Little Women - Osteria Il Buongustai

by Katherine

Key Words
Reasonably Priced, Large Variety, Daily Menu, Good Flavors
                 
Would We Come Back?
I would eat here everyday if I could -the menu changes so there would always be something new and delicious!         

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          So Osteria Il Buongustai, or Little Women, as my friends who studied abroad called it, might possibly be my favorite restaurant ever. It's run by a few women who do all the cooking and running of the restaurant - basically, they are my culinary heroes.  I had eaten here the last time I was in Florence and had hands down, the best tomato sauce I've ever had; it tasted like fresh tomatoes, seasoned perfectly - it was amazing! My goal was to eat here as often as possible this time around. Unfortunately, we had stopped by here the previous day, but disappointingly it was closed due to May day. So that was one day less of eating here.

House Red Wine

          When we finally made it here for lunch, I was in heaven. We luckily got a table, and then ordered some wine. Here, we could actually get a half liter and it was only like €4!! And of course, it's Italy, so the wine was still awesome! So I guess I need to explain that they have a daily menu - the main reason that this place is so damn good! That is what you want to order from!! Everything is fresh and there are still a lot of options. Get there early, though, or they might run out; last trip, I was ready to order two plates, but they had sadly, just run out of the octopus. They feature appetizers and pastas mainly -nothing is too monstrous.

Pennette Zucchini Grana e Pomodoro (pasta with zucchini, cheese, and tomato)

          So I ordered a pasta with zucchini, tomatoes, and cheese. Seems like a plain meal, but they turn simple meals into a complex and delicious plate, and like I said, everything tastes so fresh! Brad got a wild boar ragu, which was a nice change for a ragu (which is typically beef). The meat was so tender and flavorful!

Pici al Cinghiale (Pasta with Wild Boar)

          Tempting as it was to order more, we learned that they were open for dinner on Saturdays, so we instantly knew what we were doing the next day for dinner! When we got there for dinner, it was packed (it's already small to begin with). We never made reservations for any restaurants in Italy, though that probably would have been a good idea. Luckily, they said we could eat at a narrow counter near the front of the restaurant. Um, I'd eat in my lap if I needed to! It was cool too, because we were right by the kitchen.

Our Pastas at Dinner

          We started off with wine again (duh), and then decided to each order a pasta and then also get a pasta for an "appetizer".  I got a pasta with truffle sauce, which exploded with truffle flavor. I love truffle, and often places skimp on the truffle, but here, it was THE sauce, not just an after thought. Brad got a zucchini pasta, which was completely different than my zucchini pasta the day before, also delicious. And then we split a gnocchi with sausage. I'm pretty sure after each bite, I was explaining how I was in heaven.

          So there were 4 pasta dishes on the menu, and everything was so heavenly, that we debated getting the fourth pasta as "dessert". It wasn't long until we decided to actually go ahead and order it. It seemed like the women really appreciated our love for their food, especially since we weren't eating at an actual table. So then came the gnudi, which is like gnocchi, but made mostly with cheese (usually ricotta). They were amazing, so delicate, but bursting with flavor. Not for a second did we regret our extra order! And then the whole bill only set us back €34!!! Yeah, all that food and wine for only €34! Too bad that was our last chance to eat there on our trip. But having tried 6 pasta dishes over our stay, I felt pretty damn happy about all of the food we tried!!

Gnudi