Italian food snobs usually don’t take kindly to
what they call “interregionality on a menu, but
the highly creative menu of this lovely, modern
stylish restaurant speaks with two accents, Tuscan
and southern Italian, because the owner, Umberto
Montano, is Florentine by adoption but a native of
the Basilicata region in the deep south.
There are two tasting menus, a Tuscan and a
creative, but Mr. Montano will be happy to construct
a tasting menu of small portions chosen from the è
la carte selections. Tastes are subtle, with the
occasional strong note; combinations range from
conventional to outrageous (lamb with seafood), and
the quality superb.
A small portion of soup serves as antipasto. We
began with a refined version of one of our favorite
southern classics, purée of fava beans topped with
boiled chicory, and a superb cream of white
cannellini beans with shrimp, flavored with aromatic
truffle-flavored olive oil.
For pasta we had tortelli (a little sheet of
dough folded around a stuffing, in this case
eggplant purée) and very light lasagna with fresh
tomatoes and mozzarella di bufala, obviously from
the southern side of the menu. An unlisted
intermezzo took the form of a mini eggplant
parmigiana (again, uncharacteristically light) and a
little leek timbale. We also had a taste of ethereal
stewed chunks of octopus over mashed potatoes from
the fish menu.
Our main courses were anatra muta (a local duck)
with herbs and perhaps a shade too much orange rind,
garnished with ratatouille al dente (a euphemism for
a pleasant assortment of diced vegetables not cooked
to a pulp), and Chianina beef braised in Brunello di
Montalcino. The mythology that surrounds this rare
Tuscan cattle is second only to that of the unicorn,
but this creature exists. Whether it was primarily
the chef’s skill, or the wine, or the meat, I do
not know, but the pure, intense flavor made this the
best dish of its kind I have ever tasted.
Mr. Montano rewarded us for being good eaters with a
taste of several desserts, of which the to winners
were an unusually creamy gelato studded with orange
rind, and the worthy Armstrong, something like a
chocolate cookie taken out of the oven a bit early.
We ordered the house wine, a tannic Chianti Classico
’93, LA Posticcia, and were given glasses of white
to start the meal and dessert wine to conclude it.
IF YOU DINE
Prices are for a four-course meal for two
including wine, unless stated otherwise. In the
first four restaurants, wine prices run from about
$14.75 for a decent Chianti, to about $67 for a
so-called Supertuscan, such as Sassicaia, well worth
at least one spurge.
The restaurants tend to present digests of their
wine lists so as not to overwhelm the diner with too
much choice, but if you have studied your Tuscan
wines and don’t see something that interests you,
don’t hesitate to ask. Reservations are needed at
all these restaurants, but not terribly far in
advance.
Ristorante Alle Murate, 52r Via
Ghibellina; 240618. Closed August. Dinner Tuesday to
Sunday, about $87 to $100. Note that this
is one of the few nice restaurants
open Sunday evening.
