Special Dinner at Omero

This Friday, June 15, I will be hosting a special “annotated” dinner at Omero restaurant. The event is organized through Context Travel, and we still six places open.

The menu will feature classic Tuscan dishes, paired with top local wines: an appetizer of crostini with chicken liver and fine affettati misti (cured meats), a primo piatto tasting of pappa al pomodoro, penne al sugo, and fresh ravioli with spinach and ricotta, and for the secondo, classic bistecca alla fiorentina and a grilled chicken, paired with a Nobile di Montepulciano, with a side of fried zucchini flowers and braised white beans, and ending with various dolci fatti in casa, such as a torta di mela, cheesecake, etc., paired with vin santo, naturally.

While we eat, I will be giving some history and context to the food and wine, and answering any questions that come up. In short, it’s going to be extremely fun and festive – and Toscanissimo. The event costs 85 euros per person; if you are interested in joining the dinner, contact Angela Vannucci at angela@contexttravel.com.

 

Mini-review: Rifrullo

Rifrullo, in the San Niccolo neighborhood, has always been a great coffee and aperitivo bar, but I had never had a chance to try their full menu until this week. Sometimes it takes a critical mass of people to recommend a place to me before I will take a chance and try it, and this had definitely been reached – several people told me they had eaten well here, and the menu looked appealing.

It’s about a thousand degrees celcius in Florence right now, so I asked to sit on the terrazza, which overlooks the porta and the old city walls. The menu is a little creative without being wacky or scary (when Florentines get experimental, things often go awry). Things got off to a good start: for a primo I ordered linguine with salt cod (in bianco) and cherry tomatoes, which was one of the best pastas I’ve had in a long time – delicious! Others had the pici with sundried tomatoes, pecorino, and guanciale, which was also very good. For secondi we also went the seafood route: a very fresh and simple mixed grill, which included calamari, scampi, and tuna; and I had the sesame-crusted tuna with soy sauce. I knew I was possibly asking for trouble with this Asian-y preparation, but the rare tuna was  pink and tender, and again, the presentation was simple and un-fussy. (I had been to the Central Market that morning, so I knew that big beautiful tuna from Sicily were available in Florence.) We shared a tiramisu for dessert, and also had a crisp pinot bianco. Prices are reasonable, especially for seafood.  Rifrullo has successfully morphed from a trendy aperitivo bar into fine full-fledged restaurant.

Rifrullo: Via San Niccolo 55r, 055-234-2621. Open daily 7 am to 1 am.

They also has a nice web site and a new blog, where they describe some of the special events going on, like a dinner dedicated to different kinds of pesto and Ligurian cuisine, special beer tasting.