Gigi’s pollo al mattone — chicken under a brick, a split, flattened, perfectly browned and crisped chicken, barely seasoned — can be just average or exemplary; it’s worth a shot. Their fried food is usually excellent, so if nothing else you should order a plate of fried vegetables on the side.
Simplicity with style
Other than the fact that it’s less good-looking, I have fewer qualifications about Da Francesco, where the food is just plain great. The tortelli lucchese here were the best I have had (and I have eaten them all over town); you should sample them once to understand the relative opulence of Lucca’s cuisine. The farro soup with beans is also classic and neatly executed. Even simple roasted meats are worth trying here, and though the presentation is not elegant, when you get a plate of baby lamb containing a piece of leg, breast and loin, all lightly seasoned with salt, pepper, thyme, garlic and olive oil, for about US$15, and you think of paying US$40 for the same thing in Manhattan, you’ll glow. Rabbit roasted with hot peppers — again, with pieces from all parts of the animal — was also delicious.
Another plus here: the staff members were, on my last two visits, incredibly friendly, patient with broken Italian or willing to speak English and eager to explain the various dishes on the menu.
Finally, there is Da Leo, a great-looking place featuring a carved wood interior (there is no outside seating here), lovely wainscoting and an eclectic assortment of art including wood block prints and some older black-and-white photographs, all in a very chummy atmosphere, the kind where everyone claps when a birthday cake is brought out from the kitchen.
Of these three trattorias, this is the one with the most uneven cooking. Bean soup with farro and olive oil, farfalle with Gorgonzola and arugula, and pork ribs (or shank) with roasted potatoes were all good examples of the straightforward home-style cooking for which people love this place. If you hit it right, Da Leo can be a lot of fun, but I’d save it for last on this list: Elsewhere in Tuscany, I’d be pushing you to go there. In Lucca, it’s an also-ran.
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