Light Lunches around Arezzo, Sansepolcro/Anghiari, Cortona and Siena
In mid-October my wife and I will be spending a week in a village 20 minutes north of Arezzo. Our dinner plans are fixed, and what remains to be determined are the lunches on various day trips we've planned to the above destinations. The key is "light"--but delicious! We will be dining on substantial Tuscan fare each evening, and I will encounter real resistance (that's a euphemism for something potentially much uglier) if I arrange anything like a similarly substantial lunch. Obviously we will have a car, and the flexibility to move around the countryside.
I appreciate any advice you all might give me.
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In Arezzo, in the center, there is a Piadineria. They have "baby" sizes. It's on via de` cenci. If you go down that street, and turn at the first Right, there is a crepe shop and a little further up there is a place called Borgo something or other that looks like your average bar. HOWEVER, their lunch options are alllll homemade and wonderful. I've also had the best coffee cakes there. Also in the Center in Arezzo, in Piazza San Agostino, there is a sandwich shop with 40 different combinations that are freshly made. It's called Panini and Co. There are also various places to stop and get charcuterie plates thoughout the whole city. And most of the others.
In Siena, you can stop at Morbidi on the Corso,and get an all you can eat including wine for 12 euros. It's not amazing, but fine. I know your wife doesn't eat much, but you can both eat as much or as little as you want.
You can also try places like Il Trombicche or Il Grattacielo for Charcuterie plates or bowls of Ribollita and the like. There is also a good place to get Ciaccino Ripieno on via Banchi di Sotto on the side of the Piazza. coming from the corso, it will be on the left and it's got no name. It just says, "Pizzeria." No seats, no drinks, just pizzas.
Another place near Siena is definitely Bar del Orso, off the Monteriggioni exit on the Siena/firenze. A little dive bar with good food-panini, primi, and the like.
Not all of these places will have wine, but you can always have aperitivi later!Bar del Orso and Il Trombicche have wine.
Have fun! -
Jen, the advice that you and others gave me on my Rome thread leads me to think that perhaps an enoteca-like venue might serve me best. Something with the flexibility to permit an emphasis on salads and antipasti, with the opportunity to have a good glass of wine as well. As for the very fair added advice you gave me there--to consider making lunch my central meal of the day--I have a particular difficulty in that respect. My petite wife, who like me very much enjoys good wine with her meals, would be out of commission for the remainder of any day in which we enjoyed such a lunch. Granted, a shortcoming in a lifelong companion, but she has many other fine qualities! Anyway, that's why we'll be pretty much sticking to dinners for our main meal of the day.
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re: carlvin
The only advice I'm going to offer you is to add soups to your consideration of light lunches in mid-October in Tuscany. Not only will not necessarily find good salads in Autumn, soups are often the best thing on the menu in Tuscany. Some can be really hearty, however -- farro soups will kill your appetite for a week -- but other vegetable soups, onion -- just warm you up.
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re: carlvin
jen kalb
Oct 9, 2011 05:04 PM
we have never found wine with food to be a problem at lunch, since its consumed with food over a couple of hours. thats one of the the things in fact we have always enjoyed, long leisurely lunches with wine (in moderation of course) We have just found with experience and age that large, rich meals in the evening, especially with the late hours, when we go right to bed afterwards, can be hard on us the following day. I am glad you are getting good advice that fits your lifestyle , but I hope you will try some other ways as well.
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