuscany. Just 3km outside Volterra on the road to Siena, sits this giddying fusion of sustainable tourism, countryside vistas, modern conveniences and wonderful food (dinner per person is a very reasonable €28). The mountain spring-fed biological swimming pool, complete with frogs and salamanders, fronts the converted farmhouse, circa the 1400s. Rooms are ‘farmhouse chic’, individually decorated and colorful with modern kitchens and bathrooms. Walking, biking, horseback riding and hands-on, seasonal olive-oil production (October-November) are immediately available, as are cooking classes (€90 per person) with meals served in the 12th-century Franciscan chapel. Whether you consider it a curse or blessing, some mobile-phone services don’t work out here. They sell their own olive oil too!

Hotelito Lupaia (outside Pienza)
Doubles €240 (breakfast, swimming pool included)
Full disclosure: I was sent here for a magazine assignment and was comped for a three night stay. Just north of Pienza, this farm dates from 1237. Each room has been uniquely and meticulously designed by the family matriarch, a 30 year veteran of fashion and interior design. The main house, containing a sitting room, dining room and open kitchen, is similarly bedecked with restored and agreeably weathered furniture. The progressive use of medieval space, doing as little as possible and sigh-inducing countryside views punctuate stays here, which are only interrupted by alluring eating options in nearby Pienza, Montepulciano, Montichiello and Montefollonico.

La Frateria di Padre Eligio (outside Cetona)
Via di San Francesco; singles €140-160, doubles €220-240 (including breakfast)
This is probably the most historic, best-value sleeping option available to non-royalty. Up a signed lane (‘Mondox la Frateria Conv S Francesco’) 1km from Cetona on the road to Sarteano, this is a former convent dating from 1212. It’s been painstakingly restored and converted into an unforgettable, seven-room hotel and gourmet restaurant (meals without wine are a steep €110 per person), where you can expect a lavish eight-course dining experience, 90% of which is made from local products.

La Corte Del Re (Arezzo)
Via Borgunto 5; singles €60-75, doubles €70-90 (including air-con and internet)
A collection of six apartments, centimeters from Arezzo’s Piazza Grande, harmoniously blending contemporary design into elements of the historic building. The Pietro Aretino Suite has an ultra-modern bathroom that bleeds right into an Etruscan wall. Some apartments have kitchenettes and views of the square. There’s a three night minimum stay.

Hotel San Michele (Cortona)
Via Guelfa 15; doubles €79-220 (including breakfast, air-con and wi-fi)
This is Cortona’s finest hotel, which is surprising when you take into account their frequent discounted room rates. The property is primarily Renaissance, but with elements dating from the 12th century and modifications over subsequent centuries, it’s like a little history of Cortona in stone. Rooms are airy, spacious and exquisitely furnished. Unfortunately, for every week there are €79 rooms, there are two weeks with €200 rooms, so plan carefully. If you’re driving, parking will cost €20. Wi-fi costs €3 per hour.

L’Andana (outside Castiglione della Pescaia)
Doubles €500 (including breakfast, pool, internet, wi-fi and parking)
That’s right, rooms are €500 per night. When you coast down the gated, kilometer-long, tree-lined dirt track flanked by vineyards, olive trees and 50 sq km of rolling hills and rock up to this once summer abode of Duke Leopold, you’ll know why. Opened in 2004 and designed with the help of French three-star Michelin chef Alain Ducasse, this 16th-century property is the last hotel you’ll ever want to stay in. And you can bet your tongue that the onsite Trattoria Toscana (open for dinner only from Tuesday to Sunday) won’t disappoint. Avail yourself of the indoor and outdoor swimming pools, spa with signature treatments, tennis court, 18-hole golf course, lobby wi-fi and the largest showers in Tuscany – maybe Europe.

Welcome back to Tuscany Month, featuring another chunk of the Lost Tuscany Text, some of my favorite content that didn’t make it into the totally redesigned 2010 Lonely Planet Tuscany & Umbria.

Today’s Lost Text is the town of Colle di Val d’Elsa. Most visitors here are simply changing buses en route to Volterra. However, if you have a hour or two to kill, or you’re itching to stay somewhere off-the-beaten-path and chilled out, this is a great choice.

Colle has long been Italy’s major center for fine glass and crystal production and, unburdened by any notable church, museum or work of art, the place has kept its character as a rural market town. Colle Alta, the historic, one-street part of town located high atop a severe ridge, is a fun place to wander. The lower part of town is modern, and ho-hum, though they do a bustling Friday market in and around Piazza Arnolfo, selling everything from giant wheels of cheese to frilly knickers.

There’s a tourist office in both the lower part of town (Piazza Arnolfo 9; hours 11am-7:45pm, closed Sun afternoon), sharing space with the bus station ticket office on the main square, and another in the upper part (Via Campana 43; hours 10am-12pm & 3-6pm Monday-Saturday, 10am-12pm & 3-5pm Sunday). If crystal art is your thing, between March and October the lower tourist office books crystal tours (€20), with visits to glass-blowing, shaping, cutting and engraving workshops and crystal showrooms. The Museo del Cristallo (Via dei Fossi 8a; hours 10am-noon & 3-7pm Tuesday-Sunday in summer), in the lower part of town, illustrates the history and production of crystal and displays some stunning pieces (leave your toddler at home). All descriptions are in Italian.

If you’re on foot, you should access Colle Alta via the elevator, hidden deep in the hillside (look for signs directing you to the cave entrance). If you’re driving up to Colle Alta, park in the free lot near Porta Nova at the western end of town.

Colle Alta has three small museums. The Museo Archeologico, Museo Civico and Museo d’Arte Sacra (the latter two share the same premises). Most interesting is the Museo d’Arte Sacra, with some worthwhile paintings by Sienese masters.

If you’re staying for dinner, Il Frantoio (Via Castello 40; meals €38) in Colle Alta gets full points, both for food and atmosphere. There’s cheaper places in town, but this is the only place where you’ll be pampered, from the complimentary champagne and small tasting appetizer to the main events of liver-filled ravioli and duck (very rare) with roasted potatoes. They also do a fixed-price lunch menu.

Today’s Tuscany Month excitement highlights my favorite scenic/interesting drive in the region. Probably my favorite new feature in the 2010 Lonely Planet Tuscany & Umbria are all the numerous driving tours we added. In some cases we just took a logical grouping of villages that were already listed in the book and just tied them all together as a driving tour. I’ve taken my favorite driving tour (more like a road trip, since at the end of the day you end up too prohibitively far away from where you started to circle around and head back) cuts across the Le Crete region, south of Siena. Below is a Leifed up version of what appears in the guidebook.

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Road Trip: Abbazia di San Galgano to Pretoio

Distance: ~92km  Duration: 6-8 hours
After a week in Siena, as amazing as it is, the claustrophobia of it all begs for a scenic, low-impact road trip like this. Even fighting the dense traffic to get out of town, it still only takes about 20-25 minutes to travel the 20km southwest of Siena on the SS73 to the 13th-century San Galgano abbey, in its day one of the country’s finest Gothic buildings. Now it’s an impressive, haunting ruin (especially if you arrive in early morning fog) that still speaks strongly of its past. The monks of this former Cistercian abbey were among Tuscany’s most powerful, forming the judiciary and acting as accountants for the comuni (municipalities) of Volterra and Siena. Sir John Hawkwood, the prolific English mercenary, sacked the abbey on at least two occasions in the 14th century. By the 16th century the monks’ wealth and importance had declined and the church had deteriorated to the point of ruin. In 1786 the bell tower simply collapsed, as did the ceiling vaults a few years later. Today the great, roofless, stone and brick monolith stands silent in the fields. There’s a small tourist office with limited hours next door in a stretch of cloister housing.

On a hill overlooking the abbey is the tiny, round Romanesque Cappella di Monte Siepi. (You can either walk or drive up here) Inside the chapel are badly preserved frescoes by Ambrogio Lorenzetti depicting the life of San Galgano, native to the area, who managed the neat trick of being both a soldier and saint. San Galgano is said to have had a vision of St Michael on this site and, as one does after such an event, lived his last years here as a hermit. More intriguing is a real-life ‘sword in the stone’, sitting under glass in the floor of the chapel. Legend has it that San Galgano himself plunged it there, as the mother of all exclamation points, during his renunciation of worldly life.

The drive to Buonconvento is tricky, even with a GPS helping you out. Wiggle east past Monticiano, through San Lorenzo, Fontazzi and Murlo, then curl down the Strada Provinciale di Murlo 34 which eventually runs into Buonconvento, sitting there like a large roadside rest stop on a rare, perfectly flat stretch of plain. The low-slung fortified walls of this farming centre hide a quiet little medieval town. The rather brief amount of time it takes to wander the historic center can be supplemented by its two museums: the Museo della Mezzadria Senese, with its life-size figures, antique farm tools, and multimedia presentation of what life was like living off the land until quite recently, and the Museo d’Arte Sacra, containing religious art collected in the town and from neighbouring churches and hamlets.

Ten very pretty kilometers northeast is the 14th-century Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore, still serving as a retreat for around 40 monks. The congregation was founded in 1313 by John Tolomei, though construction didn’t begin on the monastery until 1393. The grounds are very atmospheric, but most people come here for the outstanding fresco series in the Great Cloister, painted by Luca Signorelli and Il Sodoma, illustrating events in the life of the ascetic St Benedict, founder of the Benedictine order. The fresco series wraps around the four-sided Great Cloister, illuminated naturally by an inner courtyard.

I never get tired of the hilarious dichotomy between these two artists. Signorelli, reputed to be a widely respected, kind man, had previously done minor work on the Sistine Chapel and would later produce his masterpiece Resurrection of the Flesh in the Chapel of San Brizio, in Orvieto’s Duomo. He started work in the monastery in 1497, producing nine frescoes. In stark contrast, Il Sodoma, born Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, was purported to have been something of a character, even by artist standards. He dressed flamboyantly, kept a ‘Noah’s Ark’ of unusual pets, sung original ditties of dubious taste and, according to Giorgio Vasari in the book The Lives of the Artists, earned the moniker ‘Sodoma’ ‘because he always surrounded himself with boys and beardless youths whom he loved beyond measure’. He added 17 frescoes, completing the series around 1505.

The road from Monte Oliveto Maggiore to Asciano is, for pure scenery, about as good as Tuscany gets. It’s also quite a thrill for drivers, being a 1 1/2 lane wide, winding, heel-toe challenge. Tiny Asciano won’t keep you long. It has a trio of small museums dedicated to Sienese art and Etruscan finds in the area. You may be ready to eat by this stage, which is perfect as there are several no-nonsense restaurants in town, including my favorite, La Brace at Via Mameli 9/11, featuring warm proprietors and tattered, hand-written paper menus.

Make sure your clutch-foot is well rested before setting off on the twisting 20km road up to Montisi, little more than a one-street, medieval blip capping a steep hill. Its allure speaks to a certain disposition, particularly the expat artist community hunkered down here. A little asking around can win you entrance to a few of the town’s small churches, stuffed with aging paintings, town effects dating back to the 15th-century and a tiny crypt. The copious activities in this retiring town and the surrounding area is kind of remarkable, including contemporary art exhibitions, cheese tastings, horseback riding tours and eight-day ballooning tours. Taverna Montisi, on the edge of town, is the primary eatery; with a seasonal menu fuelled by organic farmers in the immediate area. The owner doubles as the town-fixer-cum-tourism-coordinator, arranging everything from tours to emergency dentist visits.

Finally, nearby wedding cake-shaped Pretoio, is a wanderable, quiet place and home to the Museo della Terracotta, run by a local, prolific terracotta artist. If you can drive no further, Palazzo Brandano is a swish and stylish place to spend the night. Otherwise, slightly more budget-friendly places in are in nearby Pienza or Montepulciano.

Welcome back to Tuscany Month, featuring another chunk of the Lost Tuscany Text, some of my favorite content that didn’t make it into the totally redesigned 2010 Lonely Planet Tuscany & Umbria.

Today’s Lost Text is the town of San Quirico d’Orcia. Although extremely atmospheric and featuring some good value eating and sleeping, San Quirico, by Tuscany standards, is merely a very rewarding road-side attraction, rather than a resounding ‘destination’, and so it got the ax during word count slashing:

Fortified. Compact. Medieval. San Quirico has the usual Tuscan adjectives and, unfortunately, few singular attractions. A one-time pilgrim pit-stop on the Via Francigena, it’s still a worthwhile place to pull over if you happen to be racing by on the SS2 between Montalcino and Pienza. Its Romanesque Collegiata is notable for its unusual three doorways, decorated with bizarre stone carvings. Inside is a triptych by Sano di Pietro. Just off Piazza della Liberta, the main square, the Horti Leononi are small, but lovely formal Italian Renaissance gardens with geometrical hedges. There’s a decidedly quiet and whimsically open tourist office at Via Dante Alighieri 33a, which also acts as the information office for the Parco Artistico Naturale e Culturale della Val d’Orcia.

The surrounding, pleasant Val d’Orcia, a land of flat, chalky plains and low-slung, pointy hills, is the latest Italian area to be declared a Unesco World Heritage Site. The equally recent Parco Artistico Naturale e Culturale della Val d’Orcia, headquartered in San Quirico d’Orcia, protects the area.

One of the better eateries in town is Trattoria Al Vecchio Forno (Via Piazzola 8; meals €30). They may be cleverly venting the kitchen’s grill out into the street, as you’ll smell it before you see it. The intimate dining room is crowded with classic photos of San Quirico and precariously stacked shelves of wine. Rabbit and Sienese pig figure heavily on the secondi list.

If you don’t have time for a sit down meal, there’s a magnificent small cheese shop (Via Dante Alighieri 113b; hours 9:30am-1pm & 4-7:30pm), an outlet for the Fattoria Pianporcino cheesemakers, where you can pick up the renowned pecorino di Pienza and other cheesy goodness.

Mussels from Cantina Senese in Livorno

This might be my favorite Tuscany Month post, celebrating the imminent release of the totally redesigned 2010 Lonely Planet Tuscany & Umbria. (Which isn’t to say you should stop reading after this, I’m saving the crowd pleasing doosies for near the end)

Having now completed two Tuscany guidebook projects for Lonely Planet, I’m feeling emboldened to share some authoritative opinions about the area. My biggest fixation is how one might enjoy a first-rate Tuscany experience without having to cash in a bunch of grandma’s savings bonds.

Food is both one of the biggest reasons to come here and arguably the chief wallet-pulverizing expense. Even mid-range restaurant prices can be intimidating, thus many people resort to self-catered sandwiches and slices from the pizza window, which is just plain tragic. Once, I met a budget traveling family cycling through Italy who drove me to stuttering frustration when they bragged about never once eating a restaurant meal. Folks, if you don’t intend to eat at least the occasional proper restaurant meal in Italy, you’ve squandered one of the country’s primary enticements.

Special meals, in any price range, are frequently what leave the most lasting Tuscany trip memories, but in my experience some of Tuscany’s best meals can be found in the most unpretentious, simple neighborhood joints, where even a pasta dish with three ingredients (counting the pasta) will shock you with its flavor and counterintuitive complexity.

The good news is that virtually every city and village hides at least one place fitting the cheap eats bill, offering a full meal (pasta, meat dish and dessert) for less than €23 (US$33).  Below are some of my favorites (prices accurate as of spring/summer 2009):

Cantina Senese (Livorno)
Borgo dei Cappuccini 95; meals €17-20
I hate to play favorites, but this is probably my favorite, along with Trattoria Dardano in Cortona (see below). The meal I had here was outstanding and one of the cheapest of the entire trip. There wasn’t a single tourist in the joint when I last visited this place, despite already being listed in the previous edition of the guidebook. It’s part guys-guy hangout, part restaurant. The value-conscious harbor workers, who seem to know more about food than many self-described Italy food bloggers, are the first to fill the long wooden tables at this unpretentious and friendly eatery, with neighborhood families arriving later. Ordering is frequently done via faith in one’s server – I never saw a menu, and I was not disappointed. The mussels were exceptional, as was the cacciucco di pesce (seafood stew), both served with taste bud-melting garlic bread.

Osteria La Barrocciaia (Livorno)
Piazza Cavallotti 13; meals €20
For all its many faults, like wildly over-priced accommodation for example, Livorno is a killer place to eat, especially, of course, seafood. This joint may be the worst kept dining secret in town, but locating Barrocciaia still takes a careful eye what with it being the most inconspicuous facade and well-hidden sign in Piazza Cavallotti. Big sandwiches (€5) are sold out of the tiny front room, but with luck and timing you can score a table and enjoy the real reason every local speaks of La Barrocciaia with reverence. The menu fluctuates continually, as does the art on the walls, with the exception of grandpa’s picture, quietly supervising the third generation of management.

Il Castagnacciao Pizzeria (Portoferraio, Isola d’Elba)
Via del Mercato Vecchio 5; half/whole pizzas €3/6
Though the island of Elba is primarily a seafood eating experience, the especially popular Castagnacciao demands recognition. Down a very narrow street from Piazza Cavour in the historic centre, this is where locals go for takeaway or sit-down pizza bliss. A bunch of friendly guys taking orders, prepping and baking pizzas, are squashed behind an impossibly cramped counter. Yet somehow, from this mayhem, more than 20 different types of wood-fire pizza appear.

Cafescondido (Portoferraio, Isola d’Elba)
Via del Carmine 65; meals €23-28
Way up the hill from Piazza Cavour, toward Fortezza Falcone, the raucous café up front gives no sign of the delicious food served in the impressionist art-festooned back room. Servers deftly explain Elba-centric culinary permutations on the chalkboard menu. The table wine is better than average and there’s plenty of crostata to choose from for dessert.

L’Osteria (Siena)
Via dei Rossi 79/81; meals €25
This is a hair outside of my €23 per meal cut-off, but since they have to turn a profit in super-expensive Siena, I’m giving them a pass. Indeed, they’re the deal of the century in this otherwise intimidating eating atmosphere. I felt a little guilty about listing this place in the guidebook, being that a local pleaded with me not to put it in (hence, ruining it), but it was just too good. Plus the place was half-filled with tourists when I visited, so it’s not like I personally wrecked the secret. They serve no nonsense, but savory dishes at prices locals will pay. Skip dessert and pop over the road to Kopa Kabana for the freshest gelato in Siena.

Enoteca Gustavo (San Gimignano)
Via San Matteo 29; snacks & wine from €2.50
San Gim’s historic center is decidedly starved for the kind of budget eating I envisioned for this list, but this enoteca (wine bar) gets credit for its impressive bruschetta menu and plates like cheese with honey to go with the substantial selection of wines There isn’t much elbow space inside, so go for one of the outside tables if you can, where the people watching is superb.

Osteria Porta al Cassero (Montalcino)
Via Ricasoli 32; meals €24
They’re a hair over my €23 limit, but they get bonus points for atmosphere. It’s a simple place selling hearty peasant-style fare such as bean and vegetable soup, Tuscan pork sausage with white beans and a “pan-roasted roasted rabbit”. That’s right, “roasted roasted”. Don’t ask, as my companion and I did, how a rabbit can be roasted twice unless you want to ignite a 30-minute, osteria-wide, impassioned debate on Tuscan cooking terminology.

Osteria dell’Acquacheta (Montepulciano)
Via del Teatro 22; meals €18-24
This is a small eatery with the look and feel of a country trattoria and some of the most attentive staff in Tuscany. The food is excellent and mainly meaty, ranging from misto di salami Toscani (a variety of Tuscan sausages and salamis) to huge steaks. It fills fast at lunch. Arrive early or reserve.

Enoteca a Gambe di Gatto (Montepulciano)
Via dell Opio nel Corso 34; meals €21-30
This exacting husband and wife team are renowned throughout the region. They travel the country in winter to acquire the absolute best products from organic producers. The daily menu fluctuates wildly, depending on market offerings. The wine and oil served in the restaurant are also on sale in their enoteca.

Osteria da Tronca (Massa Marittima)
Vicolo Porte 5; meals €23-28
Squeezed into a side street, da Tronca is an intimate stone-walled restaurant with lots of antipasti (€3) to choose from and a memorable tortelli alla Maremma (pasta filled with ricotta and a type of spinach, covered in homemade ragu). For mains, you can’t go wrong ordering anything with cinghiale (wild boar).

Torre di Gnicche (Arezzo)
Piaggia San Martino 8; meals €21-26
Just off the Piazza Grande, this is a fine old restaurant that’s staunchly traditional (lunch service starts at 12.30pm and not one second before!), offering a rich variety of antipasti. The ample range of local pecorino cheeses is enriched by an extensive red wine list.

Trattoria Il Saraceno (Arezzo)
Via G Mazzini 6; meals €24-28
Arrive at the stoke of noon, because by 12:30 this places is hopping and you may go hungry. With 60 years in business, this trattoria serves quality, varied Tuscan fare attracting a lunch and dinner crowd that keeps the swarm of servers dashing. The impressive wine collection is hard to miss, as it conspicuously lines the walls along with classic pictures of Arezzo. They also do pizzas, starting at €5.

La Grotta (Cortona)
Piazzetta Baldly 3; meals €20-28
I’ve found this place, at the end of a blind alley just off Piazza della Repubblica, to be closed at very odd times, even for Italy. Should you find them open, it’s a reliable choice. Twin-roomed and intimate, it has all the virtues of a traditional trattoria. If you go for strong flavors, begin with the beef carpaccio, followed by the cheese ravioli with truffle sauce.

Trattoria Dardano (Cortona)
Via Dardano 24; meals €19-24
Dardano, my second favorite, barely, to Cantina Senese in Livorno, is one of those no-nonsense yet still unexpectedly wonderful trattorie that feature prominently in every Tuscany travel memoir, doing amazing things with ostensibly simple dishes. You’ll be elbow-to-elbow with locals and giddy, idealistic visitors, seriously considering buying and fixing up a nearby farmhouse on the strength of their lunch.

Trattoria da Leo (Lucca)
Via Tegrimi 1; meals €19
The outdoor dining area of this wildly popular place is smooshed into a tiny, but busy street in Lucca’s historic center. Known all over northwest Tuscany, the menu gets a little more adventurous than what you’d expect at a budget-end place, which is how I ended up eating here three times in three days last spring. They’re well used to tourists, managing to be friendly and non-rushed, which is hard to find in this category of eateries.