We all have our passions. Luckily enough, we live in a town that caters to them through the many festivals throughout the year: cinephiles have their 50 days, lovers of contemporary art a green laser on the Cupola of the Duomo. What do I look forward to, you ask? With a last name like Fork, need you ask?
From November 6 to 22, during the second Biennale Enogastronomica Fiorentina, I won’t be in the TF office. How could I miss two weeks of the strictly seasonal, the aged-to-perfection, the made nearby and Tuscan traditional at restaurants and in piazzas, theatres, cinemas, streets and historical palaces all around town?
Can I tempt you to join me? Here’s just a taste of the tastings.
The stars of the Biennale are the more than 90 participating restaurants, each of which has a role in A Typical Dish in a Restaurant: every menu includes a selection of items prepared from age-old recipes, the dishes that made Florentine cuisine famous worldwide. Even if this is the only way you engage in the Biennale Enogastronomica Fiorentina, eat out just once.
The Biennale may be all about traditional, but the festival has no qualms about starting with dessert. On Sunday, November 7, the Biennale’s home at the Ex-Chiostro Leopodina in Piazza Santa Maria Novella will host Sweet Temptations from 3pm to 8pm with vini dolci, chocolates and pastries for the taking. Sweet tooth not yet satisfied? During Il Gelato della Biennale (throughout the festival) gelaterie around town will offer an all-new Biennale flavour. Grab a cone and try to identify the ingredients.
Rather not risk hyperglycemic coma? Tempt a wine-induced slumber at the eno-events. Start with The Other Face of Chianti Classico on November 10 (free entry with reservation; unless otherwise noted online, call 347/7316178 for tour and tasting reservations), a tasting dedicated to my personal hero, Signor Supertuscan. Tour the region’s varieties of this amazing wine-every local label will be represented-but pace yourself so that you’re in shape for Le Cantine del Leone (November 13 and 14), when cellars around town open for visits and tastings, organized by the Consorzio Chianti Colli Fiorentini. Next is the Florence Wine Event in Piazza Pitti, from November 19 to 21, where, after your purchase of a glass, tastes are for the taking. If you prefer a more academic approach, try Life of Wine: a Journey through the Ages of Vino, a conference featuring 25 Tuscan and Italian labels, with their producers explaining the particular impact that regional characteristics have on their wines. Join the producers afterwards at Dinner with My Producer. There is a fee for the lecture and dinner, and reservations are required.
Enough of wine? Enjoy some artisanal beers and live music with Birra in Musica at Pinocchio Jazz-Circolo Vie Nove (viale Giannotti, 13) on November 12 at 9pm. The Max De Aloe Quartet will delight your ears with tracks from its new album, while your taste buds dance to the foamy delights of beers from L’Olamaia, a small producer of Montepulciano (10 euro, beer included).
Whether you learned it from Bacco or that frat party you wish you remembered, the buongustaio cannot campare on wine alone! From November 11 through 14, Il Mercato del Biennale, will fill piazza della Repubblica and piazza Strozzi with savory Tuscan sapori, complete with free tastings. From new olive oil to pecorini Toscani, olives to salumi, you can just lunch, banco to banco.
You can also take a ‘gastrotour.’ Staffetta del Gusto (November 7, from 11am to 4pm, 30 euro, reservations required) includes tasting stops in some of Florence’s finest locales. Enjoy Tapas d’autore e birra at Ristorante Ora d’aria (November 20, 11pm to 6pm, free beer with tapas purchase; call 055/2001699 for reservations). For a more substantial fix, Re Baccalà e Calici Divini at Il Cenacolo del Pescatore to indulge in Tuscany’s most famous fish offering in all its forms (November 21; the offer available at lunch and dinner costs 40 euro, wine included; call 055/2776280 for reservations).
‘Epicurious’ about how food pairs with other arts? Check out Museo Marino Marini for Il Bello della Tavola, an exhibit about the esthetics of cuisine, restaurant atmosphere and plate presentation. Enjoy ‘taste’ in all its forms on November 13 at Il Gusto della Moda at Galleria delle Carrozze, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, which features young wine producers presenting their labels and young designers dressing models: all this while you snack on spectacular aperitivo offerings (7pm; free entry with reservation).
While I must maintain my anonymity, other, more vocal critics will shed light on the ins and outs of our prestigious position in Confessions of a Food Critic at Teatro Puccini on November 17. Leonardo Romanelli, a dear friend of TF, famed food critic, founder and organizer of the Biennale will tell you what it means to do his job, and what sort of passion it takes to do what most wish they could but few succeed in doing. Before the presentation, enjoy the wine and salumi tasting in the foyer (15 euro; reservation recommended).
As I said earlier, this is but a taste of the events of the Biennale Enogastronomica Fiorentina. Visit the Biennale website today and click ‘programma’ for a day-to-day schedule of what’s on.