La BotteGaia Restaurant Review

La BotteGaia is relatively new, yet it has attracted the attention of some of the best writers on Tuscan Food. Beth Elon mentions it in her Tasting Tuscany – Exploring and eating off the beaten track, and it's mentioned in Slow Food's Osterie & Locande d'Italia as well. The woman at the tourist office swooned over the thought of the food while she was circling Bottegaia on the map. It was in a perfect location; the back door faced Piazza del Duomo and the front the market and the medieval shops with their ancient shutters and stone benches. How could I resist? Why would I ever want to resist?

If I've learned anything in the time I've been writing about travel, it's that just because "everyone" likes something, that doesn't make it good. Lots of folks go ga ga over the mystery meat at McDonald's remember.

But la BotteGaia hit the spot--all of them. The wait staff was attentive without being intrusive. The food was cooked with care so that the natural flavors were foremost, and the location was both convenient (for those of us with maps in hand) and awesome to gaze over.

La BotteGaia's menu is quite extensive. You can have a full Italian meal, or a big salad, or several small plates. The wine list (the restaurant was born from the owner's nearby wine shop) is extensive.

It was hard to choose. I didn't feel like a pasta course, so I had an interesting antipasto, a duck pate with muscat grapes and a small salad of raw vegetables. The duck was roughly chopped and seemed squeezed into form without any fat evident at all. Over the top was a sweet wine sauce. It was delicious.

So then the time came to order a second course. Here is where a conversation with the waiter is of prime importance. I asked what was most local on the menu. The waiter pointed me toward a stewed pork made out of the famous Cinta Senese pig (€12) and the Lampredotto (€8.50)

I chose the pork stew. It came in a earthenware bowl--pork in a tomato sauce with onions. It was a revelation. Each element blended superbly with the rest, and each element retained its characteristic flavor. We're talking but three main ingredients here, but the tomato sauce wasn't acidy, or oversalted like many places. It sat in the background, satisfied to play a minor roll so the pork could leap to the foreground. I shook my head. How could this be? How could they do this with three ingredients? You've never tasted such a creamy sauce devoid of cream or any fatty binder. A miracle.

So, what could I say; the pork was so darn good that I just had to taste the Lampredotto. But there was no way I could eat a second main course.

Here's why I like Italy so much. The trick is to talk to your waiter. s/he's your guide to the meal, someone whose job it is to make sure your needs are met, not "my name is Bob and I'd like to be your friend and serve you some food and maybe afterwards..."

So you express enthusiasm for the food, and ask if you could be served a small portion because you've come all this way...

A half portion of the Lampredotto was soon on its way to my table.

Now, for those of you who don't know Lampredotto, it's a type of tripe. But it's different than ordering "trippa" or tripe in Italy. Evidently, Lmpredotto comes from further down the digestive track than tripe; it's the fourth stomach. It's not honeycombed but smooth and it's beige to brown rather than white in color.

But no matter, the squeamish among you should read no further, because this ancient version of cucina povera is melt-in-your-mouth delicious, with a silky texture and creamy finish to die for. It even retains its "povera" virtue by being the least expensive meat dish on the menu. You gotta like that.

This restaurant should get 5 stars. It earned them, but I can't give them. Shouldn't there be something to strive for?

Did I find any flaws? Well, the after dinner coffee was just so-so, and service began to slow at around 1:30, a time when locals pack the inside of the restaurant while the tourists sit outside.

But the food remains some of the best simple, traditional Tuscan cuisine I've ever tasted. It is that miracle that occurs when someone takes a few things and makes magic out of them in the kitchen. No reviewer can explain how cubed pork in a tomato sauce with onions knocked his culinary socks off. Magic, I tell you.

Now, just where are my socks?

La BotteGaia
Via del Lastrone, 17
51100 Pistoia
Tel: 0573 365602
Reservations recommended Closed Sunday lunch and Monday