San Gimignano is a wonderful day trip. However the
Osteria delle Catene is the sort of place to make you wish that you were in town for longer than a day. I had a wonderful lunch here; the sort of lunch that made me hanker to stick around for dinner. The menu alone was enough to get me salivating as I noted the delicious-sounding main courses – Chianini beef, wild boar, rabbit. And all for pretty reasonable prices I must say: around €13-14. However to get the most bang for my buck on my visit I ordered a medieval San Gimignano
menu de degustazione for €22 – a Tuscan soup with saffron, a meat and saffron stew, and saffron cake for pudding. I’m guessing your average medieval San Gimgnanese liked saffron then! In actual fact local-grown saffron was a key part of the local economy – in 1228 the town council paid off its debts partially in cash and partially in saffron, and in 1295 the council appointed two officials purely to weigh saffron and charge the correct export duty.
To drink I ordered a half-bottle of
vernaccia, the local white much beloved of Michelangelo. It’s an acidic little beast of a wine, like a slightly softer retsina.
The Osteria is a member of the Slow Food movement, but I was not waiting long (roughly enough time to fill in one-and-a-half pages in my travel journal) before my soup was served. And it was delicious. Scrambled-egg-yellow in colour it had a piece of toasted bread floating in the middle. Its consistency was more of a puree than a hash, and upon consumption I could taste potatoes and pieces of ham, all brought into relief by the the tongue-tickling hint of saffron. It really was top-notch. Just a shame that the basket on the table contained some of the least tasty bread I’ve ever come across.
After that wonderful starter I was a bit put out by the main course. It looked like five slices of coarse pate. In fact it was more like a meatloaf. The very last slice had four or five unexpected black peppercorns hiding in it that left me gasping.
The meal redeemed itself again with the saffron cake that was served hot for dessert. From above it resembled a triangular slice of Jamaica ginger cake. However, inside it was a quiche-y yellow with a pastry base. It was lovely, soft and moist, with quite a nutty taste and texture.
I really did enjoy my meal at the Osteria delle Catene. I feel the main course of my set menu let the side down. I should have gone for that chianina steak! But the soup, the saffron cake – and even the wine – I would happily have again!
From journal Gimi, Gimi, Gimi - The Medieval Manhattan