Few accessible foods in the world are as disgusting as liver. Some Brettljausen, especially in the Mostviertel region, suffer from the presence of pork liver spreads, which I tend to eat first and forget about quickly or, preferably, feed to a cat if one is available nearby. However, even among the different liver dishes there are occasionally quite edible ones, such as the cold goose liver with so much alcohol in it that the liver taste disappears.
When it comes to disgustingness, the liver spread of Villa Aurora has reached new heights. In a true Tuskan fashion, it is served already spread over the astonishingly bland Italian bread, it tastes very strongly of liver, and it is seriously warm. The liver comes from the chicken, most likely, and is quite possibly some sort of a local specialty, but the fact is, if your tastes are anything like mine, you will struggle to finish it. Even writing about it brings up bad memories, so let’s stop here.
Fiesole to Florence must be something like Kahlenberg to Vienna: a place that “slightly advanced” nature-loving tourists have to visit to enjoy a nice panoramic view. It is very enjoyable, too, as the number of tourists is much more bearable compared to the hordes jamming the city itself. Unfortunately, when it comes to the places to eat, Fiesole disappoints: whereas Vienna would offer a Heuriger at every corner, here one finds only small crowded cafes, an Irish pub, one rather expensive restaurant (closed on the day of my visit) and Villa Aurora.
Being a hotel as well as a restaurant and a café, Villa Aurora has, at least, a garden with a very nice view, but at the same time looks too shabby to make one believe that the shabbiness is in fact part of a clever design. All the tables and the chairs are made out of cheap plastic, and the service is slow and not particularly friendly. Apart from the liver, the Brettljause contains a Bruscetta with no garlic or olive oil, making it an equivalent of eating a fresh tomato with bread. There are also prosciutto, two types of salami with no big difference in taste and two slices of cheese with no difference in taste at all. Actually, the tastiest part of the dish are the black olives, served in a separate plate. The most impressive part, though, is the price, which at 13 Euro is totally overblown.
Going to Fiesole is a must, but if need to eat there and are not dying for a panoramic view, try to find a different place.
Leave a Reply