Ristorante Il Caminetto serves traditional Tuscan cucina povera. And while Mark Bittman may find Lucca to the north-west more exciting, Il Caminetto’s idyllic setting, overlooking a valley of olives and grapes on the road into Strada in Chianti; its warmth and service, they furnished me with a dual-language cookbook on my 3rd or 4th visit; not to mention perfectly prepared and presented crostini, verdure fritte, ravioli, ribollita, bistecca alla fiorentina… make it my own personal happy place.
Ammazzacaffè: cantuccini and vin santo to kill the effects of a postprandial coffee.
And then to walk home in the dark, either on the too-fast and too-windy road or through someone’s fields (where I finally understood the meaning of the sign I’d been seeing by day, “Attenti Cani,” when I heard the growl and, straining into the pitch-black ahead of me, saw its glowing eyes).