Another year, another City of David. First Jerusalem, now Florence. After withstanding repeated 14th century attacks by Milan, underdog Florence over time chose David as its symbol. Besides the masterpiece in the Accademia you can see all sorts of Davids everywhere in Florence such as Donatello’s David at the Bargello. It may take more than a day trip to see and understand this phenomenon. And then there’s that other famous underdog, found only in one particular 140 year old trattoria
In a city dominated by the Bistecca Fiorentina, a stocky and bloody T-Bone, the little Pollo al Burro, Chicken with Butter prevailed, reaching legendary status over time. 2 generous breasts are cooked over coal before pan fried with eggs and one stick of butter. Thats still 2 sticks less than the similarly celebrated BBQ Shrimp at Mr B’s in New Orleans, but rich nonetheless. The result is moist and addictive. With the massive Sostanza Bistecca Fiorentina side by side, for the first time ever my fork was reaching for the bird over a well cooked medium rare steak. Long live the pollo!But that’s not all we enjoyed in Sostanza. Tortellini al Sugo was a subtle, cruel reminder how different are the sauces in the States. A nice assortment of prosciutto, melon, salami, and a well crafted Finocchiona which made us order it just about everywhere we would see it the rest of the trip.
There were a few misses however on this night. The omelette with artichoke which is another signature dish, was just ok for us. I Didnt care much for the artichoke part in particular (out of season perhaps?). A “stew” with beans produced 2 fairly dry bland veal cutlets but mighty delicious white beans.
Sostanza is like a timeless well oiled machine. 7:30 reservations for tourists like us. You may share your table with other {shrug} tourists. 9:30 is for mostly locals who may share a table with more tourists. Although fairly touristy, Sostanza is far from a tourist trap, like this one for example. If you only have the weekend, you are out of luck, as Sostanza closed Saturday and Sunday. Otherwise, try to make reservations ahead of time (by calling only unfortunately). I like places with signature dishes like Sostanza. Easy to write about and easy to recommend. Get the chicken!
Eating With Ziggy 
This was a very interesting, very popular place! Reservations a must! Perhaps because we were well dressed, we were sat with a “regular” and his wife, at an uncrowded table in the corner. The only uncrowded table. Our table mate, a fine art dealer, told me he had been visiting Sostanza since before I was born. (Let’s just say I’m over 50) I had the perfect view of the kitchen, which was very entertaining and our table mates very interesting! I will say I am not a fan of the salsa verde there, BUT their steak is the best steak I have ever eaten… and I’m a steak lover from way back! I can’t figure out what they do to it. They do cook over wood coals, but I didn’t see them do anything special to that steak… WOW. The cake and berries was just a little heaven after great steak and wine. If you want to try to famous steak in Florence, you would not go wrong trying it at Sostanza.
Nice! Simplicity is king in that part of the world. Its all about the quality of the cut, and the speed of the charring I suppose. Glad you enjoyed