Il Cantinone, street view
Il Cantinone
Artichoke Flan
Ciao! I am back from two wonderful weeks in Italy, whereupon I had the chance to savor a delightful variety of Italian food from both the Tuscany and Lombardy regions. We traveled through Florence, Fiesole, Siena, Milan and also to the northern lake region, each stop giving us a chance to try local specialties – and no doubt come home about ten pounds heavier for the experience (I refuse to even look at a scale for a good two weeks.) I will be trying my best to review each notable stop along the way, today beginning with
Il Cantinone.
Il Cantinone is located in the Oltrarno district of Florence, across the Arno river and not too far from the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge and high-cost shopping district. Yet it’s just far enough off the beaten track that it tends to be passed over by many tourists, who must be afraid to descend the stairs to this cellar-level restaurant which does little to announce its presence from the street, save a small rooster sign and posted menu. Yet those who take the plunge (and mind the low ceilings) and will find a delightfully cozy restaurant serving authentic, seasonal Tuscan food. We had discovered Il Cantinone on a previous visit to Florence in 2006 and were pleased to find little had changed there in five year’s time.
The menu at Il Cantinone is fairly simple, emphasizing meats, cheeses, pastas, various styles of crostini and seasonal vegetables. We chose to begin with a simple bottle of house red wine and two antipasti: artichoke flan with shaved cheese (Sformatino di carciofi su un letto di foglie di parmigiano), and a crostone with tomato and pecorino cheese (Crostone con pomodoro e pecorino). Both were truly excellent. The flan was richly flavored yet delicate in texture, delightfully set off by the salty hard cheese. The crostini was one large slice of Tuscan bread, topped with cheese and very ripe tomatoes and served with arugula. Delicious. Tuscan bread on its own is not much to write home about, generally very dry and flavorless, but it makes for the perfect bread for wonderful grilled crostini.
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