Hi - We will be staying near Lucca for a few days at the beginning of April, and was hoping for some restaurant recommendations. We are staying in a small town called Montecarlo, which I think someone mentioned had a good restaurant, but I cannot find the name. We would welcome any suggestions.
Many thanks, Kate
Posts: 605 | Location: Rehoboth, MA USA | Registered: 30 August 2003
Sorry for the length of the reply, but here is a little of the upcoming revision to my Tuscan restaurant pages. It is the section on Lucca and surroundings. VIlla La Nina is the restaurant in Montecarlo and is quite wonderful. Be sure to reserve.
quote:In Lucca-- Vinarkia Via Filungo We shared a sformata di spinaci con lardo which was claimed to be a Caterina di Medici recipe. It was tasty and rich: a torte of pureed vegetables with a covering of paper thin lardo, all warmed in the oven until the lardo was just translucent. We also tried pescaspada affumicato con insalata misticana e Kiwi. This was a beautiful plate of bitter baby greens topped by slices of kiwi and see thru slices of house-smoked, whiskey-cured swordfish. This was also very wonderful. Last up was a huge plate of assorted cheeses, all local pecorini of different ages. It was served with a small dish of truffle honey. We drank some glasses of Falanghina with this. The places is small with a lovely old wooden bar and a wild mosaic in the wall. The bartender was a hip looking pierced young lady who was concerned that we had a good time. The chef/owner was a hipster who spent more time getting into and out of his motorcycle leathers than actually making our food. Shaved headed and with that 3 day unshaven beard look, he also chatted with about half of the folk who walked by. We enjoyed Vinarkia immensely. On a return visit in the evening, they had a wonderful selection of antipasti (salumi, formaggi, crostini and a insalata di Farro con tonno). We enjoyed some Muller Thurgau from Alto Adige while we munched.
I Santi Vineria Toscana Via dell’Anfiteatro, 29/a 0583/496124
Very late at night, while walking around the Anfiteatro, we found I Santi. There was good jazz playing on the sound system and lots of bottles of wine all over the room. The staff was young and very friendly. Kay had a steamed chicken salad with melon. The chicken at first seemed bland but as you chewed it, the simple flavores of a non factory farmed chicken developed in your mouth. I had an excellent, very fresh tasting carpaccio di Manzo, followed by an insipid looking but great tasting insalata mista. We drank a couple of glasses of good red.
We returned to I Santi the next day. With great jazz playing on the stereo, we enjoyed a wonderful lunch. Jane had an adventureous grilled tomino (small brie like cheese from Piemonte) with pear and walnuts. The grilling of the cheese made it soft, creamy and runny. Kay started with the insalata mista while I had a wonderful pappa col pomodoro. Kay followed with a quail salad and I had the steak tartare. The waiter made quite a production of dressing the wonderful chopped beef with anchovies, parsley, shallots and a bright orange colored egg yolk. We had a apple tart to finish accompanied by a glass of 1988 Dartilatongue Armagnac. We also had several of the best macchiati of the trip. Our wine was a local Lucchesi Rosso from Colina Verde. It was okay.
Olivo Somewhere in Lucca, off of Via Fillungo We started with an outstanding bottle of gewürztraminer Sanct’Valetin from San Michele Eppian 2002. First up was my antipasto of calamaretti, sautéed and marinated in olive oil and a salsa verde that included anchovies, capers and, allegedly, artichoke. This was an ugly looking concoction with the sauce being a pasty green grey. But the baby squid was grilled to perfection and the sauce nicely pungent. Kay had antipasto misto caldo: a large bowl with a selection of seafood. Steamed fillet of sole, scampi, gamberoni, octopus and squid. The sole was soft and tender, the shell fish extremely fresh and simply prepared. All were topped by local olive oil, light and delicate. Then we shared spaghetti fantasia di mare, with loads of clams, mussels and scampi. The pasta was a little chewy but the sauce was a briny mix of the pan juices from the shellfish, lots of chopped garlic, parsley and a splash of tart white wine. It was the kind of sauce where you sop up every drop. All quite wonderful. We finished with a crostata di frutti del bosco and a macedone di frutti. The meal was not particularly cheap, but not too expensive for an all seafood meal.
Also recommended by the owner of Vinarkia, but not tried were Ristorante Damiani (vicino Castello Autostrada) and Ristorante Celide (Zona Macelli- Porta Elisa). We later drove past both restaurants and they looked good. I will try both the next trip to Lucca.
Villa La Nina Montecarlo (Lucca) 0583/22178
What a meal. Here is a country restaurant in the middle of a dreary industrial area that had some spectacularly wonderful food. We talked to the owner about ordering and he asked if we wanted traditional foods or modern. His local customers wanted the modern and visitors from afar wanted traditional food. We said traditional. Jane started off with prosciutto e melone. The dark red ham was presented on the bone and hand sliced: a little thicker than the typical machine sliced stuff. It was properly musty and spicy. Kay had a crepe stuffed with salmon in a cream sauce, a bit of the modern but good, if not over the top rich. I had a warm mixed seafood antipasto which included a small version of the crepe, a scallop au gratin (again rich) and finally a warm seafood salad loaded with garlic. The salad was a sauté of calamaretti, scampi, gamberetti, white wine and olio. The seafood salad was an example of superb simple food!
For a primi I had zuppa di farrro. Farro is emmer, an ancient form of wheat, dark brown in color and earthy in taste. The soup was a smooth puree of emmer and dark brown beans topped with a drizzle of very good house olio. For a secondo, Kay had the Pollo al Mattone- chicken grilled under a brick. This is a small free range bird split down the back and flattened. It is then pressed with a super-heated brick and tossed on a hot grill so that both sides cook at once. The bones are crisp and brittle, the skin very crisp and brown, yet the meat is very juicy. Jane had ravioli all’asparigi which was very good and very rich with cream. My secondo was grilled scampi, which was quite a production. A heavy cast iron brazier with three hardwood coals was brought out topped with a huge pile of scampi (about the best part of a kilo). Those on the top of the pile were perfectly cooked while those lower down were a little underdone so the heat from the brazier would continue to cook them until I had worked my way down. This led to a scene that could have been out of Tom Jones: I was slurping every morsel of the sweet crustacean from the shell while the juices were getting everywhere. Lamb chops and gamberoni are also given the same treatment although we did not try them. My contorno was pinzimonio- a huge bowl of huge whole vegetables served with a knife. It was served with more of the house olio and a sharp red wine vinegar. Our wine was a bottle of the house wine which had all the charm of a bottle of lemon juice left out in the sun for several weeks before some cats used the bottle as a latrine. If it was even that good! But how do you tell your hosts that their home made wine could take the rust out of the radiator of a 36 Ford pickup if not dissolve the radiator entirely. Get something expensive off of the extensive and wonderful reserve wine list instead. Save the house wine till you need some Drano! Dessert was fresh fruit and strong caffe. The meal was under €200 for a true feast.
Kate If you go to this link, you can find some recommendations we made from our trip last Spring. Lucca Recommendations Hopefully this info will be useful. If you explore the site, you will find recommendations for other places in Tuscany. Enjoy your trip.
Hi Kate, Rob and I had a verygood dinner at:'Chiuso il Lunedi e las sera del Mercoedi- RISTORANTE LA CECCA-55060 Coselli (LU) Tel:0583.94284 www.lacecca.it info@lacecca.it It is outside the walls about 10 minutes or so, and I beleive it is off the road leading to Montecarlo. I remember going through there on our trip and I think this is between you and Lucca. We had: Taglitelle with herbs and tomatoes-very light. One of the other people with us had spag. w/ muscles. Looked delish. Secondi: Wendy-Tagliata-sliced steak covered with pocket and parmesean shavings. Really good Rob-Veal pocket-Veal folded around procutto[sp], cheese and artichokes. He really liked it! The house wine is a negative, so go with a bottle. We had a bottle of vino nobile di Montepulciano. Excellent.
Anyway we suggest this restaurant. The parking lot was full, (always a good sign,) and the restaurant is lively and bright due to the white walls, nice interiors. I got a nice feeling there.
Have a terrific time.
Be sure to walk the walls when you are in Lucca. It is a lovely walk and the trees should be in spring bloom for you. Hmmmmm
Posts: 2992 | Location: Monterey Peninsula, California, USA | Registered: 07 September 2003
La Cecca is actually south of Lucca towards Pisa, whereas Montecarlo is a bit northeast of Lucca. The website shows the map. I'm familiar with the location because I got lost driving in that area one evening and got my bearings finally after I passed the restaurant the second time. But it is about 10 minutes drive from Lucca and very well regarded and obviously enjoyed by Wendy & Rob.
Posts: 2054 | Location: Suburban Philadelphia | Registered: 08 July 2002
Thank you Carol for correcting my placement of the rest. and Montecarlo. I remember going through Montecarlo trying to find Villa Princepessa where we were staying the day we arrived and I thought/remembered wrong. Wendy
Posts: 2992 | Location: Monterey Peninsula, California, USA | Registered: 07 September 2003
If you are staying in Montecarlo you should try the Osteria del Vecchio Olivo. It's a small trattoria run by the Stefanini family that has been producing olive oil locally for the past three generations (we import and sell the Stefanini oil in our store, and it is a true delight). The olive oil operation is currently run by Simone and his sister runs the osteria. They also have rooms for rent.
The phone number is 0583.228847. It is closed all day Monday and Tuesday lunch. Be sure to buy some oil from them!
Bill from Bella Italy, just checked out your profile and was intrigued about your new business. What a great idea that is. You may start a trend if people read of your ingenuity.
I have been to Bill's store in Bethesda....and he has some very nice stuff. I look forward to his contributions to Slow Talk and having the chance to buy some of his exquisite wares.
Thanks for the input about Montecarlo, we will definitely look for the restaurant.
Also, we will be in beautiful College Park this weekend, visiting our daughter at the U of MD...we will try to stop by your store! We usually have at least one dinner in Bethesda while visiting, now there is even more reason to go!
Posts: 605 | Location: Rehoboth, MA USA | Registered: 30 August 2003
Topic Closed
