Saveur - April-May 2017

34 SAVEUR.COM

and final stomach compartment of a cow,

the rennet-secreting maw known as the

abomasum. This forgotten quadrant of

ruminant viscera is rarely used in kitch-

ens elsewhere. But in Florence, eating

abomasum is a daily habit for all seg-

ments of society, as popular among street

workers and leather-goods vendors as it is

with pin-striped businessmen and coiffed

nonnas in pantsuits.

That a cow’s stomach chamber can

be morphed into a triumph of the culi-

nary arts is a quintessentially Florentine

phenomenon. Upon eating my third or

fourth, and discovering that it’s avail-

able at the Michelin-starred restaurant Il

Palagio inside the Four Seasons’ palazzo

hotel, it occurred to me that lampredotto

represents the way Florence has democ-

ratized deliciousness. In the same way

that Dante argued for vernacular Italian

to be accorded equal respect and liter-

ary legitimacy as Latin, Florence seems

to have understood that expensive food

isn’t necessarily better food. To succumb

to lampredotto’s charms is to realize that

beauty and ugliness can live in harmony

with each other—that they can be unified

into a handheld reminder that one cannot

actually exist without the other.

Tr i p e to t r y:

SERGIO POLLINI Via dei Macci, 126

DA NERBONE Mercato Centrale, Via dell’Ariento

TRIPPAIO ALBERGUCCI Piazzale di Porta Romana

TRIPPERIA DELLE CURE Piazza delle Cure

thanks to the city’s proximity to chi-

anti, that ever flowing fount of inexpensive

sangiovese, wine is consumed in Florence

the way water is elsewhere. So ubiquitous

(and priced to move), it is even incorpo-

rated into pasta’s molecular structure at

Osteria de’ Benci near Santa Croce. Their

spaghetti all’ubriaco (drunken spaghetti)

requires boiling the noodles in wine and a

bit of beef stock, a process that stains the

pasta vibrant purple. No matter how much

bad chianti you drank last night, this dish

will set you straight.

2

Drunken

spaghetti is the

Italian hair of the dog

SPAGHETTI

ALL’UBRIACO

(Drunken Spaghetti)

Adapted from Osteria

de’ Benci

Serves 4–6

To t a l : 2 0 m i n.

¼ cup extra-virgin

olive oil

2 large garlic cloves,

smashed

¼ tsp. kosher salt,

plus more as needed

⅛ tsp. red chile flakes

1 bottle (750 ml.)

sangiovese

1 lb. spaghetti

¼ cube beef bouillon

2 tsp. finely chopped

oregano

2 tsp. finely chopped

parsley

1. Bring a large pot of
   water to a boil.


2. In a large, high-
   sided skillet, add the
   oil, garlic, salt, and
   chile flakes. Heat
   over medium-high,
   stirring occasion-
   ally, until the garlic
   is softened and just
   beginning to brown,
   about 3 minutes.
   Pour in the red wine
   (stand back as the liq-
   uid may splatter) and
   bring to a rapid boil.


3. Meanwhile, sea-
   son the boiling water
   generously with
   salt. Add the spa-
   ghetti and cook for
   2 minutes.


4. Transfer the spa-
   ghetti to the pot
   with the boiling red
   wine, and add the
   bouillon and
   1 teaspoon of the
   oregano; cook, stir-
   ring occasionally
   with tongs, until the
   spaghetti is tender,
   6–8 minutes.


5. Transfer the pasta
   to a platter and top
   with the remain-
   ing oregano and
   the parsley. Serve
   immediately.

New York City hot dog cart, only with

the everlasting façade of Sant’Ambrogio

church on a prehistoric cobblestone piazza

as a backdrop. I was with friends, classical

painting students, who assured me that as

nasty as lampredotto looks, my taste buds

would grasp the reality immediately.

“I love lampredotto so much that I think

about it as often as other guys think about

sex: every six seconds,” confided one of the

students, Alex. He recommended ordering

it wet, or bagnato, the Florentine term for

au jus, in which the bun is moistened with

a little of the braising liquid. The deeply

f lavorful, perfectly textured salsa verde

and hot chile–spiked result was superla-

tive and, yes, semi-indecent.

Lampredotto is made with the fourth

even in an area as saturated with

tourists as the Piazza della Repubblica,

a genuine joint like Caffè Giubbe Rosse

can still be found. Once a central meeting

place for the Futurist art movement, it’s

been an integral part of the city’s cultural

and literary landscape. Everything here

feels steeped in history. Even the name

refers to the red shirts worn by those who

fought alongside Garibaldi during the

Risorgimento in the 1860s. So, of course,

the coffees are also markedly rooted

in 19th-century style. While there are

certainly excellent options for third-wave

aficionados in Florence (namely Ditta

3

Drink espresso

like a Florentine