266463 Wed Jul 20 07:54:08 -0700 2005 7 26 International 0 1405571 My family and I are going to be in San Quirico d'Orcia (40 km south of Siena) in Tuscany for a week in August. Has anyone been there recently and can recommend restaurants in the area (Siena, Montepulciano, Montalcino, Buonconvento)? We prefer the non-touristy, local, off-the-beaten-path variety (who doesn't?). Thanks much! Wed Jul 20 07:54:08 -0700 2005 0 Heike Hiss 1 1405573 I highly recommend Il Rosselino in Pienza. Pop does the cooking and mom is the front of the house. Seating for twelve. I had an entree of one porcino that brought tears to my eyes. Wed Jul 20 09:01:52 -0700 2005 1405571 0 Dale 1 1405576 I spent the 3rd week of March in this area. We stayed about half-way between Siena and Montalcino. I visited San Quirico d'Orcia for the 1st time and thought it was a VERY charming village. Be sure to check out the article in the NY Times a week or so ago about the truffles in the village of San Giovanni d'Asso. We had dinner at IL ROSSELLINO in Pienza. As noted below, it is very good, very small and highly recommended. In the town of Asciano, we had dinner/pizza at LA MENCIA, a casual, local place. There is a very nice bakery in the main square of the village called IL FORNO DELLE CRETE. The restaurant in the POGGIO ANTICO winery, outside of Montalcino, is elegant, a little expensive and very good. In San Gimignano, we had a nice lunch at OSTERIA DELLE CATENE, which is located well away from the tourist hustle in the center of town. We had dinner at PIZZERIA DELL'ARCO in the hamlet of Murlo. They serve pizza plus a full menu of Tuscan dishes. In Montalcino, be sure to visit CAFE 1888 FIASCHETTERIA ITALIANA for your morning coffee. Further down the main street, check out PASTICCERIA MARIUCCIA. We did not get to Montepulciano. Wed Jul 20 11:56:36 -0700 2005 1405571 0 DavidT 2 1405585 Thank you everybody!!! I will try and go to all of your recommendations and also discover some new finds. Will report back! Wed Jul 20 15:08:26 -0700 2005 1405576 0 Heike Hiss 3 1405587 I did visit Bounconvento, but did not dine there. It is one of the few towns in the area that is not a hilltown, but rather sits on a flat plain. The town center is nice, but it is surrounded by a number of more modern buildings. I think market day there is Saturday. Wed Jul 20 15:26:13 -0700 2005 1405585 0 DavidT 2 1405600 Latte di Luna is a must, in Pienza, altho it is on the main street of the shopping area (at the very end), and might be frequented by tourists, as well. The locals recommended that we order the roast pork,for which many of them flock here weekly!!! It was wonderful. Thu Jul 21 07:27:48 -0700 2005 1405576 0 Moyn 3 1405625 I too recommend this restaurant. We had one of our "oh my god" meals there...pasta with truffles. AMAZING!!!! It was so good I had to have it again before we left Sienna. Thu Jul 21 18:09:42 -0700 2005 1405600 0 synergy 2 1405687 We stayed in San Quirico last fall (great hotel -- Palazzo del Capitano -- right in town). One of our favorite meals was at Il Tinaio in SQ; wonderful ribollita, salsiccia con fagioli (amazing), sauteed chard, pasta with truffles, panna cotta. In fact, we ate there two nights out of three. The hotel's restaurant Al Vecchio Forno has scrumptious roast suckling pig with lots of crispy skin, juicy meat, very piggy flavor; this is one of the best dishes we had on the trip. In Montalcino, we ate at a restaurant recommended on this board that had fantastic pici pasta; I highly recommend trying pici while you're in the area. Unfortunately, we didn't have reservations at Latte di Luna in Pienza and when we got there, the restaurant was full! Mon Jul 25 22:16:26 -0700 2005 1405576 0 Emily