Any recommendations, suggestions for great dining experience here??

try "La Vecchie Mura".

We always like Le Terazze in the La Cisterna Hotel.

Yum!! La Mangiatoia right around the corner to the right of El Antico Pozzo Hotel is to die for.

La Terrazza has the best tiramisu in all Italy and has fantastic views through huge windows of the surrounding countryside...

Try Osteria Da Niso (I forget the precise name but that's close) just down the hill from San Gimignano on the road to Poggibonsi. It's a hillside restaurant with great food and ceiling to floor glass walls with a fantastic view.

La Mangiatoia is absolutely the best restaurant we visited in Italy last month. We went there 2 nights in a row and were blown away. Absolutely delicious!

You could check Judy Witt's (aka Divina Cucina) website for recommendations. I printed out her list for Florence and the Chianti region for my last trip and it was very helpful.

Judy is an American married to an Italian, lives in Tuscany and teaches cooking courses in Florence.

Another vote for Le Terazze. When we visited on a Sunday in August, the dining room was full of Italian families. Now that's a good sign!

so, if it's full of americans is not a good sign????

How do you tell if a restaurant is full of Italians or Americans unless you walk by each table and listen to them speak.

We were in a restaurant in Tuscany, and when we were seated next to a couple that "looked" like Ammericans, I engaged in some harmless intercourse, and all I got was a strange look.

You can tell when a restaurant is full of Italian families if you've been studying Italian for five years. Geez, I didn't mean to start an international incident! To me it's a positive sign if a place is full of more local families than tourists.

Please, no international incident!! Just kidding.

I think all Weadles meant was that if it is a favorite of the locals it must be very, very good. Same concept applies to a japanese sushi restaurant I frequent here at home. I started going there when some friends who were originally born in Japan and travel there frequently told me to try it. It is delicious.

no harm intended here either. We all know what you meant!

Sorry for being a turkey. I think all this cooking's gotten to me!

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!