Florentine Chicken
In Florence, tucked just off Via del Porcellana, there is a tiny dining room that feels less like a restaurant and more like a time capsule. Sostanza…..or, as the locals lovingly call it, Il Troia….is one of the city’s oldest, most unadorned, most fiercely beloved institutions. White tiles, wooden chairs, a few tables pressed close together, and a kitchen that seems to run on equal parts tradition and stubborn Florentine pride. And from that kitchen comes a dish so deceptively simple, so quietly transcendent, that it has become a pilgrimage item: the world‑famous butter chicken, or pollo al burro. Prior to my first visit to Florence years ago I was told by a friend who had spent several summers in Tuscany about this dish. He said I had to try it and if it wasn’t simply the best chicken dish that I have ever eaten that dinner was on him….he was right. In fact, a few years later when he threw a birthday party at his home for his wife for 40 guests, he asked me if I could figure out the recipe for it and give it to his caterer so it could served to his guests….I did and it was. This legendary dish is almost comically straightforward. No sauces. No flourishes. No secret marinades. Just fresh chicken breasts, patted dry, seasoned with the confidence of a century-old kitchen, and laid into a pan of European butter—the good stuff, the kind that smells like pasture and sunshine. The pan goes into a scorching oven. The butter foams, then deepens, then turns that perfect nutty brown that only happens when someone who has done it ten thousand times is watching over it. The chicken basks in it, drinks it in, emerges bronzed and glistening, swimming in a pool of fragrant, bubbling gold. When it arrives at the table in the dish it’s baked in, it’s surprisingly humble looking.. Two pieces of chicken, a lake of browned butter, with a wedge of lemon to squeeze over the top. But the first bite is where the spell is cast. The meat is impossibly tender, the butter rich but never heavy, the browned edges tasting like the best parts of roasted poultry distilled into a single moment. It’s the kind of dish that makes you put your fork down for a second, smile to yourself, and think, How can something this simple be this good??? My friends, if you ever travel to Florence this is a must…the restaurant is tiny so reservations are a must and need to be made well ahead of time. BTW….I’m adding this dish to our June Wednesday ‘Tucci Night’ specials….oh Hell yes she said! I should also mention their second famous dish… Tortino di Carciofi…artichoke custard….but I’ll save it for another post. Ciao… David 2.0 & Tino
