We had a chance to stop by I' Brindellone restaurant last week while on vacation. It came very highly recommended by Zeno, who is a Florence local and the proprietor of a Wine Bar we fell in love with. He said, "Don't go for the wine, but their Florentine steak is amazing. Ask for Bistecca Al Sangue. Sangue is blood but don't worry it's not really blood". I took the fact he knew the liquid in steak wasn't actually blood as a very good sign. He went on to mention that the restaurant didn't have an English menu but that didn't matter as all I needed to know was Bistecca, cannellini, and patate arrosto. Translated that means big honkin steak, white beans, and roasted potatoes. Zeno stressed it's very important to order a BIG steak or it's not really a a Florentine steak. They sell their steaks by weight and recommended 1.5 KG. That's 3.3 lbs!!!
So we arrive promptly at 7:30 PM Friday (that's the earliest possible reservation) and are seated. The restaurant reminded me of a typical family owned restaurant you'd find in the US. It was clean but not fancy. The server gave us a few minutes to get settled in then asked us what questions we had. We repeated verbatim Zeno's list and the server said he'd be right back. He came back with the plate below.
He said, "I've got a 1.5 kg steak but I think that's too much. The one on my left is 1.3 kg and is a little thicker than the 1.5 kg. Will this work?" I nodded numbly as I started to drool. He takes the steaks to the back and brings out a 1 liter bottle of house wine (Chianti). We get to sippin.
A little under 15 minutes later he comes out with the steak.
Here's a pic of the steak cut right after it hit the table. I'd call that rare.
As you can see it "rested up" while we were eating, which took a while!
They actually didn't have roasted potatoes so the server brought out their special of the day, fried zucchini flowers.
The Missus and I managed to take down the ENTIRE steak. It was one of the best steaks I've ever had at a restaurant and I'll reluctantly admit better than a few I've made at home. The exterior had a nicely seared taste and had been heavily salted. The salt mellowed out with all the awesome beef flavor on the inside of the steak so overall it balanced out.
I asked how they made the steak and got the following explanation.
1) We start in the morning by hand cutting the steaks and weighing them. We source our beef from several countries but the steak today came from France. (He didn't mention any USDA equivalent ratings)
2) We use a very hot grill. It's designed with grates hovering just over a bed of hot stones, and under that we have a hot fire.
​3) We cook the steak 5 minutes then flip
4) We add salt to the seared side of the steak and cook 5 more minutes. The steak cooks 10 minutes total.
5) We flip, add salt to the second side of the steak, then serve.
That recipe doesn't exactly follow Meathead's "Better than Steakhouse Steaks" guidelines but I can't argue with success. The steak was amazing. Big bold juicy beefy on the inside with a nice sear and salty exterior.
I was so impressed I asked if they'd take me in the back to check out their grill. They said yes!
Here you can see the grates are in the shape of a shallow "U" and have fairly healthy "channels" in them.. I suspect this is designed to help channel away melted fat and reduce flare-ups.
In this shot you can see the stones just below the grates, which help retain and radiate heat. I'm guessing they also afford a bit of protection to the gas burners.
I didn't catch his name, and he didn't speak English, but this is the gentleman that cooked the super awesome steak.
Last but not the least... The entire meal to include the 1 full liter bottle of wine and the 3+ lb porterhouse rang up at $80.
After the meal we went back to Enoteca Pitti Gola e Cantina (the wine bar). Here's a picture of me and the Missus having a drink with Zeno and thanking him profusely for the restaurant recommendation.
So we arrive promptly at 7:30 PM Friday (that's the earliest possible reservation) and are seated. The restaurant reminded me of a typical family owned restaurant you'd find in the US. It was clean but not fancy. The server gave us a few minutes to get settled in then asked us what questions we had. We repeated verbatim Zeno's list and the server said he'd be right back. He came back with the plate below.
He said, "I've got a 1.5 kg steak but I think that's too much. The one on my left is 1.3 kg and is a little thicker than the 1.5 kg. Will this work?" I nodded numbly as I started to drool. He takes the steaks to the back and brings out a 1 liter bottle of house wine (Chianti). We get to sippin.
A little under 15 minutes later he comes out with the steak.
Here's a pic of the steak cut right after it hit the table. I'd call that rare.
As you can see it "rested up" while we were eating, which took a while!
They actually didn't have roasted potatoes so the server brought out their special of the day, fried zucchini flowers.
The Missus and I managed to take down the ENTIRE steak. It was one of the best steaks I've ever had at a restaurant and I'll reluctantly admit better than a few I've made at home. The exterior had a nicely seared taste and had been heavily salted. The salt mellowed out with all the awesome beef flavor on the inside of the steak so overall it balanced out.
I asked how they made the steak and got the following explanation.
1) We start in the morning by hand cutting the steaks and weighing them. We source our beef from several countries but the steak today came from France. (He didn't mention any USDA equivalent ratings)
2) We use a very hot grill. It's designed with grates hovering just over a bed of hot stones, and under that we have a hot fire.
​3) We cook the steak 5 minutes then flip
4) We add salt to the seared side of the steak and cook 5 more minutes. The steak cooks 10 minutes total.
5) We flip, add salt to the second side of the steak, then serve.
That recipe doesn't exactly follow Meathead's "Better than Steakhouse Steaks" guidelines but I can't argue with success. The steak was amazing. Big bold juicy beefy on the inside with a nice sear and salty exterior.
I was so impressed I asked if they'd take me in the back to check out their grill. They said yes!
Here you can see the grates are in the shape of a shallow "U" and have fairly healthy "channels" in them.. I suspect this is designed to help channel away melted fat and reduce flare-ups.
In this shot you can see the stones just below the grates, which help retain and radiate heat. I'm guessing they also afford a bit of protection to the gas burners.
I didn't catch his name, and he didn't speak English, but this is the gentleman that cooked the super awesome steak.
Last but not the least... The entire meal to include the 1 full liter bottle of wine and the 3+ lb porterhouse rang up at $80.
After the meal we went back to Enoteca Pitti Gola e Cantina (the wine bar). Here's a picture of me and the Missus having a drink with Zeno and thanking him profusely for the restaurant recommendation.
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