Mac Dario- Panzano in Chianti- Dario Cecchini

I had heard about Dario Cecchini the famous butcher in Panzano and made it part of our driving route through Chianti. The GPS put us right at the free parking lot adjacent to the restaurant Mac Dario. There are long tables for seating outdoors under shaded awnings, indoor seating and his butcher shop downstairs. If you are a vegetarian you can stop reading now as this place is not for you. There are three prix fixe menus of 10,20 or 30 Euro and they are all about the meat. Since it was lunch we only had the 10 Euro meal which was a 1lbs. ground meat patty with a fried crust and potatoes. We watched a large group of locals who had the 30 Euro meal where they brought out repeated meat dishes which all looked interesting and made me want to double up my Lipitor medication. Our lunch was simple yet delicious, not gourmet but definitely a foodie experience and went well with a beer on the hot day.
After our meal we walked downstairs to the butcher shop, which I had forgotten about from my research, and was pleased to see Dario himself working in a most impressive small shop. There was a charcuterie for sampling along with many small items for purchase which would travel well, we picked up a packet of seasoning which we had sampled with our meal. Dario is charming and happy to pose for pictures and is quite the local celebrity. The display of meats being processed along with watching Dario work was an unexpected bonus to our good meal.
I can definitely recommend a stop in the small but charming town to have a meal at Mac Dario.