Country and people, Italy, Italy's regions

What time of year is tuscany less touristy?

Last week before Christmas 2020, we have to look at a new house, the weather doesn’t play along – or does it? When we get to the Radda in Chianti area, feelings arise – I love this area and I’m definitely not the only one. It has a calming effect on me, I have often stopped here and sniffed. When we finished taking photos of the new house, I wanted to make a detour to Panzano. Since love is known to go through the stomach, I wanted to at least visit Dario. Don’t you know Dario? Then you have to go once.

Dario Cecchini is a butcher who built a cult out of Panzano and simple steaks and made the city and himself known all over the world. I was nervous, it was shortly before one, Italian curfew, you go to the table and I wanted so badly in the shop – not even because of the steaks, like the atmosphere. I can’t get enough in the gray weather. I suspected something bad – the streets empty, all shops except the central bar – park quickly and go there. And there it was, like from another era – Covid times cleared his restaurant upstairs, like everyone else, around 40 employees stayed at home, half of Panzano lives on Dario. About 10 of them are in the shop and in the back, planning orders, redesigning and new things, I rummage through the small offer and grab the paprika-orange cream that tastes so great with meat. This time my bag turned out to be small, I’m hungry and have to go, we can kindly go in and then he said, well, you can get a hamburger upstairs … like above? We went up through the shop, there was a Cecchini car outside, a young man with a lot of charisma and skill was entertaining 3 truck drivers, I took an unknown bread mix with tomatoes and a hamburger – standing you can buy something and take it away, we ate it in the car. It was great. And a bit of the gift came across – absolute professionals, a hamburger becomes an experience – and that’s how it should be! Go to Panzano – now or “after”, you will thank me. More here www.dariocecchini.com