Now that they have a place to stay, how about restaurants? Breakfast,lunch or dinner. I know we can check the guidebooks, but would love to know if anyone had an outstanding meal while there. Large or small, doesn't matter. Thanks once more. The group will be staying at the Poggiolo apartments, so something in that area would definitely be great.

We will be in Montepulciano in late May and early June and are looking into the same question. A recent report here at http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34562119
had a link to some very good restaurant information, along with some great pictures from the area.

Also try looking for trip reports by Budman, Patrick, and Monicapileggi.

I thought the recent comments on the Poggiolo apartments were so kind and positive that I copied them and e-mailed them to the lady owners.

Shanart: I hope this assures both our parties of Fodorites a fine reception when we arrive!

I too would appreciate restaurant advice. Some recommendations for area restaurants appear on the slowtrav.com website, BTW.

Hi,

Try Fattoria Pulcino, Via S.S. 146 per Chianciano. It is a vineyard on the road leaving Montepulciano. The food is great and served on a terrace overlooking the vines with Montepulciano in the distance. It might be a better bet for a long lunch rather than evening meal!

Beans

Uh-oh. Tedgale, did you include that report of Margarite driving us to the bus station? If her sister or husband find out about that there may be big trouble in Montepulciano. She made it clear she is NOT allowed to drive, but did it since they were away and our hired car and driver to the bus station didn't return to pick us up.

Restaurants:
We really loved Cafe Poliziano. There is short cut of steps across and slightly down to get there from Poggiolo. The sisters can tell you how if you can't find it on your own. Otherwise you go down the hill, then back up. We did "breakfast" there several times. They have wonderful pastries and really great coffee. We sat at the bar rather than a table and felt a little more like locals. Dinner on their adjacent downstairs terrace was wonderful, and the best as well as "fanciest" meal we had in Montepulciano next to La Grotta.

Do eat at La Grotta. It is quite a hike down there, by the church of San Biagio. It is great. We opted for lunch as we didn't want to walk down and back at night, but I'm not sure why not. We had lunch in the garden.

We had a nice dinner including Fiorentina steak at Al Quattro Venti up on the main square. Nice, but nothing really spectacular.

The sisters will definitely send you to Acquacheta. This is a real hole in the wall that is cheaper than dirt. I'd say it's more for the experience than for the food, although our steaks the second time we went were really good.

We liked a very small and casual place where we sat outside twice down the hill on the main street a couple of times, called Marzocca. I had pici (the local pasta) with "deer" sauce followed by a roasted whole turkey leg with roasted beans. Real peasant food here, but so good.

Diva and Maceo and Il Cantucci were both nice places, but nothing outstanding.

I think it would be hard to get "bad" food in Montepulciano.

I have several recommendations on my site from multiple trips. Go here http://www.janeandken.com/italy2004/...endations.html for the latest ones. At the bottom of the page are links to previous recs. Hope this helps.

Thanks everyone for the quick replies. Patrick, I think my crew will be set for the week with such a choice. We will join them for one night at least before going back to Rome. All I remember from my last trip to Tuscany was lots of meat....by it self...and no Ketchup. That's a southern thing ya'll know. I did write down on a "cheat sheet" all the things I would not eat. Hare, pigeon, thrush, wild boar, tripe, etc. I remember we ate a lot of pork and steak. Actually, we were expecting a lot more fish on the menus. We were surprized there was so little. Do I remember this correctly? No salad dressing on the salads? I know, "when in Rome", and we managed nicely. I am printing this off to take with us, Thanks, again! Counting the days until I can attack this food issue.

Tedgale, Thanks for contacting the ladies. Anything that smooths the way works for us. Please post a report when you return. Thanks

I'm curious why you would eat pork and not wild boar? In a sense that's almost like saying I will eat regular chicken but not free-range chicken. Wild boar is essentially just pork! It is delicious and often used in the pasta meat sauces in that part of Tuscany.

If a salad is without dressing, ask for olive oil and balsamic vinegar if they aren't already on the table. But please do us and your host a favor and don't ask for ketchup to put on your steak!

Patrick: I believe I omitted the message about driving if it was the one that contained the reference to the husband being an "errant boy" -- as he might not wish his wife to see his ironic reference to his domestic status.

The food suggestions are excellent,so thanks to all who responded

Thanks tedgale, I think you just saved me (and Margarite). By the way I hope that's your funny typo and not mine "errant boy". Kind of funny in either case.

Yes it was my typo!

Patrick: You are completely correct about the pork and wild boar. Still, I wouldn't eat wild boar. When I think of pork, I think of pieces cut up at the market. When I think of wild boar, I think of the animal in the wild roaming free. The same with chicken, anonymous parts in the market as opposed to a wild chicken pecking corn by the back door. Very shallow, I know, I probably should be a vegetarian. As for the ketchup...Have Ketchup will travel. Another traveling buddy carries a giant bottle of tabasco sauce, another carries Splenda. Oh, well. If that's the worst mistake I make, I will be doing fine.

So let me get this straight. You can eat pork which comes from a pig that was trapped in a pen, wallowing in the mud, being thrown slop from a bucket. But it would offend you to eat pork from a pig that foraged in the forest?

We also ate at Al Quattro Venti and in my journal I noted "The food was good and the service efficient and very cheerful."

I'm pretty much vegetarian at home but when traveling I love to try the foods we can't easily get here, i.e. hare, wild boar, guinea hen. It's part of the adventure!

BTW, free range meat is lower in cholesterol than caged beasties. It's a diet thing for the animals, not to mention they must be more comfortable. (@)

Hi! Patrick and SalB: Yep, I had..Actually, I really don't give it much thought, but now that it has been presented to me in such graphic detail, I'll just not eat any. Maybe this has given me the push to stop eating meat altogether.

wow - well that's your choice to make. You will REALLY be missing out on something wonderful. But I'm sure you will at least enjoy the wines