Bistecca alla Giacomo

Chef Giacomo grilling the bistecca.

A few memorable dishes from Italy are standouts such as Bistecca alla Florentina which I had in Florence.

Prepared by a local chef in an unassuming little eatery, the prized meat was proudly presented to me for approval before cooking. The beef was from the chefs own backyard having grazed on local grains and grass I was told and was perfectly marbled, trimmed, and cut to a three-fingered hunk of boned in steak. Needless to say, it was soooo good served simply drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, salt, and fresh rosemary. Perfecto.

Our second taste of Italy’s famous beef came from the Marche region between the Apennine Mountains and the Adriatic Sea. Here in the highlands among summer sunflower fields a young chef and his sous chef — Giacomo and Izzy — prepared my favorite dish again using locally sourced beef. Giacomo proudly presented the huge cut of beef, which was nearly four-fingered thick, with a smile and pointed out some of the differences between the Florentine beef and this cut most notably less fat.

The meat was cooked over a gas grill which I think took some of the open charcoal fire flavor as opposed to the Florentine version which was nicely charred outside but juicy and rare inside. Except for this nuence they both tased amazing.

Served alongside was a garden mixed salad, herb roasted potatoes, a full-bodied local vino rosso, and panna cotta desert.

Delizioso!