Magnani gives Amsterdam a new top caterer
The founders of Amsterdam Jordaan classic Toscanini still had so much food and love (read: even more food) to share with people at home that they made a masterful move: extensively renovating the adjacent building to open a Tosca-to-go there.
Benvenuto
From the outside, Magnani, Toscanini’s ‘little sister’, already looks welcoming: calm and classic, with a tall shopfront, colourful flowers, and a few appealing goodies for sale behind the window. Their own cookbook, for example, as well as gift sets for the upcoming festive season. Several beautiful little cakes under a tall glass dome are calling my name; yes, I can hear them very clearly.
On the menu
You can take all kinds of things home from the deli, cooked by the chefs or ready for you to make (or finish) at home, but there are also a few lovely tables on the mezzanine. You can eat focaccias there – baked piping hot and topped with the tastiest combinations, hearty soups, or familiar piatti such as melanzane alla parmigiana, cannelloni and lasagna. They also have gluten-free bread, by the way. A focaccia with burrata, anchovies and grilled courgette came past, and I wanted to snatch it from a plate, but it wasn’t for me; there was a magnificent specimen with San Daniele ham, and I myself enjoyed a delicious bean, pancetta and bread soup. Excellent hangover food, take it from me..
Save room
And then, yes, then you go completely overboard on the amazing pasticceria, freshly prepared by the pasticciere in the kitchen downstairs. From homey to outright little works of art, these sweets really are to die for.
And in the bag for home:
The dried pasta from top brand Verrigni, for example, which has been made in the same artisanal way for more than a hundred years. Pressing the pasta between bronze plates keeps the surface slightly rough and porous, allowing the sauce to ‘cling’ to it better. Very important! Naturally, you don’t just pour some supermarket sugo over pasta like that, which is why you can also buy jars of ragù or Amatriciana from the Toscanini kitchen here. At home, you’ll genuinely be eating a next level pasta dish. Many of the products they sell also come with a note of tips, making it even more tempting to take home, for example, a bag of dried pulses. Finally, you’ll know how to make an anti-hangover soup like that yourself! And you can also buy many of the products used in their cookbook here.
Allora…
Do yourself a favour and go there. From 10 a.m. onwards, you can also have a typical Italian breakfast, by which we mean: knock back a coffee and a little sweet treat, and off you go again – to the market outside the door on Saturday, for example, or to the fabric market on Westerstraat on Monday. They also offer catering, and in December they are open extra Sundays for your festive shopping. So I’d say: pronto to Amsterdam’s Lindengracht!
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