perfecto S C O M P I G L I O

At the end of a long day of sightseeing or castles or beaches, finding a place to feed hungry kids is not always easy in a foreign country.

Dinner is something that is not rushed and can take a long time to get through. Most places also open later.

We rented a house with a kitchen so we could cook some at the house. This always seems to work really well for us. Everyone is tired and hungry and ready to stay home.
We did shop at the commissary and bought enough to grill hot dogs/hamburgers for a couple nights.

We had to try some pizza.
Of course, we had to get pizza.

We also decided to have one nice dinner out.

After a day at the beach, we dropped everyone off at home and drove around in search of a nice place for dinner.


Gardens where most of the vegetables are grown

Affordable, not too fancy so everyone would eat, and open at a decent time.

As we drove from place to place, Jim would drive up to the door I would run in and check out a menu and attempt to get any other details.

After checking out four or five different places, we finally found what we thought would be the perfect spot in the center of Tuscany.

They were closed, but as I walked in and found them in the kitchen, they told me they opened at 7:00 for dinner.

Best of all, it was a ten-minute drive from our house.

I let the cute older man {who I guessed was the owner} know we would be back with our family.

It was perfect.
Perfecto, as they say in Italy.

Cucina Dello Scompiglio.

The restaurant is actually an old barn of the farmstead, once a meeting place for outside workers. We sat outside overlooking the vineyard, vegetable garden and the Apuan Alps.

Most of the vegetables used are grown there.

The water is sourced from the springs within the Scompiglio estate.

The bread is prepared by the chef using white and whole wheat flour, oatmeal, cornmeal, sunflower seeds, potato flour and Puglia grain- all without preserving agents.

It was fabulous.

I could have made a meal of the bread alone. Dipped in their olive oil and balsamic vinegar was divine.

Of course, we were in the middle of olive oil country and the olive oil was produced there as well.

It was fresh.
It was peaceful.
The view was magnificent.

We sat out on the deck and asked for the shady spot being that we were all a little burnt from our afternoon at the beach. It was hot, but cooled off as soon as the sun set.

It felt as if we were in a fairy tale- enjoying fabulous food in the most beautiful setting under the Tuscan sun, of course.

As we arrived, there was a birthday party going on with little Italian bambinos running around speaking in their sweet Italian language.

We were the only other ones there until later on in the evening. It was nice to not be in the middle of a crowd.
It was a happy place.
We were all so happy.

The service was top notch as well with the owner/chef coming out during our meal to ask how everything was and to visit with us. The older man did not speak English, but had a younger Italian man with him to translate.

He did not stop smiling the whole evening. You definitely don't find that in Germany.

So friendly. I'm the crazy one who had to have a picture with him.
At least I can admit I'm crazy!

I am in love with Tuscany.