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I just saw Mr Lebovitz’s post about anti-thanksgiving with foie gras and black truffles… And here I thought I’d had the most fabulous post-Thanksgiving dinner… We had gone to Lucca Friday afternoon, despite the rain, and toured a few churches and the supposedly “area pedonale” narrowly avoiding death by italian drivers. It was noticed that there was to be a little operatic concert at St John’s (near the Duomo) at 7 pm. Cost 15 euro, but everyone seemed excited to partake in a local cultural event. And it was quite good. We all know the first line of Le Nozze di Figaro by heart now (Cinque… dieci…. venti… trenta… trentasei…quarantatre!).
So, at 8:30 it was time to find dinner… Unfortunately, our favorite restaurant in Borgo a Mozzano, I Macelli, was closed this week. The guide book said that just outside of Lucca was the best restaurant in Tuscany, La Mora. It was on the way home, so we thought it seemed ideal. Should we call first? Well… what would we say… and would we understand the answer? We decided to wing it, but alas, they were full. The Trattoria nearby looked good too, but it was also full. Back toward Lucca we had seen another very promising restaurant villa that had a big sign called Butterfly, so we tried there as well. Completo. By now it was 9:30 and the weary travelers were getting grouchy. So we decided to try Lucca, there being many very touristy places, certainly it would be able to accommodate 6 people late on Friday night. Maybe. I suggested Trattoria da Leo, which Katya & I had happened upon last month after a rather mediocre dinner, and thought it looked more promising. After finding parking a block away (in the same lot Katya and I had used last month), David decided he didn’t like the looks of Leo. James called to say they had found a place to eat that would have a table for us in 15 minutes, but they still needed to find parking. The restaurant they found, Vecchia Trattoria Buralli, smelled heavily of white truffles. Works for me! David poo-pooed the TV in the main room, and decided he didn’t like it either, but I reminded him that EVERY restaurant and cafe in Italy has a TV in it (even I Macelli), and so did the fabulously delicious and chic Indian restaurant in London we had eaten at earlier that week. An hour later (it seemed) we had a table for six. And, to my delight (and everyone else’s disgust), they had an entire special menu of white truffle dishes! It is the month of Tartufo in Tuscany.
They had a regular menu for the tourists, but David and I shared three courses of truffle-laden delights: smoked ahi with truffles, polenta with truffles (rich beyond belief), pasta with truffles, and steak with truffles (and arugula). And for dessert, tartufo al cioccolato, of course.
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