Eating Local

The car doesn't necessarily have to be an essential item on your dinner menu when staying in Petrognano. There are three really good dining options, each within a short walk from the house and each offering a special twist on the Lucchesi diet.

Il Ristoro delle Colline
The closest restaurant to our house in Petrognano is Il Ristoro delle Colline at Fattoria del Gambaro. It is only about a 50 meter walk -- two short city blocks -- down the hill from the house. The restaurant offers a wam and rustic introduction to Lucchesi dining.

From our perspective, the best offerings on the menu are the antipasto and primo courses, and for most people, ordering from these two parts of the menu is more than enough food. In fact, Bill and I tend to order the antipasto along with a single primo dish to split since the portions are so generous.

For first-timers, the tordelli is probably an essential primo course order. It's a meat filled pasta that typically comes with a ragu sauce, a signature meal in this area of Tuscany, and this chingale -- wild boar -- ragu is darn good home cookin'! The secundi options on the menu have not completely won us over. If we are in the mood for meat or fish, we tend to go with the mixed grilled meats. However, ordering the antipasto and primo courses will provide you with a satisfying meal, and you may want to save sampling the Lucchesi approach to preparing meats and fish for another night's dining out experience.

Il Ristoro delle Colline also features a Colline Lucchesi Rosso, the red wine that is a combination of Sangiovese and Merlot and is produced locally. Antipasto, primo, wine and water and dolce should be about 20 Euro per person. While the menu prices include service, a small five or ten percent tip, particularly if your experience is good, is a nice gesture and will likely make your next visit to "Gambaro" -- we call the restaurant Gambaro -- all the more welcomed.

The restaurant is closed on Mondays and only serves dinner. Arrive at 8 pm -- not before. Reservations for small groups are typically not necessary, but if you think of calling ahead or dropping in the day before to make a reservation, that's always appreciated.

IL RISTORO DELLE COLLINE
via di Petorognao - Petrognano
Tel: 0583 978 314
Close: Monday

Tratoria Corno Rosso
Corono Rosso is an alimentari and bar by day with a restaurant added on during the night to give the Corno Rosso almost a 24-hour-a-day life, six days a week. Corno Rosso is located just below the church in San Gennaro, a 20 minute walk from our house if you take the shortcut path that diverts from the main road connecting the villages of Petrognano and San Gennaro. [See picture above with a view looking up to Petrognano from the "San Gennaro" shortcut path.]

Corno Rosso is a good place to slip into for morning coffee and pastry or an afternoon lunch time panini after a walk down the hill. It's a popular lunch site for local workmen.

At night, Corno Rosso shifts gears to serve a simple, though thoroughly classic Lucchesi dinner. The typical meal will start with fresh melon and prosciutto with capresi salad, followed by hearty plates of pasta and the chance to sample both a ragu sauce and one with olive oil and herbs. THIS is the place to eat meat! Go with the biscetta alle Fiorientine or make it a carnivorous feast by adding pork and chicken and ordering the mixed grille.  Our only word of caution is to remind you that Italians like their beef rare and tender, so rare you'd probably describe it as "juicy" and ready to moo the moment to poke a knife and fork into it. So, if that's too rare for your taste, this would be a good time to study that tourist's language guidebook and figure out how to say non troppo rari [not too rare] when you order your meal.

Call ahead for a reservation. That's a must. Dinner is a 8 pm. Corno Rosso is closed on Monday -- thank goodness, because Radia deserves the break.

TRATTORIA CORNO ROSSO
via Ilio Menicucci, 94 - San Gennaro
Tel. 0583 978 021
Closed: Monday

Locanda Eremo del Gusto
We have the least experience with del Gusto, but it excites us. New to Petrognano and the southern slope of the Pizzorne, del Gusto opened its doors in March 2009. Sited about 50 meters higher in elevation up the mountain from Petrognano centro [a relative term when applied to a village with less than a dozen structures honoring the town's church], the lights of del Gusto can be seen sparkling above us to the east when we are sitting on our terrace at night.

The restaurant is in a renovated family summer, country home. Meals are served indoors as well as out, with the outside terrace providing a full view of the La Valdinievole valley -- from the coast of the Ligurian Sea to the west, to Lucca, to the towns of the Capannori commune below, to the city of Monsummano Terme's mined mountainside that opens the valley east toward Florence.

The view alone would be reason enough to have dinner at del Gusto, but the there's pleasure to be found in the food, as well. But, if you want another approach to traditional Lucchese cooking, take the stroll up the hill.

You won't regret going to del Gusto on foot. The 15 minute, uphill walk from our house is part of building the anticipation for a couple hours of good eating, including the breaks needed to take in the view and allow for comfortable digestion. The walk home is a bit faster,though the tree cover makes the road incredibly dark. Be sure to take one of the flashlights from the house to help guide you home!

Call ahead to make a reservation. Both Luca and Michela share their ample personalities in English, as well as Italian. If the night is right, Michela might also provide a tour of her family's newly-renovated vacation home and the suite of rooms they rent out for private dinners and for their bed and breakfast operation.

LOCANDA EREMO DEL GUSTO
via di Gelli, 37 - Petrognano
Tel: 0583 978 012
www.eremodelgusto.com
Closed: Monday to Wednesday

Eats at Home

We offer these three restaurant suggestions to familiarize you with what's available from La Casa Maria by foot. However, don't forget your home in Petrognano has two cooking kitchens and plenty of dining spaces to choose from, including the terrace. Whether you gather your provisions at Esselunga, check out some of the local fruit and vegetable shops or butchers, or vind your way to the fresh pasta shop nearby in Pescia, don't miss out on the option of a home cooked meal and dinner with a view at your house in Petrognano.