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La Giostra
Borgo Pinti, 10, Florence, Italy Phone: +39 055 241341 Cuisines: Italian, European Features: Reservation, Take Away, Breakfast, Brunch, LunchAbout
The chef/owner is Dimitri d'Asburgo Lorena, a Habsburg prince (with some local Medici blood for good measure) who opened this restaurant merely to indulge his love of cooking. They start you off with a complimentary flute of spumanti before you plunge into the tasty crostini misti and exquisite primi. Among my favorites are tortelloni alla Mugellana (handmade potato-stuffed pasta in ragù), gnocchetti alla Lord Reinolds (potato dumplings in a sauce of stilton and Port), homemade tagliatelle with tiny wild asparagus spears, and ravioli stuffed with brie in a sauce with thinly sliced, lightly fried artichokes. For an encore, try the nodino di vitella ai tartufi bianchi (veal slathered in eggy white truffle sauce with fresh truffle grated on top) or the lighter spianata alle erbe aromatiche di Maremma (a huge platter of spiced beef pounded flat and piled with a salad of rosemary sprigs, sage, and other herbs). Don't leave without sampling the sinfully rich Viennese Sachertorte, made from an old Habsburg family recipe. This place has become (justifiably) popular, and even with a reservation there's often a short wait -- laudably, they don't rush anybody to empty up tables -- but it's worth it.
