trattoria tullio a montebeni {fiesole}

One of the great things about  living in an city in Italy is that it’s usually very easy to get out of them. The sprawling, endless suburbs you get in the States don’t really exist here. One minute you are in a city then the next – wham – there are sheep-filled fields.   

Last week while we were in Florence, Domenico and I decided to do what most Florentines do for Sunday lunch, and head to the hills. While we could have taken a bus to a small village like Fiesole, we got the chance to go a bit further afield since my friend Judy and her husband Andrea decided to pick us up in their car for a day in the country.

We drove out the Porta Romana and immediately started climbing. Our first stop was just five minutes out: Piazzale Michelangelo. Which is a pretty perfect place to get a sense of how Florence is completely surrounded by green hills. It was so clear – and so cold – that we could even see snow to the north.

But we weren’t headed that far. Our destination was Montebeni, just past Settignano. But even though we travelled just 9 kilometers, the change from stone-paved streets to olive tree-filled fields was so quick, and so drastic, that it felt like a mini vacation. Which, I guess, is the main point of a Sunday lunch in the country.

The other main point? To eat. And the minute we walked through the doors of Tullio we were greeted by a literal  wall of meat: A heaping pile of bistecche fiorentine. “They take them out of the fridge the night before,” explained Judy, “So that they come to room temperature before being grilled”.

So, while there was never any doubt about what our main course would be, we had trouble deciding what to have first. Andrea and Domenico shared a heaping platter of pici with sausage. I, instead, couldn’t wait to try Tortelli di patate, a speciality of the area. I’d never had the potato-stuffed ravioli before, since they rarely show up on menus in town. The fat dumplings are stuffed with potatoes, and topped with a meat ragu, a bit of which also makes its way into the filling, to slightly stain it pink. They were incredible.

Judy instead ordered a plate of pecorino fritto, thick slices of breaded and fried pecorino cheese, cooked until gooey in the middle and served on top of rounds of fried pears. Which is brilliant, right?

We also got a quick lesson in Tuscany dialect. Did you know that Soffocone means blowjob? Which also happens to be the name of a very good local wine. I’m not quite sure I remember the why of the whole story, but the label refers to it in a pretty graphic way. They wine was excellent, by the way. (Thanks Judy!)

Steak is the real reason everyone comes here. And they make a real show of it. Not only do you pass the wall-o-meat on your way to the dining room, they bring you a tray full raw steaks to choose from. Then, when yours is ready, it is wheeled to your table, and cut into thick slices before your eyes. There is never any talk about how you would like it cooked. It’s always served extremely rare. And is extremely good. Like mind-blowingly good. I’m not a huge meat eater, but we were all fighting over the bone at the end. (Andrea won)

As if that wasn’t enough, we also ordered one portion of Frittura dell’Aia. Aia is courtyard in Italian, and this refers to the small animals that farms raise in sheltered spaces. So this was a fry up of chicken and rabbit, with a few lamb chops thrown in for good measure, as well as a tangle of deep fried onions, eggplant, artichokes and potatoes.

One slice of very good apple cake to split and four cups of very strong espresso before we headed back over the hills to Florence.

Tullio a Montebeni
Via Ontignano 48
Fiesole, Florence
+39.055.697.354

For more information on dining in Florence and Italy download my app, EAT ITALY. EAT ITALY is a free app, and contains guides to Venice, Milan, Rome, Florence and Umbria (and an ever expanding list of regions and cities) available as in-app purchases for both iPhone and iPad.

And for more information on dining in Tuscany, download Judy’s newly released app, Taste Chianti, available for free from iTunes and Android.