Palle d' Oro

         I know I have been writing a lot about enjoying food through pot lucks, cooking, and entertaining in instead of going out. In fact, many of the best meals I have had here in Florence have occurred at pot lucks or at home simply because of the quality and freshness of the food here. For example, bread goes stale within a day or two because it has absolutely no preservatives in it. However, even though we enjoy cooking for each other and sharing company and food in our own apartments, every once in a while it is nice to take the “pot luck” out of pot luck night and go out for dinner. It has been a while since I have enjoyed a meal out so when we found a place we knew would not disappoint, I was ready to enjoy an evening of simply enjoying eating good food – not cooking it. The place was Palle d’ Oro, a family trattoria founded in 1860. To this day, they specialize in home-making mostly everything on their menu: bread, pasta, wine, sausage, and olive oil just to name a few. The menu was extensive and confusing especially since I insisted on using an Italian one. I had no clue where to begin and the pressure to make the right decision was piling up on me. Luckily, my trusty food buddy, Aviva was right there beside me and we made the decision that together we would share a fabulous guilt-free meal. We promised each other not to hold back…and we didn’t. After a few glasses of the red wine, we started out with the “Penne della casa,” penne with ground veal and a tomato sauce with fresh porcini mushrooms and basil. Aviva and I “cheersed” our forks (such foodies) and from that point forward, we were in our own, Tuscan world. Next, we enjoyed a salty seafood risotto that was incredibly fresh, fishy, and wonderful. That seems like enough, right? WRONG. We had to have some kind of meat so we decided on the homemade sausage with fagioli (beans). I can honestly say it may have been the best sausage I have ever tasted. It was perfectly succulent, simply seasoned, and cooked to perfection. We finished the meal with a plate of various types and stages of Palle d Oro's own pecorino cheeses. It was a marathon of flavors and textures from the earth and the sea and we took it on with empty stomachs and eager taste buds. For under 20 euros, it was an extremely fulfilling meal. After a nice, long, greatly needed walk around Florence, we sat down at a warm little café’ for tea and tiny little pastries. I couldn’t have asked for a more pleasant evening. 

It is an american custom to eat bread before a meal.
Therefore, restaurants do not provide bread plates with
their bread (you are actually supposed to sit and wait for
the meal to arrive without even touching the bread...WHAT?!),
so instead of suffering, we have just gotten used to olive oil
dribbling down our wrists - it is part of the experience!

Penne della casa

Risotto frutti di mare

Salsicce con i faggioli

formaggi

Te' e Paste