In my report yesterday on our lunch in Volterra, I made reference to a fancy meal we ate accidentally in San Gimignano the next day. Here now is a report on that meal. Let me begin by explaining what I mean by an accidentally eaten meal. It was a scorcher of a day in Tuscany and we figured we’d spend a good chunk of the afternoon in the pool at the agriturismo we were staying at outside San Gimignano. And so we decided not to go too far on this day. As we’d not seen very much of San Gimignano on our first outing we decided to spend a little more time there and then head to the town of Certaldo, also not very far from us but in the other direction. We figured we’d spend the morning in San Gimignano and then head to Certaldo for lunch. And then we spent so much time ambling around San Gimignano that it made more sense to eat there. But where? The sun was high in the sky and it was hot. The owner of the agriturismo had recommended one spot but it did not have air conditioning and the outdoor tables were in the sun. “You can come back in 30 minutes”, the manager said, “the sun will move across the street”. With that in our back pocket we ambled some more and then found ourselves outside another place the agriturismo had recommended. They had air conditioning and available tables and so we went in and sat down.

It is only when we perused the menu—not having looked very closely at the one posted outside—that we realized that we were in a place with more serious culinary ambitions than we were looking at for lunch. This was brought home a little later when they set an amuse down in front of each of us, featuring an avocado mousse of some kind (which made very little of an impression). We waited to see what the meal itself would turn out to be like.

What did we get? First, the tonno del Chianti, or confit pork loin served here with capers and Certaldo onions in agrodolce. Next, risotto with prosciutto, zucchini and black truffle. Only one pasta dish: you’ll never believe it but we got the pappardelle with wild boar ragu. This was topped with pecorino foam over which laurel powder had been sprinkled. Finally, their eggplant parmigiana, which was described very functionally on the menu but which turned out to be a very elaborate construction (see the pictures below). Oh yes, a side of sauteed spinach rounded out the order.

How was the food? It was mostly very good. Of the mains only the risotto didn’t make very much of an impression but it was cooked very well. I don’t know that I need cheese delivered in foam form over the pappardelle but it did not detract from the dish. The eggplant parmigiana, on the other hand, somehow disappointed despite being very good. This I would put down to the general mismatch between our lunch mindset and their approach. What we really had in mind was solid, comfort food that we could eat quickly before fucking off to our next stop. We would have appreciated Ristorante Peruca and their eggplant parmigiana more at dinner or if lunch had been the centerpiece of our day (as opposed to a stop for fuel between two bouts of hot touristing).

Which is to say that Ristorante Peruca is a very good restaurant; it just wasn’t the best choice for us for lunch that day.

For a closer look at the restaurant and what we ate, click on a picture below to launch a larger slideshow. Scroll down for thoughts on service and to see how much it all cost.

Service was fine but it was also sort of in keeping with the general aspirations of the place. That is to say, it was a little on the formal side with many changes of cutlery and so forth, and a server who was perhaps disappointed that we weren’t dipping into the extensive wine list. Price? Quite a bit more than our previous Tuscan lunches at 115 euro (with soft drinks and water added on). A very good price in the abstract for what was served if more than we’d expected to be spending for lunch when we set out that morning.

I’ll say this explicitly if it’s not clear: this mismatch was entirely our fault. If we’d looked closely at the menu before going into the restaurant we would have realized most of this and turned around and gone back to the first place and waited for the sun to cross the narrow street. As it is, we ate good food but food that we weren’t primed to appreciate as fully as we would have in other circumstances. If you’re in San Gimignano and looking for a more serious restaurant, I’d absolutely recommend them.

(Oh, one thing I forgot to note: I was very tickled to see that two of the names listed in the front of the menu as working “in cucina” were South Asian.)

Having said all this, the next day we again ate lunch—again without planning to—at a restaurant with more serious culinary ambitions than Magnino or Il Giardinetto. That meal, however, didn’t come across the same way as lunch at Ristorante Peruca and that really came down to the setting. That was in Lucca; I’ll have a report on that lunch next weekend. Meanwhile, it’ll be back to the Twin Cities on Tuesday.