    Il Cibrèo Via Andrea del Verrocchio, 8R Firenze Tel: 055-23-41-100 Fax: 055-24-49-66 Closed Sunday & Monday, August |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
  ibrèo is one of the food temples of not just Tuscany but Italy. Fabio is to Florence what Alice Waters is to Berkeley! The menu hasn't changed much since they first opened nearly 20 years ago, but when you've got a great thing going, why bother. Fabio Picchi has a vision--real food, real flavors, and above all, real quality in ingredients. He doesn't serve pasta, following a Florentine tradition of the minestra--comfort foods, soups, polenta--served at home as first courses.
Fabio has created a tiny triangle of paradise for food lover's in front of the outdoor market of San Ambrogio, near Santa Croce Church. There is the 80-seat restaurant, where one can reserve, the bar across the street, which serves the same menu as the restaurant, and a trattoria (known as the sala dei poveri, or the poor room) where the menu is half the price! In the restaurant you are given a glass of wine to start your meal. Your waiter or waitress will sit down with you and help you order. Then the feasting begins with tiny bites of appetizers while waiting for your meal. The back room doesn't serve any of the expensive main courses such as pigeon or lamb, but most menu items are the same! No linen table cloths or fancy glasses in the back, no wine or appetizers to start, but with the money you save you can go twice. Over the last 18 years, I have eaten everything at Cibrèo. I adore the tomato gelatin as a starter. I have even eaten the stuffed chicken neck and the veal hoof! Now some of my favorites! Fabio serves traditional dishes such as pappa al pomodoro and minestrone, and sausage and beans. His eggplant parmesan in tiny portions almost brings me to tears! But words cannot describe the fabulous flavors! Leave room for dessert. The flourless chocolate cake is incredible, unlike anything I have ever tasted. The cheesecake is a thin mascarpone base with a bitter orange marmalade topping. Pure heaven! There is a small Cibrèo cookbook for sale with some of Fabio's secrets. He has shared one of them with us, the yellow bell pepper soup. Nothing could be easier or better for fall! Fabio is fabulous! 
|
David Lebovitz Kate Hill Paulette Mitchell Benita Leo Piazzesi Gianni Migliorini Germana Conti Gabriele Ferron Osteria Luchin Federico Bacci Gastronomia Perini Romeo Colzi Dario Cecchini Mimmo Baldi Donatella Lauteri Giovanni Cappelli Fabio Picchi Andrea Francini FUTURE PROFILES!   Click here for Fabio's recipe for Yellow Bell Pepper Soup. |