The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
May 3 - Dining Options del Giorno
We fell in love with the Caffe Poliziano the first time we came to town ... and what's not to like? It has been around since 1868, has that classic European coffee house look to it and offers excellent products at not-too-outrageous prices. In fact, two cups of coffee and two pastries here turned out to be half of what we paid the next morning for the same thing in a little local caffe. Go figure. There are a couple of tables on a small back balcony with a view across the Tuscan hills to Lake Trasimeno ... but there was not much to see on a cool rainy day like today.
When we got to the Piazza Grande, it was starting to rain again, so we tucked into a little caffeteria (snack bar) for a quick pizza. What I liked about it (aside from the fact that it was good and cheap) is the shape. You can tell by looking at it that it was handmade. This is not some mass-produced product designed to be placed in a box. Sometimes I think we need to stamp out perfectly round pizzas!
The hotel suggested Osteria del Conte for dinner, a small, somewhat spare place a few blocks away. As they were giving us directions, another American couple came up, also looking for dinner suggestions. We said hello and headed off. We had just been seated when the other two walked in the door, so we asked them to join us. Ken and Audene are from Denver and made delightful dinner companions. This is their first trip to Italy so we got to play travel advisors, also a delightful role.
© 2007 Restaurant Doctor
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