Foodie report from Siena
 

Hi all, we're back from another trip to Italy.... Why is it so addictive??? Everytime I return back home I miss most of all the food and wine...
This year we decided to new activities we hadn't tried before (as we already have done wine tours in the past). So we went on a walking tour of Siena called "Taste Siena" where we went to see the cake bakers, tasted local cheese and ham, olive oils, vinegars and so forth. It was just an hour and a half and it was well worth our time and money. Then we did a wine tasting class at the Tuscan Wine School which I can't rave enough about. We had an afternoon wine tasting class where we tasted 6 wines and the pours were generous. Our teacher was really enthusiastic about wine and shared all sorts of information we hadn't known about even if we've been on numerous tours around the region. Worth every cent!
Our favourite restaurant in Siena was L'Osteria, mostly because the food reflected the Slow Food philosophy that we've come to appreciate so much.

Thanks for the info on the Taste Siena walking tour, that sounds like fun.

Very tempting--how do we sign up for the tour? Any other restaurants that you ate well at?

We had a few other nice meals, one I also really enjoyed was at Osteria Le Logge. A bit upscale, but the ambience was very nice and the presentation of the food beautiful.
I just emailed to reserve the Taste Siena tour. Here's the site: http://www.siena-activities.com/taste_siena.htm

It sounds wonderful - and I wonder if your suitcases were bulging with extra goodies??

Wish you'd tell some of us a little more about the "slow food" philosophy...sounds intriguing and especially since I will be in Siena in a few weeks. Thanks.

L2t2E - don't mean to hijack your thread, but in response to dukey:

I just bought a book called 'Go Slow Italy - special local places to eat, stay and savor' by Sawday and King. It talks about the 'slow' movement in Italy in travel and eating and really about life - very interesting - worth looking at.

Also, the SlowFood organization has lists of eating places all over Italy that conform to their philosophy and price guidelines.

There are two SlowFood-designated restaurants in Siena, according to the website:

Grotta di Santa Caterina http://www.bagoga.it/



Hostaria Il Carroccio

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These are not slow food places, but they are some of the favorites for locals.

Pappi, located in the old market behind the Campo. La Taverna di San Giusseppe by Il Campo parking in Turtle district. Osteria Da Diva in the forest district Closed Tuesday

Sounds like a wonderful time! Dying to go on a foodie oriented trip one day.

traveltalesfromtheredheadedtraveler.blogspot.com/
(My travel writing blog!)

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L2t2E - Which class did you take at Tuscan Wine School, the Italian wine class or the Tuscan wine class? I'm heading to Siena in May and want to take one of their classes, but can't decide to go for the overview or the Tuscan specific class.

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Osteria Da Divo was the best meal we had in Italy when I went on my honeymoon. I'll never forget the Parmesan risotto, which was served tableside inside the carved out middle of a whole wheel of Parm! The cheese melted into the risotto as it was stirred and served. To die for! Plus, sitting in an ancient Etruscan dwelling wasn't bad, either.