La Toscana

It must be one of the coziest restaurant in town. Its intricate iron and wood furniture lends a decidely European ambiance. Wines are arranged neatly in a wine racks interspersed with photos of famous diners. Lunch at La Toscana is a refuge from the heat and throbbing noise in the street which happens to be one of the major thoroughfares.

Dinner in this restaurant is a dream. The light are muted, the music soft and atmosphere immediately pulls down your stress level several notches lower. It is perfect for a quite celebration of intimate friends or a lover's tryst. Life is good.

Piero who now can entertain patrons-turned-friends, leave some of that cooking to his assistants who are well-trained in the Tuscan cuisine. Because everything is done fresh, it takes a little waiting time for the food to be served though a plate of Affettato Misto(thin slices of assorted golden meat with tomato and olives)or a Prosciutto di parma (wafer thin ham with garnishings) can be whipped up in no time at all.

There is quite an interesting array of soup.There is the popular Minestrone, and the Tuscany famous soup:Zuppa di pesce(seafood soup),Zuppa di Cipolle(sweet onion soup) and Ribollita besenzio. For salad we have Insalata verde,insalata di mare,parmigiana terina and Nicoise.

One only has to flip through the thick menu to feel the stomach grumbling.The menus guide you perfectly through the photos. We have tagliatelle a fresh flat pasta which either served with mushroom, or with seafood. Pappardelle is flat but has a serrated egde,tortellini is rolled pasta with meat fillings,penne is a short-ribbed pasta.

For pizza we have a variety to choose from,all hand-tossed just the way we do it in Italy.There is Capricciosa, Alla Romana, Italian Volcano,al Tonno, Alla Marinara,Calzone,Margherita, and Alla Vegetariana. Risotto(rice dish)also comes in different variants seafood,mushrooms,meat and vegetables.

History

Long drives to the countryside, especially as one picturesque as the rolling landscape of Bukidnon,makes one ponder deeply about the meaning of one's existence. For italian businessman Piero Lucarini , that long trip to Cagayan de Oro City from Davao one sparkling day in 1999 was a turning point in his life.

Piero was born in Prato,Florence, Toscana region in Italy, had a thriving import-export business in the Philippines since 1981. This enabled him to shuttle to other areas in Luzon and the Visayas delivering equipment and iron works which were his line of business.It was, however, only in 1999 when he came to Davao city upon the prodding of friends. To his utter surprise, he fell in love with the place and the people. Though urbanized, he found the city to be clean,peaceful and to have great potential for growth.

In 2001, he was introduced to another Italian who was going back home and had already stablished a restaurant that had its own select patrons. The small resto along Quirino avenue was already frequented by those who loved authentic Italian food. Piero lost no time in acquiring the business and renamed it La Toscana from the region where He proudly comes from.

What better way to know a country than to taste its food? Piero whose father Guido is a “high chef” wanted to bring to Davao city what he calls the Florence Kitchen. While He loves this city like his own, it is his desire to serve Italian cuisine the way they do in Tuscany.

Tuscany is one of the most popular regions in Italy replete with historical sites and home of men who have greatly contributed to the world's art , culture and way of thinking . Its main cities are Florence, craddle of the Renaissance, Pisa of the Leaning Tower of Pisa fame, Siena, Lucca,Arezzo,and Livorno,Carrara and Masa. This is the region where tourist gaze with wonder at the Renaissance palaces,Romansque, churches built hundreds of years ago and gape at the masterpiece of Leonardo da Vinci, Dante Alighieri, and Galileo Galilei, among many other famous renaissance men.

The Tuscany Kitchen

The kitchen of Tuscany is not really a cucina povera(poor kitchen) .Because of its rich agricultural produce, it has a wide selection of vegetables in the summer,leguminous plants and pomorola(preserved tomato sauce) in the winter and truffles (Tartufi) during autumn.The vineyards are famous for producing the Tuscany wines: Brunello di Montalcino, Morellino di Scansano, Vernaccia di San Gimignano and Chianti.

The Tuscan diet has bread as staple with the pane Toscano as the most regular fare-giant loaves of salt-free bread bursting with aroma and sourdough of woodsmoke which could be served in a variety of ways. It is sliced thick and grilled, rubbed with garlic and oil as fettunta or panunto. It is crumbled into salad with tomatoes,onion and basil as panzanella or spread with chicken soups called ribollita ,pappa al pomodoro or simply zuppa di pane.

Pasta has also a special place in the Tuscan table, the most famous of which is Tagliatelle con ragu. The wide -ribbon pappardelle and spaghetti are also commonly served. Rice and polenta (yellow corn grits finely milled) enjoy prominence ,as well.

Seafood is also quite popular especially in the coastal city of Livorno which is famous for its cacciucco soup. One must say that Tuscan food is not heavy on the spices but not bland either,because it has to go with wine such as red chianti, brunello di montalcino,and vino nobile di Montalcino that are known as vino da arrosto. These wines go well with the roast meats which include, duck free-range chicken,pheasant, and guinea hen.Pork is popularly cooked as rostinciana(grilled ribs), arista(roast loin)fegatelli,(spit roasted livers wrapped in bays leaves) or as porchetta(porkchops). It boast of the bistecca alla fiorentina (ahefty slab of chianina beef,seared over wood coals) as the best of all Tuscan meats.

Finding Home in Davao

I (Piero) was found another home in Davao City. Although, I still visit Florence once a year or as my business schedule allows. I found this city the best place to live in, unlike other places in the Philippines where I was able to do business with, the city still has the most reasonable government officials and accommodating people.

What endeavors me to the people here? It seems to me that the Filipino people have a very close relationship with God. No matter how hard the times are, they manage to smile and find something to be thankful in their lives. It's the simplicity, the peace in each one of my friends that drawn me to stay.

And for those who love to eat, I am a gift to you,as well.