Last year, we introduced our annual restaurant awards with guarded optimism that the dining scene was (finally!) back to normal or, at least, had found a new, possibly better-in-some-ways normal. And here we are. A year later, it still seems appropriate to note that, yep, the world has changed, food has changed, the way we live our lives, including eating out, has changed. So, this feature has, too. Practical matters, such as the labor shortage, led us to nix a couple categories. Hidden Gems got its own full section.But the most significant change may be in the way our critics nominated and debated winners the subtle shift in their thinking about what’s important. These awards have always been aspirational; we’re here to honor excellence and innovation. But emerging from our discussions was something else that matters more than it used to. Call it longevity, tradition, even warmth the impulse to include a place not only because the food is superb, but also, the maître d’ r
institution, serving up the cake in, what else, a huge hunk of bread. i ll go from this side here. this is good, i like this. it s absolutely delicious. and he says that he makes it because he loves it. he makes it at home but he can t make it as good as this. yeah. after that little appetizer, we head up to the house of one of fabio s friends in the hills above the town. he s gathered together the ingredients for a livornese classic. he s making a fish stew. this is a fake cacciucco. it s a fake. i need to keep my voice down so the neighbors don t hear but if you re not from livorno, you re not supposed to be making
like so many italian dishes, the base of fabio s stew is the trusty tomato. it s hard to imagine italian cuisine without tomatoes, but scholars only date their arrival to that fortuitous medici marriage to spanish nobility in the 1540s. here in livorno though, legend says that the tomato was brought by newcomers fleeing oppression. tomatoes were a popular ingredient among the jews of southern europe.
fabio owns. he hurries past any food which has not had a pulse and we head up to his highway on the roof, where he does his cooking. come on. we are starting with the medici family favorite to beef. this cattle has grazed tuscan fields for 2000 years . they are of such high quality that we are eating it raw. oh my god. that is the best sushi i ve ever had. and now, the main event.
of course, the medici did not even need to worry about that. why? why the moon? why the sun? 500 years later, thankfully, you don t need to be a grand duke to enjoy steaks this big. fabio wants to cook for me, tuscany s signature does dish. steak florentine. encase lunch is not looking work worthy enough, fabio picks out appetizer. yet another cut of meat. we head back to the deli,