The first time I went to Osteria del Castello was on a beautiful summer night, and we sat outside on one of the picnic-style tables arranged in front of the restaurant. There was a simple pergola of twigs and branches overhead, spun with twinkling lights and greenery, and the location of the osteria, in a quiet and dimly lit stone-paved piazza, lent even more to the ambiance. I never even put a foot inside the actual restaurant that evening. The menu was handwritten on a blackboard on the wall, and even that wasn’t necessary. The cameriere, the waiter, came to the table and told us what local cheeses, risotto, meat, and fish were being prepared. We ordered costata, steak, and it comes the way I love, a big, beautiful bistecca, perfectly cooked, brought to the table on a cutting board to slice and share as we liked. There were also giant knives, which made me think of medieval banquets and kings. I felt like jamming the point of the knife down into the wooden table after each cut. (I didn’t, but from the looks of the table many others had done so.)