We had numerous reasons for Siena to be our first month-long stop, and the Tuscan cuisine was high up on the list. With an extended stay in the city, we were able to experience a wide range of food – traditional Tuscan dinners, fast food, local sandwich shops, and plenty of treats.
One of our first evenings in Siena, we discovered a great pizzeria with some of the best views of the city. Il Pomodorino sits on a hill opposite the Duomo and Torre del Mangia. We arrived fairly early by Italian standards and were rewarded with the best seat outside with this striking view:
We started our meal with a traditional appetizer in Italy: burrata with prosciutto crudo and arugula. Burrata has become our new favorite cheese. Burrata means “buttery” in Italian and is a fresh cheese made from mozzarella and cream. The outside shell is a pasta filata curd made of buffalo/cow’s milk mozzarella while the inside contains a soft mixture of curd and fresh cream. Pairing it with prosciutto and a glass of prosecco is the perfect way to start an Italian meal.
Pizza here is prepared according to the traditional Neopolitan recipe with quality ingredients and baked in wood ovens. The rich selection of pizzas made it hard to decide, but we went with a couple non-traditional “fun” choices: a white pizza with mozzarella, bacon, and potatoes and a red pizza with tomatoes, mozzarella, salami, and arugula. We loved the fresh ingredients and crispy crust with soft, chewy middle.
For lunch, we found three fantastic little sandwich shops that each had their own unique specialty. Right on Piazza del Campo is Lo Speziale Enoteca Panini. A friendly husband and wife team run the cute little shop with stuffed boar heads wearing sunglasses decorating the wall (can’t explain why we didn’t take a picture). They let us sample one of their favorite meats, and it definitely won us over. We had a wild boar mortadella with pecorino cheese sandwich. Another great spot was called Gino Cacino and was located just behind the tower on Piazza del Campo. The entrance was so pretty that we took a picture in front instead of with our food. We had the roasted pork with balsamic honey spread.
On one of our final days, we made it to La Proscuitteria on Vicolo Magalotti. We met one of the employees at a dinner party the week prior, and everybody was raving about it and told us that it was the most traditional Italian sandwich shop in town. We asked for their specialty, and they gave us Finocchiona (fennel salami) with a light gorgonzola spread on salted focaccia bread. The soft, salty focaccia was a nice change-up from the crusty bread that we have had for most of our sandwiches in Tuscany. The sandwich was served warm, and the gorgonzola was very mild and perfectly matched the light spice in the salami.
We ate dinner at a lot of cute little restaurants around Siena, so picking a favorite is a challenge. Two of the nicest dinners are worth mentioning both for the ambiance and the quality of food. Taverna San Giuseppi is an upscale casual restaurant with a mix of creative and traditional Tuscan cuisine. This rustic tavern was an Etruscan house built into the side of the hill in the 1100s, and their wine cellar boasts the best of local and national wines, including the famous Brunello di Montalcino.
I had a couple local specialties – the ricotta gnocchi with melted pecorino cheese and fresh truffles and the traditional veal ossobuco. Jimmy had the polenta with sausage and quail eggs and braised beef.
In Tuscany, it seems like every glass of wine is delicious, but the wine at this dinner, Brunello di Montalcino, was special. We were compelled to learn more about Brunello, so we went on a wine tour of Montalcino. We had a fantastic time sampling Brunellos and its little brother, Rosso di Montalcino (less aging). We took in the gorgeous views of the Montalcino region as we drove the winding roads and rolling hills of Tuscany. One of the highlights of the tour was the lunch we had at the Piombaia Winery. We had traditional food made from ingredients grown on-site, sampled fruity and complex wines, and had this beautiful setting to enjoy it all.
On our last weekend in Siena, we splurged with a four course dinner at Tre Cristi. Located in a 15th century building, the refined atmosphere made this a nice choice for a romantic evening out.
We had the four course tasting menu paired with a bottle of Chianti Classico from Rada in Chianti. I had just ridden my bike through Rada that morning so I was even more excited for our evening wine choice. Although we enjoyed all four courses, two standouts were the panzanella salad and the duck prosciutto with smoked mozzarella. Panzanella is a traditional Tuscan salad of bread and tomatoes. We have to mention it because we actually had this numerous times during our time in Siena as it was traditionally given out at many of the restaurants as a complimentary starter. We enjoyed this Tuscan salad every time. Being a fine dining establishment, this version was a bit fancier.
Duck has always been my go-to choice at fine dining restaurants, and we have been gorging ourselves with delicious prosciutto since our arrival in Italy. I was excited that a duck prosciutto made it on the tasting menu. Topped with the smoked mozzarella, this dish was among my favorite in Siena.
I don’t think our blog would be complete if we didn’t mention the fast food option that we loved on the days we were too tired to worry about going out for dinner or cooking our own dinner. There were numerous kebab places around town, and the one closest to us called Siena kebab had an interesting Italian spin – the kebab panini.
Last, but certainly the most important, is our favorite desserts and treats in Siena. I vowed that I wouldn’t eat gelato every day this time in Italy to try to be a bit healthier. I did accomplish that goal; however, only because I alternated every other day with probably one of the best cookies ever – Ricciarelli. I think I became more addicted to these traditional Sienese cookies than even gelato. Ricciarelli are delightfully tender little almond cookies that are in the macaroon family. The outer surface is rough, a little crispy, and sprinkled with powdered sugar while the inside is chewy.
I thought the best Ricciarelli in town came from one of our favorite sandwich shops mentioned above – Lo Speziale Enoteca Panini. The sweet husband and wife team gave them to us complimentary after we had enjoyed our sandwich and wine in their shop. As for gelato, we give our #1 vote to La Vecchia Latteria. This gelateria was recommended to us by a French-American student who was studying in Siena. We met at the Leocorno contrada party, and he told us that his professor had tried every gelato shop in Siena and concluded that this was the very best. We completely agreed! The flavors we had were amaretto, pane e Nuttella, nocciola, and fiore de latte.
This gelateria is only a block from the Duomo, so we enjoyed our ice cream while taking in the views of our favorite cathedral.
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