My "business" trip ended up being two and a half days of meetings sandwiched in the midst of five days of sightseeing - no complains from me. On the first day of meetings our Italian colleagues asked us to join them for dinner the next day. Being a diligent engineer, the colleague responsible for organizing this dinner brought us a "shortlist" of about 50 good restaurants in Firenze and the surrounding areas, all classified by cuisine types, neighborhood etc. I just love the Italians' seriousness about food. What about a short-shortlist, I wondered?
At the end it was decided that we would go to a place with a picturesque view on the hillside of Fiesole.
Ristorante Le Lance was a modern, romantic-looking restaurant on a winding road about a 30 minute drive from Firenze in non-rush hour traffic. Of course rush hour was much more unpredictable and my team-lead barely escaped being crushed by a bus. But that's a different story.
Our meals at Firenze typically seemed to start with an Antipasto, then the Primi Piatti which was usually pasta or risotto, then the Secondi Piatti which was the main course, and finally the Dolce. On this night however, our gracious hosts decided to REALLY throw a feast and so we started...with three Antipastos:
First, a platter of various cured meats, cheese and fresh grapes. The prosciutto was very good.
Vegetables in olive oil. Another one of the three antipastos.
The third antipasto was a toast with liver pate and tomatoes, which I forgot to photograph.
By this time I was half full for sure, but the feast continued on with three primos. The first of which looked like Pici with some sort of meat sauce.
Then came the ravioli with a really heavy meat sauce. I thought I couldn't continue on much longer.
And then, the king of the Primi Piattis. A spaghettini with seafood in white wine sauce. Every strand of the pasta was infused with the flavor of shrimps. And look at the size of that crayfish - a bite into those huge claws yielded a mouthful of juice with the powerful taste of fresh shrimp. That "shrimpy" taste was stronger than any other shrimp or prawn or crayfish I have ever eaten elsewhere. And I haven't even started mentioning the clams and mussels and prawns yet...
That was surely the best pasta dish I've ever had.
So I was already full even without the Secondi Piatti. Considering us being first time visitors to Florence, our Italian colleagues ordered for us the famous Florentine beef steak - Bistecca alla Fiorentina. This one wasn't the traditional T-bone, but closer to a rib steak. A well-broiled, succulent, medium rare steak.
As if we're still not having enough, the waiter brought on a second Secondo - a plate of deep fried vegetables for a balanced diet.
Finally, the Dolce. I was surprised I still had just enough room for dessert. Luckily our colleagues ordered something light - a lemon sorbetto to wash the oiliness off the palate.
Aside from the food we also had 10 or so bottles of Chianti wine. I wish my division is this generous in our company dinners.
