Food Mecca Emporium Extrordinaire

Gallo Nero in Greve en Chianti

I mentioned this place last night, and indeed I was lucky enough to eat there two nights in a row.  They are just fabulous!  It's a family-run place presided over by Nanna in the kitchen.  She apparently does all the cooking and believe me, it's amazing.  The sweet and always smiling grandchildren serve.  Tonight we had wild boar tagliatelle, gnocchi verde (spinach and lemon potato/flour dumplings in a creamy sauce, fillet of beef cooked over a wood fire with spinach and grapes, plus a rich brown sauce over all, and panna cotta with caramel (Dawn) or chocolate (Diane).  And the ever-popular house wine which comes in bottles.  I tried to remember to take pictures before diving in, but as you will see I was a bit blinded by the food excellence.

Gnocchi verde


Tagliatelle with wild boar

Beef filet with spinach and grapes

Panna Cotta with caramel

Panna Cota with chocolate

Sweet dreams!

Winery Heaven

We had a good breakfast at the hotel, included in the room rate, and bit later headed out for our reserved winery tour.

The Villa Vignamaggio is a little south of Greve, and is at least as large in acreage as the town.  It dates back to the 14th century.  In fact, they allege that Mona Lisa was born there in 1459, (a fact that is disputed by some).  The beautiful grounds were used for the film, "Much Ado About Nothing".

We had a tour of the Caves, a beautiful lunch with paired wines and as much time in the gardens as we cared to take.

Great tour, and I would highly recommend the wines, although they can't begin to approach the beauty of their location!

Greve in Chianti

Yesterday we dragged all the luggage to the area near the train station in Florence, and I spent some time walking around all the bus stops there looking for the airport bus (because I planned to pick the rental car up there, figuring it would be easier driving than the city center).  Finally, I asked the King of the Carbinierri (I wish you could have seen him:  early 60's, posture like a nobleman and decorated in every open space on his uniform with medals and ribbons; he was very kind and pointed me in the direction of the bus station which I hadn't even known existed until that moment).  We lugged everything there and had only to wait a few minutes for the bus.

                                                               Bus station waiting

I'd read a lot of nightmare scenarios about the car company I'd elected to use, and so I was fully expecting a whole slew of add-on charges.  But nothing of the sort occurred and everyone was really wonderful.  We were on our way out of the airport in our little Fiat within 1/2 hour of getting to the airport.  AND it had a full tank of gas (sometimes they don't).  

                                                                                  The Fiat

After a little while on the AutoStrada, we got off and started heading towards Chianti on some of the secondary roads.  And we soon found a good lunch place:

There's a refrigerator in this picture

See the big hunks of meat??

Another display with fake?? pasta

Lots of bamboo provided a sheltered connection with Nature, a proper antidote for the city

                                           Creme Brulee brought flaming to the table

                                                Panna Cota, my new favorite dessert

No, of course we didn't just have dessert for lunch!!  The very idea!  But it's all I thought to photograph.

We reached our location for the next two nights, Greve in Chianti,  and found our hotel with ease.  Both of us were charmed by the family who runs it, and it's right on the main town square... although our room faces the pool and gardens.

Greve in Chianti

We browsed through the shops in the square (actually a triangle) and then had dinner last night at a really wonderful restaurant.  I didn't have my camera then so I can't share any food pictures.  But we plan to return tonight for dinner, in order to get pictures.  And of course I am doing this just for you!  Hmm, hmmm.