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Florence: Flair, Enthusiasm and Effervescent
FLORENCE --- It has been more than 16 years since I
first set food inside Cibreo, one of Florence’s
best and most consistent restaurants, and one that is
filled with the flair and enthusiasm of outgoing owner
Fabio Picci.
On that first visit Fabio served up some of his now
classic fare --- his signature yellow pepper soup emblazoned
with a C-shaped drizzle of local extra virgin olive
oil; the memorable tomato aspic, brilliant red and shot
full of his signature red pepper flakes; and a truly
memorable platter of fresh pecornio sheep's milk cheese,
shelled walnuts and an avalanche of garlic, Fabio’s
own take on the traditional Tuscan starter.
Since that first visit, I never go to Florence without
checking in with the effervescent Fabio. This time around,
I had barely crossed through the front door and the
chef was dragging me into the kitchen to take a look
at the gorgeous, glistening fresh tuna a friend had
just sent from the island of Elba. But we would have
to wait a bit for that, since Fabio – on this evening
cheerfully decked out in a crisp white chef’s jacket,
a bright red apron and cool yellow clogs --- had a lot
in store for us during that single meal.
Fabio’s once-modest trattoria has now grown into
a full-fledged restaurant, albeit one with a fine, casual
flair. Diners searching out an even more casual world
can still check into his small trattoria on the other
side of the wall, or the elegant Cibreo café
just across the street.
Call it a parade, call it a procession, the food can
keep on coming here, all full of intense flavors, refined
fare with a distinct personality. Italian, yes. Tuscan,
yes, sort of. Pure Fabio Picci at the top of his form,
yes. For he takes native flavors and ingredients and
punctuates them with his own style, always making sure
that flavors knock you out. A tender squid salad blaring
with the spice of his favorite red pepper flakes; an
ethereal, feather-light salt cod purée, or baccala;
lots of cloud-like substances, like the brilliant red
tomato aspic; lots of dense, compact flavors that still
manage to shock you with their overall lightness, like
the cubed pecorino tossed with fresh fava beans and
oil. The tuna finally made its appearance as the thinnest
of carpaccio, smothered with a ton of herbs and a wealth
of minced raw garlic.
And the memories keep coming, from the delicate tastes
of his bright red spicy fish soup and on to his brilliantly
prepared red snapper, oven roasted with a bright mix
of lemon zest, rosemary, garlic, sage, parsley, red
pepper, fennel seed, black pepper and olive oil, then
marinated a full day in olive oil. Brilliant, you say?
Also delicate and delicious.
“I am a happy man,” declares Fabio. Yes, he
knows what he is doing and should well be proud.
My other must-visit restaurant in the area is welcoming
family restaurant Da Delfina, a 15-minute train ride
from the center of Florence, outside the walled medieval
village of Artimino. Like the fare at Cibreo, Da Delfina’s
food is earthy, and based on the freshest of local ingredients.
Delfina herself, now 92, can be seen sitting shelling
fava beans or returning from the fields having gathered
nettles, mushrooms, or wild herbs for the next meal.
The remaining duties are cheerfully and passionately
carried out by her son, Carlo Cioni, seconded by his
wife, Franca and their son, Marco. In good weather be
sure to reserve a table on the terrace at lunch time,
when you will be able to enjoy an exquisite view of
the verdant Tuscan countryside. Da Delfina is known
for its game, wild mushrooms, extraordinary local sausages,
delicate homemade pastas and assorted meats and fish
grilled over the giant wood fireplace in the spacious
kitchen.
Starters might include the most delicate—I dare
you to try to stop eating them --
slices of fresh as well as aged fennel salami. The
fresh version is sweet, infused with the essence of
fennel, and supremely moist. The dried version, aged
up to a year in the restaurant’s own cellars, is
all grown up, dryer, with flavors that are intense,
meaty, and sophisticated as a salami can be.
If you are looking for fine Italian essence of purity
and simplicity, go for the truly fresh and lactic slices
of pecorino sheep’s milk cheese – young and
mild but far from wimpy – paired with the freshest
and tiniest of raw fava beans. No seasoning needed here,
for the ingredients speak for themselves.
Depending on what was found in the woods that day, homemade
pasta smooth as silk just might be paired with delicate
wild mushrooms that have been sautéed just seconds
in olive oil and tossed with the tender strands of pasta.
Nettles, or ortica, could find their way into a rich
and rustic pasticcio, or complex pie made of pasta and
herbs bound with a delicate béchamel sauce.
But I guess my favorite dish of the day was simply cubes
of the most moist and delicious pork, infused with fresh
fennel and roasted on the wood-fired spit. As ever,
Carlo Cioni and family were true to their roots. While
Carlo travels a great deal to see what is going on in
the food world, he does not let it influence his own
authentic cuisine: It is as if he says “This is
who I am. This is what I do.” And he does it very
well, indeed. Some people call Da Delfina the true endangered
species of Florence, a city known more for its tourist
trap eateries than restaurants of sincerity and quality.
Two wines definitely worth trying here include the fine
Tuscan Carmignano from the house of Ambra, vintage 1998,
a blend of Chianti grapes with a touch of Cabernet,
making for a truly distinctive red; as well as the finely
tannic 1997 Chianti Classico from the Castello di Fonterutoli.
Cibreo
Via Andrea del Verrocchio 8r
50122 Florence
Tel: 055 234 11 00
All major credit cards. Closed Sunday evening, Monday,
and August. 75,000 to 100,000 lira per person, including
service but not wine.
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