Izzy (and Mama) Eat: The Gourmand Goes To College...

Tales of Empty Nest and College Boy Eats.. The Next Chapter

Monday, July 2, 2007

Izzy Eats Italian: Days In Greve in Chianti


Through a stroke of good fortune and kindness, Izzy, Alex and I are spending a week in a small Tuscan town. We are staying in a wonderfully large, beautiful apartment situated on a piazza. We can peer out of our kitchen window at the splendid countryside, both in the near and far distance.

We arrived on Sunday (June 25th) and today, Wednesday, Izzy continues to suffer from jet lag. The town is small and there are only a few restaurants from which to choose in the nearby vicinity. Our first meal took place at Cafe Nerbone, a few doors down. They boast quite a meaty selection of dishes one of which I couldn't resist sampling, Cow Udder with Salsa Verde. It came thinly sliced on bread with a dollop of the green sauce on top. It looked fairly appetizing and Izzy tried it along with me. When he inquired as to what it was, my first answer was meat. When he probed further the truth emerged. He was eating cow "boobie".

I had never heard of it until now. What was it like you wonder? Well it was soft and tender though I don’t know that I will go out of my way to eat it again. In fact, after having eaten it I began to doubt the sagacity of feeding my child cow offal, here in the land of mad cow disease.

2 comments:

Rebecca said...

We spent 3 or 4 days in a B&B on a hill overlooking Greve; it's a charming town, but you're right, the restaurant selection is small. We also ate at the Cafe Nerbone but I wasn't so adventurous as you; I think I had some kind of wild boar stew.

Alex said...

We visited Nerbone just a few weeks ago and had a great meal! My other half tried 'poppa fritta' (the fried cow's udder) and we all thought it could have done with some salsa verde! Yours looked much tastier!