On July 27, the day that Liz and I left Firenze we returned to Spannocchia through Chianti. We stopped in Grave in Chianti for a walk around, and stopped for a glass of Chianti and a small plate of fried zucchini flowers, where we mad our plan for the day. We had many suggestions of wineries to visit, as well as the obligatory visit to MacDario’s. This take some explanation…. There is a venerated macelleria (butcher shop) Antica Macelleria Cecchini in Panzano in Chianti, and the owner is Dario Cecchini. He became famous in the region for his opposition to aspects of globalization, specifically with the introduction of mad cow disease (this through conversations with various friends…). The result for those of us who love wonderful food is the “Mac Dario,” an amazing “take” on the fast food hamburger/French fry disaster. Here is their website:
http://www.dariocecchini.com/mac_dario_eng.html
We arrived by car, parked in a little space, and asked around for Mac Dario’s. On my third try, I asked a man in a delivery truck, who motioned to the butcher shop behind me, and told me to go in, and take the stairs. As soon as Liz and I waked in we were ushered to the back of the shop, through a door, and up a narrow flight of stairs, where whe emerged into a gay, lively outdoor restaurant with long tables with people seated family style, under large umbrellas, all surrounded by herb and vegetable gardens. We were seated across from a cute couple (he-Italian, she-from Salsburg—both interning in a farm/restaurant nearby with interests in food and agriculture—it’s a theme in this area!) and asked by the waiter where we were from. When I said, “Spannocchia,” he gave us a strong, sweet greeting, and said “cara Spannocchia!” and quickly brought us a carafe of vino rosso… Every time he came around he said something about Spannocchia or cara spannocchia!
http://www.dariocecchini.com/mac_dario_eng.html
We arrived by car, parked in a little space, and asked around for Mac Dario’s. On my third try, I asked a man in a delivery truck, who motioned to the butcher shop behind me, and told me to go in, and take the stairs. As soon as Liz and I waked in we were ushered to the back of the shop, through a door, and up a narrow flight of stairs, where whe emerged into a gay, lively outdoor restaurant with long tables with people seated family style, under large umbrellas, all surrounded by herb and vegetable gardens. We were seated across from a cute couple (he-Italian, she-from Salsburg—both interning in a farm/restaurant nearby with interests in food and agriculture—it’s a theme in this area!) and asked by the waiter where we were from. When I said, “Spannocchia,” he gave us a strong, sweet greeting, and said “cara Spannocchia!” and quickly brought us a carafe of vino rosso… Every time he came around he said something about Spannocchia or cara spannocchia!
We ordered the Mac Dario, and really, there is no way to describe the wonderfulness of this meal, but I’ll try… There is a fresh, rare patty of ground beef that has been cooked to perfection (and I am not a rare hamburger lover!), with a crunchy, but not hard, crust. Perfectly, barely seasoned. There are sliced tomatoes—of course they are the real tomatoes that are sweet and juicy. Then there are the potatoes—they are yellow potatoes, the kind that are silky and creamy—not grainy like russets. They call them “garlic and sage roasted” but I call them “olive oil and garlic and sage roasted,” and so good that you just can’t stop eating them. Sliced red onions. And by the way, the onions fresh from the farm are not like the horrible, bitter onions that we get in the supermarket, that have probably been in refrigerated storage for months. You really can eat these alone, by the slice, with pleasure… They also bring sliced Tuscan bread in a folded down paper bag, and there are bottles of local olive oil and balsamic vinegar. There are three sauces that they are very proud of, and I liked the one that tasted like a honey mustard ok, but wasn’t crazy about the “ketchup” or the sweet and sour one… but with a meal like this, you don’t need any condiments. We had just one glass of vino each, and followed the meal with a café and their signature olive oil cake—just a small slice. It was absolutely one of the greatest meals ever, and the ambience with the long tables of happy eaters, the joyful servers, Dario himself making an appearance, conversations with the diners around us… all in beautiful Chianti… oh, and we even had a little rain… it was remarkable. Compare this with a horrible fast food experience—it’s like heaven and hell…
They also serve a more complex meal with different meats, including Carpaccio, from the butcher shop, which I will try next time.
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In Greve in Chianti in front of the ancient butcher shop (but not Dario's) |
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| Enjoying the view of the piazza in Greve in Chianti |
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| At Dario's... many titles begin with "Officina" presumably to denote that the place or store or manufacturer offers a product that has been created to high standards. And in the case of Dario's, this is very true! |
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| The menu in Inglese |
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| The menu in Italiano |
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| Liz and our plates of Mac Dario's finest! |
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