Are Tuscan Chefs That Good? Find Out This WeekOn the list of people we want to see destroyed, the recently returned Tuscan tourist ranks high. Everyone has met this person. Nothing is quite the same as it is in Italy; “the pasta we have here just doesn’t compare…” “the ingredients are handled with such simplicity…” and blah blah blah. Meanwhile, they have the same flour, olive oil, and wooden spoons in both places, so what’s the big deal? We aim to find out this week, when “Five Days to Taste Tuscany’s Maremma” hits New York.
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Cognac Burglar Breaks Into Osteria Del CircoIf you own a bar or restaurant, and a shady figure emerges with a hot deal on a bottle of Remy Martin Louis XIII, think twice before taking it – there’s a good chance it was stolen from Osteria del Circo late Friday night. Owner Mauro Maccioni, scion of Sirio, tells us that someone bashed in the eatery’s window, opened the vestibule door, and made off with two bottles of cognac — the Remy, which retails for around $2,000 a bottle, and Martell L’or, which usually retails for between $1,000 and $1,200. “I never heard of anything like it,” Maccioni tells us. “They didn’t even try to take anything else.” Only two explanations suffice for the bizarre crime: Either cognac connoisseurs are getting bolder or criminals more jaded in their appetites. Either way, lock up the liquor cabinets. And if you do see that bottle, as Mauro says ominously, “the Maccionis would like it back.”