Every bit as magical and romantic as you’d imagined it, the only thing in Florence you need to steer clear from is the summer afternoon sun which can climb to 42c. The mornings and evenings, however, unfold all sorts of wonders in the form of history, art, culture and cuisine. And if you only see one thing in Florence, it has to be Michelangelo’s David – perfection in its truest sense.
July 2, 2011
This Hungry Chef – Mains, meat
Chilli pork, sauteed peppers, sweet potato, enoki mushrooms
Roast venison, rocket potatoes, beetroot jelly, squash puree, trompettes
Roast lamb rack, lamb baklava, spiced lentils, coriander chutney, paprika yoghurt
Rabbit loin, sweet potato, celeriac puree, red cabbage, mustard sauce
Pork belly, loin and cheek, carrot puree, mushroom compote, savoy cabbage
Ploughmans
Spiced pigeon, beetroot pearl barley, watercress, walnuts
Organic beef rump, beef fritter, onion tart, carrot puree, confit garlic, mash
Roast lamb rack, pea shrub, carrots and raisin compote
Roast grouse, grouse kebab and fritter, smoked sweetcorn puree, beetroot, lime sauce
Tamarind glazed duck breast, pumpkin puree, quinoa, mushroom pate
Grilled chicken, buckwheat and bean salad, mushroom sauce
Salad of spiced chicken, watercress and baby gem, anchovies, pine nuts, watermelon, saffron dressing
June 19, 2011
Wahaca
There used to be the common food trend that got advertised as ‘back to basics’. Everything and everyone went back to basics, or at least, tried to. Minimalist decor, minimalist food, some even forgot what the basics were and along with this trend came the tag line a lot of restaurants and pubs flashed proudly: ‘delicious home cooked food’ – which I never quite understood. Surely home cooked food should stay at home – I, for one, belong in the majority vote that we go out to have something different than what we cook at home.
Recently, what seems to be the rage is street food. Small, tapas style dishes, claiming to be replicas of streets in the countries they claim to be from (minus, of course, the dirt, the grime, the sweat, the flies – all ingredients, naturally, of delicious street food!). Nevertheless, Mexican food is something I hadn’t had much experience with, so when suggested we graze at Wahaca, the ever-growing Mexican street food restaurant of MasterChef fame, I didn’t say no (if nothing else, one can be sure of a good spicy chilli relish at a Mexican).
We ordered a couple of Wahaca Margueritas which were delicious and made with a fantastic tequila.
It was the Wahaca Selection that caught our eye.
Along came Pork pibil tacos, Broad bean quesadilla, Chicken tinga tacos, black bean tostadas, New potato taquitos, Green rice and black beans . They were all fairly decent – light. The chicken with a hint of cinnamon in it was quite nice and the rest were decent – went nicely with the addition of chilli sauce and guacamole (which could have done with more lime).
All in all, a decent, light and quick meal with friendly staff.
Overall Experience: 8
Recommend you to go? 6
Food: 6
Wine: n/a
