Food at Osvaldo's
The four of us started our dinner by splitting 2 antipasti dishes, shrimp with truffled potato and grilled vegetables with melted cheese. Both were simple dishes but slightly unusual and expertly prepared, leaving us eagerly anticipating the rest of the meal.Choosing a pasta was difficult as the choices all sounded interesting. I chose crab stuffed ravioli with a truffle sauce, 2 large ravioli exuding the heavenly smell of the truffles. Luke had 2 large cheese ravioli with an excellent fresh tomato sauce. James' straccetti was an unusual handmade pasta with a peppery seafood sauce.
But is it Really Wild?
On to the main courses. Luke chose the wild boar and asked the waiter if it is really wild or domesticated. "Yes, it is really wild", the waiter assured us and told us that the menu changes monthly and always includes some type of game brought in fresh by a friend of Osvaldo's who hunts in the Maremma Region of southern Tuscany.
I chose the quail with olives and pinenuts, served with some tasty potatoes. Charlotte had the tagliatta, thin slices of rare beef, perfectly prepared and topped with very thinly sliced raw artichokes. My favorite, unfortunately not my plate however, was Jim's lamb with pistachio sauce.
For our first bottle of wine, we selected a super Tuscan and it was very good. For the second bottle, we asked the waiter to make a recommendation and he chose a very tasty red wine for us. Both wines went well with our meals.
Dessert
By the end of the main course, I was pretty full and very satisfied, but then I saw the waiter set a fantastic-looking chocolate dessert on the table next to ours. Of course, I had to try it and it was as good as it looked.Another of us ordered the cantuccine and vin santo, a typical Tuscan dessert. The cantuccine were small versions of biscotti, some of the best I've ever tasted. The waiter generously served as all a small glass of the vin santo and then left the bottle on the table. The waiter was very helpful throughout the meal and spoke excellent English.
The two desserts were more than enough for four of us to share, especially since the cantuccine basket was rather large.
So, where is the Club Culinario Toscano da Osvaldo
Club Culinario Toscano da Osvaldo
Piazza dei Peruzzi, 3r (angolo Via dei Benci)
Telephone: +39 055 217919
Open for dinner nightly, closed Sunday
