Italy

Piedmont in a (Hazel)Nutshell

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Ziggy

“Err” thats what my scale said this morning, two days after we came back from Piedmont and Emilia Romagna. So I tried again, and this time it said “One at the time”, followed by “Err”. But I really dont feel like “Err”. I feel like I ate very well, as in plenty of non processed, organic home cooking very well. In fact, it was the greatest food trip of our young lives, and the first Italy trip where food and wine was the main focus. The biggest tourist attraction on this trip was a statue of an oversized woman squeezing her breasts. I will have much more about this trip, but meanwhile here’s a small recap of what we did in the Piedmont leg where we spent four days filled with wine, white truffles, onions, wrong turns, mushrooms, lakes, black truffles, vineyards, wrong turns after dark, and more white truffles.

Day 1 – Lago di Orta

45 minutes from Malpensa there’s this beautiful gem most Americans never heard of. Lake Orta. We stayed at Agriturismo il Cucchiaio di Legno 5 minutes from the lake, and the entire food itinerary this day surrounded the Agriturismo. Starting with the picnic basket that we used on the picnic tables on the stunning Sacro Monte di Orta where the picture on top was taken. Ending with a 10+ courser at their restaurant. More to come on that too. And in between the meals we explored the magical town of Orta San Giulio, where we bought Raffi, a small but deadly stinky truffle that we carried with us the entire trip, only to discover yesterday that Raffi tragically died

Day 2 – Alba, Cherasco

One of the reasons for this trip is the Truffle Festival in Alba, a town renowned for its White Truffles and hazelnuts. The entire town smells of Truffles and Nutella (this is the birthplace of Nutella). But the big bonus on this day was the huge Saturday market where we indulged in chocolates which I regret not buying more. Lunch on this day was at La Bottega del Vicoletto, a typical small family trattoria, where we had our first of many truffle tastings.

Before checking into a hotel with the best views from the toilet I’ve ever seen, we stopped at the Castle of Grinzane Cavour. Its a magnificent castle, bested only by the stunning 360 panoramic views around it. Its trully a great introduction to the Langhe area

After we rested a bit, we went to explore the town of Cherasco, known for its snails and kisses, as in the famous Baci di Cherasco chocolates. But the main target of course was dinner at Osteria La Torre, one of many great restaurants in that area

Overnight in Tota Virginia in Serralunga D’Alba (3 nights). I chose this place because it was the only one in the area I could pronounce

Day 3 – Neive, Barbaresco, and The Lunch

The main event on this day was the 3 hour lunch at Il Centro in Priocca. A meal for the ages, and an experience we will never forget. The sheer number of great eats within a 20 km radius of Alba is quite shocking. I will have more on this meal in no time

In the morning we explored the tiny, picturesque Neive where we sampled some more wine and crashed a Macedonian religious service. We then went on a drive where I counted 34 ooohs and Ahhs from Mrs Z. Half of them out of fear really. After lunch we explored the village of Barbaresco. And capped the day with a nice dinner at Castello di Verduno winery’s restaurant Ca Del Re in Verduno, another local Slow Food place

Day 4 – Barolo, Another great lunch, Serralunga

Drove to Barolo the long way to find this odd looking church. Barolo is another stunner, not overrun with tourists considering its name. But we were more interested in the breadstick manufacturer than wine, where we got a private demo of the breadstick making process. More spectacular views everywhere we turned, but none perhaps like the drive from Barolo to Serravalle D’alba and our power lunch with the three brothers at Trattoria La Coccinella. Yet another gem.

After lunch we drove to Serralunga D’Alba to explore the village and take a tour of the castle, one of many in the area including a pretty one viewed from the toilet at Tota Virginia. Dinner at Schiavenza, another popular local winery

Click here for the of the trip

Categories: Italy, Piedmont | Tags: Alba, food, Lake Orta, Piedmont, Travel, white Truffles | 8 Comments

Top 10 Things We Ate in Tuscany

Posted on December 6, 2013 by Ziggy

I’m off to the Island I like to call Providenciales in Turks and Caicos, but meanwhile here is something to chew on…

Pollo al Burro in Sostanza (Florence) – Call it chicken with butter, butter with Chicken, doenst really matter. Two 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 tender and addictive goodness. 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 pollo!

Pappa al Pomodoro at Da Ruggero (Florence). Love on first bite. My first Pappa al Pomodoro of the trip might as well have been my last. The waiter reassure me that this is one of best Pappas in town, so who am I to argue. Who knew tomatoes and stale bread can taste so good. And I could have easily included some of Ruggero’s killer pastas (with a nice kick) here as well.

Cecina at Da Felice (Lucca). Oldest Pizza in town, and the most popular with locals. We sampled some great pizzas, one with salami, and another one with prosciutto that blended oh so nicely with the rest of the ingredients. But I came for the Cecina, thin pancake like or crepe if you will, made of chickpea flour. Delicious! Add a little bit of seasoning, Delicious-er!

Charcuterie Board at L’Incontro (Volterra). Holy smokes this was good. Leave it to local Annie Adair from Tuscan Tours to take us to this treasured local bar. A feast for all senses that included great Salami, Prosciutto and all sorts of Pecorino cheeses (not seen below). But the highlight was a first-rate Porchetta they just happened to have prepared that day. Highly recommend having lunch here when in town.

Pecorino at Podere Il Casale (Near Pienza). Like eating cheese for the first time. The views did not hurt, but the smells and flavors from the Sheep’s milk cheese like the grape aged or walnut leaves age was nothing like we ever had. And did I mention the views? Oh yes, looks like I did

Ricotta and Spinach Ravioli at Il Pozzo (San Angelo in Colle). (Top Picture). Magical dish in another magical setting in stunning San Angelo in Colle. Watch the monks sing nearby at Sant’Antimo abbey before having this beauty with butter and sage. This is a typical Tuscan dish you can have anywhere, but it was especially memorable here, as was the marvelous Pici. Or Pinci as they call it in nearby Montalcino, a town too proud (of their Brunello) to simply call it like everyone else. 😉

Bruschetta at Gattavecchi (Montepulciano). Carnival in my belly! Fantastic Salsa Verde with melted cheese, savory liver pâté (best of the trip – Lilian the Brazilian cook makes it with wine and fruit), all kinds of great concoctions in a cup including potatoes-onion-bell pepper thingy (foodie technical term), and my fave, white beans spread with bread and veggies – ribolita. Heavenly stuff at this heavenly city.

Insalata Lagumi at Da Roberto (Montisi). Simple, beautiful, and highly palatable. One man show Roberto lets the ingredients do the talking. 5 different beans with pecorino, tomatoes, sunflower seeds, carrots, stem of garlic, olive oil. All work together like a beautiful symphony, showcasing Roberto’s true passion. The wrong place to ask “Whats good here” in this Slow Food Ambassador’s place.

Polenta with Porcini at La Tellina (Siena). On a Porcini filled trip this was most memorable. Grilled to perfection Polenta with these delicate, great textured Porcini, a nice app before the great seafood arrives. All prepared with a lot of love from the family that runs this picture perfect trattoria.

Ravioli with pigeon from Guastini (Valiano). This was a tough pick since everything in this meal of the trip was so good. I could have easily inserted the glorious fennel crusted duck, or the divine Tagliata, or the sinful fried rabbit I suppose. But these pigeon stuffed Ravioli with 2 succulent pieces did the trick and more. No wonder this place was full with locals

Categories: Italy, Tuscany | Tags: Da Roberto Montisi, Da Ruggero, food, Gattavecchi, Guastini valiano, Il Pozzo San Angelo in Colle, Italy, L'Incontro Volterra, La Tellina Siena, Podere Il Casale, restaurants, Sostanza, Travel, tuscany, what to eat in tuscany | 5 Comments

Lazy Post – Postcard Perfect Tuscany

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Ziggy

No idea where this is

For the photographers out there looking for those perfect Tuscan shots, here are some important tips on where to find them. Grab a pen and pencil (in case… you know… the pencil breaks)

1) Drive all over Tuscany, especially the Val d’Orcia area

Hmmm, I swear I thought I had more tips, but I’m drawing a blank. I think this might be it – just drive around with your eyes open. Surely it would be challenging to drive with your eyes closed, but I’ve seen it done in Florida (and got the metal plate in my leg to prove it). But the truth is the entire Tuscany region is one giant postcard, and Val d’Orcia is perhaps as picture perfect as it comes. Simply going from point A to point B anywhere in that area will produce more unique landscapes, quite different than the drive you took to get to point A.

From Florence to Lucca to seeing Volterra through the eyes of Annie Adair, to Siena, Pienza and the rest of the gems in the South, here are some of the best shots we took

Florence – Santa Croce

Podere Il Casale near Pienza

Siena

From Avignonesi to Valiano

Near Monticchiello

La Foce

Siena to Asciano

lucca san michele in foro

Villa Grazianella

Volterra

San Quirico to Pienza (very close to San Quirico)

Pisa

San Quirico

Near San Quirico

From Montepulciano

From Montalcino

La Vitaleta (famous chapel by San Quirico)

From Avignonesi to Valiano

From Abbey of Sant’Antimo

Bagno Vignoni

Categories: Italy, Tuscany | Tags: Best places in Tuscany, Italy, Travel, travel+photography, tuscany, what to see in Tuscany | 6 Comments

10 Best Things We Ate in Rome

Posted on November 15, 2013 by Ziggy

I know what you thinking. No, I’m not auditioning for a hand model job. Although the hands are normally this photogenic this is not the main motivation behind this post, and you should really pay more attention to the beautiful Canollo (single Connoli. Yes you’ve been living a lie). With that said, if you insist, who am I to prevent what people want and need. Drop me a line at ZiggysHands@Gmail.com, also on twitter @handyjobs.

Roma delivered some tasty surprises. I was all ready to be wowed by all the Cacios and the Pepes, and the Carbonaras, but instead I was impressed by the more familiar items like Meatballs, Mortadella, Burratas and Pizzas. So in no particular order, our top eats in Rome…

Pizza at Da Remo – Although I’ve been to Rome before this was the first time I experienced the classic Roman “Matzoh” thin pizza. We enjoyed this one more than the former Michelin star spot we had for lunch in Orvieto that day. Margherita and the Diavola (like sopressata back home) were spot on, but once we added more toppings things started to get off track a little. So stay simple with the Matsoh Pizza. Fun and supposedly flirtatious staff (at least according to RomeDigest.com. They probably did not notice the hands) lets you take all the pictures you want of the hectic action inside.

Fettuccine Agli Ovoli at La Campana. Ovoli (pronounced delicious) is sort of a rare, expensive mushroom that is bright, sweet, delicate, almost truffle like. The whole mushroom is a weird egg like shape (hence Ovoli). The Italians like to call them as they see it. (E.G Strozzapreti obviously invented when someone witnessed a priest being strangled). La Campana is one of those proud establishments with a rich history dating back to the 16th century. And the best part: Open on Sundays!

Seafood Assortment at Le Mani in Pasta. Terrific finish to an uneven meal at this popular seafood institution in Trastevere. Fantastic hefty juicy Langoustines, wonderfully chewy flat squid, lightly breaded and grilled to perfection, and a nice whole white fish. Borrowing from the Hummus Whisperer, we attacked this thing with full force.

Gelsi Neri Granita at Ciuri Ciuri – Nothing, no ice cream or a slap in the face, during the entire trip felt as refreshing as this dark beauty. Sweet but not too sweet. Is it a blackberry? Well if it is, its not like any blackberry I ever had. Reminds me more of the white berry I ate in Israel. There’s a Borat “Black Not” joke in here somewhere.

Burrata from Roscioli – Just edging the sleek, paper thin Mortadella which is what Mrs Ziggy would have picked. The Burrata, creamy, rich and ever so memorable. But what stole the show was the semi-dried peppery tomatoes I couldnt get enough of. Promise me you will get both dishes. Or we are no longer friends

Sliced Pizza from Forno Campo de’ Fiori – Fitting entry right after my post on Sullivan Street Bakery and its room temperature pizza bianca. If Pizza Bianca (white pizza for those scoring at home, or if you are alone) like in Sullivan was more popular in NYC it would be hot off the oven as opposed to room temperature. We enjoyed a few slices at this Forno. Delicious plain, chewy bianca, and one topped with tomatoes. Bread, salt, olive oil never tasted this good.

Meatballs from Cesare al Casaletto – Another tough choice here between the meatballs and the super flavorful oxtail. Add the lightly fried gnocchi to the mix and you got yourself a nice meal at this far enough from the tourists stop (oh those pesky tourists). The meatballs were some of the most unique balls I ever had. Airy, slow cooked savory brisket meatballs with just enough creamy pesto. Yum yum yum.

Biscotti and Cookies from Biscottificio Innocenti – Like eating Biscotti and cookies for the very first time. Tucked on the quiet side of Trastevere is this 100 year old bakery/factory. Just walk in and ask for an assortment. Score one big one for Katie Parla

Fettuccine from Il Sorpasso. With pesto, zucchini flowers and sunflower seeds. Need I say more? Yes I probably should. Perhaps the single best pesto sauce I ever ate. There! One of 3 excellent non-Roman pastas we shared here after some fantastic cheese and cured meats. A perfect lunch spot after the Vatican

Cannoli from Ciuri Ciuri – (Picture on top). Yes, 2 items from Ciuri. a place so good you say it twice. The trick about good Cannoli is seeing empty shells, which means a fresh fill of that ricotta goodness when you order. Cannoli lovers – look no further! Well, you can look further. Its just an expression.

Categories: Italy, Rome | Tags: Best food in rome, Biscottificio Innocenti, Cesare al Casaletto, Ciuri Ciuri Rome, food, Forno Campo de' Fiori, Il Sorpasso, La Campana rome, Le Mani in Pasta, restaurants, Rome, Roscioli Rome, Travel | 5 Comments

Florence – City of Eugene

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Ziggy

Today the plan was to write one of those “lazy posts” on the Italian City of David. Its where I spend some time picking the best pictures of some place I visited recently and just throw them in here with minimal word content. But it just feels weird to do that today due to some circumstances.

When people mention the subject of Trip Advisor, the immediate thing that comes to mind to most people is Reviews. Mainly reviews of Restaurants, Hotels, and Attractions. But very few know about Trip Advisor’s other powerful arm, the Forum. You can spend a month in some city or country’s TA forum and gain a wealth of information. Information that is absent from your guidebook. The forum to me is internet’s best travel tool. All this, thanks to regular forum participants that spend their spare time helping tourists with the various questions they have. They are some of their city’s greatest ambassadors. One of those ambassadors was Eugene Martinez who tragically passed away a few days ago. I never actually met Eugene but we came very close when I was there in June. Eugene was a tremendous help in making our Florence stay as memorable as it was. From my interactions with him and from what I heard he was kind, caring, funny, and passionate about the city of Florence and Tuscany. He will be sorely missed.

Categories: Florence, Italy, Tuscany | Tags: florence, Italy, Travel, travel+photography, tuscany | 7 Comments

Podere Il Casale – So This is What Cheese Tastes Like!

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Ziggy

3 months later I’m starting to forget details about the trip. But I’m not forgetting feelings. I remember having that “How can I prolong this moment, I don’t want to leave, I’m such an idiot for scheduling more things than I should” feeling more than once, all in Tuscany. And while sitting outside in Podere Il Casale on that perfect day, trying to decide whether I prefer the grape aged Pecorino or the one aged with walnut leaves, only to be interrupted by that stunning view, that feeling took over again.

Nestled smack in the middle between Pienza and Monticchiello, Podere Il Casale, an organic farm producing sheep’s (pecorino) and goat cheese that was unlike anything we ever tasted. It was like eating cheese for the very first time. Sandra and Ulisse run the farm since 1991. Sandra gave us an overview of the place (much bigger than it seems at first) and cheese making process, while showing us the facilities and Ricotta making in action. The 5 minute old Ricotta was easily the most satisfying ever. But I couldn’t get enough of that Pecorino, especially the aged stuff.

Podere Il Casale is more than just a cheese producer. Its a full service Agriturismo, attracting lodgers, campers, farm students and volunteers. 2 meals a day including a wood oven pizza expert hanging around in the premises (how can I get a pizza expert hang around my premises, all I have is a crazy neighbor and her dog), cooking classes, and various educational programs are offered. They also produce wine, olive oil, pasta, honey, and even some prosciutto. All that in an absolute jaw dropping setting, making other pigs and sheep extremely jealous. The cliché “Pictures don’t do this Justice” has probably been invented in South Tuscany, somewhere near here

Sandra and Ulisse also recently received a grant by the Italian government that allows them to open operations oversees. As long as they sell and promote Tuscan based products, the gov’t will help sponsor the operations. First stop, NYC, slated to open in a few months. I will post details here as soon as I get them

Categories: Italy, Tuscany | Tags: food, Italy, Podere Il Casale, restaurants, Travel, tuscany, Tuscany agriturismo, What to do in Tuscany | 15 Comments

La Tellina in Siena – All in the Family

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Ziggy

I don’t know why it took me so long to write about La Tellina. Its not like I was busy writing about more important things. But the truth is this was a memorable and fun lunch. Picking this particular one I remember wasn’t easy, as I wasn’t able to find many bloggers or Chowhounders out there talking about Siena. But as much as I prefer not to follow TripAdvisor forum recommendations, I’ve decided in this case to trust the Siena expert with a pizza avatar from Alaska. Forum helpers with food, wine glass or Borat icons usually know their food. Do not trust those with cute animals or pictures of their babies.

If you look at the dictionary for classic family trattoria, you may see a picture of La Tellina, inside and out. Husband cooks, wife serves, and sister and mistress are in the act as well, if I understood correctly, not really sure. La Tellina specializes in seafood and cuisine from the south (cook from Naples) which was completely fine with us after a Pici filled 4 days in Tuscany.

We started with a fine and refreshing Caprese salad. Absolutely fantastic fresh mussels with “I’m not washing my hands anytime soon” addictive sauce. I was dipping everything in there including fingers and car keys. Grilled polenta with some of the best tasting porcini of the trip was spot on.

Homemade meatballs were as solid as traditional meatballs can get. I live in the meatball capital of the world and these were some great melt in your mouth balls. Spaghetti with fresh mussels and clams – garlicky, packed with flavor. Simply grilled whole sea bass was perfectly cooked. We love to grill whole branzinos at home and this one was better than we ever did.

Categories: Italy, Tuscany | Tags: Best food in siena, food, La Tellina, La Tellina Siena, restaurants, Siena, Siena eats, Travel | 2 Comments

Lazy Post – Siena in Pictures

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Ziggy

Sorpasso in Rome – 10 More Minutes

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Ziggy

“10 more minutes!” “10 more minutes!” “Altri 10 minuti per la grande cucina” That’s what I tell visitors staying in Times Square or any other famous tourist attraction. That’s what I tell my family often on our vacations. My youngest doesn’t even ask anymore. “Dad, how far is lun.. oh let me guess… 10 minutes?” Another 10 minutes and you get to a little foodie paradise, where tourists are largely outnumbered (those pesky, annoying tourists!), where you are not being taken advantage of, where there are no waiters standing outside suddenly speaking your language and complimenting your hair. 10 minutes away, the food gets more refined, and the ingredients begin to talk.

Such is the case with Sorpasso in Prati. 10 minutes, depending on the size of your heels, from the Vatican. And if you do indeed wear heels to the Vatican as I’ve seen so many do, than I really have no sympathy for you. I bet you are also the kind that spends a ton of time “freshening up” in the ladies room while on a date. Why do women do that? If the makeup needs refreshing every hour, doesn’t it mean you simply need to buy better or new makeup? The only time you’ll see a man in the bathroom staring at the mirror is after his left leg fell asleep while sitting in the stall for too long and he’s waiting for the blood to start flowing again before he can walk normally, but until then he pretends that he’s busy with his hair or shirt, or answering an important text

But I digress, Soprasso while not your typical Roman Trattoria delivered all sorts of big flavors…

Mozzarella ball – Heavenly!

Hard Cheese with pear and honey – A revelation! Supposedly a hard to find Umbrian cheese according to waitress.

A gorgeous Salumi plate included fantastic Mortadella, savory speck and ultra tasty dry salami. The type that normally gets my attention at a Salumeria

Strozzapreti (obviously invented when someone envisioned a pasta shape while watching a priest being strangled) with monkfish and fresh tomato sauce – couldn’t get enough of this one

Fettuccine with pesto, zucchini flowers and sunflower seeds. Perhaps the single best pesto sauce I ever ate.

Orecchiette (Mike Tyson’s favorite pasta) with meat. Perfectly al dented pasta, tender meat. We eat this dish a lot back home but its never like this.

The pastas here were on a separate menu that changes daily, and on a pasta filled trip we found them rather exceptional. A truly memorable lunch overall. If there’s one tip I have to give you about Rome is go to Sorpasso after your Vatican visit. Its 10 more minutes folks!

P.S. I’m just about ready to embark into the next phase of my blogging career. Any idea how much those clown guards charge?

Categories: Italy, Rome | Tags: food, Italy, restaurants, Restaurants near the vatican, Rome, Rome restaurants, Sorpasso, Sorpasso Rome, Travel | Leave a comment

10 Things To Eat In Florence

Posted on September 21, 2013 by Ziggy

It was like seeing your dentist in the supermarket. Flying from Newark, the last thing I wanted to see upon landing in Florence was standing there in all its glory, IKEA! And it was not your average IKEA, no. This was a mean and scary one. I mean the Airport is located in its parking lot! I did not come 4182.6 miles which included a scenic tour around Charles de Gaulle on a shuttle from hell to eat Swedish Meatballs. I needed to see pizza ASAP and 90 minutes later I did.

When in Florence, or Rome, or anywhere else pretty much, leave your eating habits behind. Forget the bread with butter, your evening cappuccino, your well done steak. Eat and drink like a local and let the chefs do their thing without asking for alterations. When we went to Portugal a few years ago we kept hearing about the Portuguese obsession with Bacalhau, and how they can make it in 365 different ways, for every day of the year. Well, we must have picked the 2 worst days. Tried it once and hated it just enough to try again at one of the top spots in Porto, and hated it even more. However, the opposite was true with Porto’s famous 5 meat beast, Francesinha. I expected to hate it but absolutely loved it. For every Bacalhau there are 10 Francesinhas sitting there waiting for you. A statement borderline offensive.

Anyway, here are 10 items to try in Florence. Some unique to Florence, some unique to Tuscany, while some aren’t unique at all. Hey, its my list and I’ll do what I want to. But feel free to comment on anything that I’m missing of course. In no particular order…

1) Pizza/Bakery. Yes I know, I know, Pizza is not a Florence thing. Leave it to Rome or Naples. But it doesn’t mean there’s no great pizza here. Try Pugi while visiting David or San Marco. Grab a number, and while you wait look at all the Foccacia and Schiacciate coming out of the oven. Then point to what you want, point to your mouth, show them the size you want with both hands (like an NFL referee showing how many inches are left for the first down) and you are all set. The smells alone at Pugi is worth going. Another popular pizza option is Gusta Pizza near the Pitti Palace

Pugi Florence 2) Bistecca alla Fiorentina – This is a no brainer and required eating by local law. A massive bloody rare Chianina raised Porterhouse cooked to perfection. Cooking it any differently will result in what I call a Paris Hilton – Pretty to look at but with zero substance. My personal preference however in the region is Tagliata style, which is sliced Chianina and served with with olive oil and spices. Just about every Trattoria in Florence offers it seems like. All’Antico Ristoro Di Cambi and its 21 day aged Bistecca, Trattoria Mario, and Sostanza are good bets

3) Pappa al Pomodoro. Tomato and bread sounds as sexy as a George Costanza pose, but surprisingly delicious when done right. Garlic, Basil, Pepper, spices are added accordingly to create this beautiful dish. Try it at Da Ruggero. And while you at it try the Ribollita, essentially bread, white beans and veggies.

4) Crostini – Talking about bread, more please. You wont find many great bread baskets in Florence or Italy as a whole but I love everything else they do with the bread. The Tuscan Crostini, rich buttery liver goodness is the perfect starter. Especially when paired with savory Salumi like the fennel studded Finocchiona (so so good). Try the liver crostini at La Pentola dell’Oro, or better yet the entire assortment plate they offer.

5) Pollo al Burro at Sostanza – Perhaps the most celebrated single dish in Florence. Chicken with butter! Or is it butter with chicken, not sure. Rest assured there’s plenty. Check out this dish and the rest of our meal at Sostanza here

6) Panini – This goes hand in hand with #9. In Italy Panini simply means sandwich (other than sandwich made of sliced bread) and trying all the various sandwiches in foreign countries is always fun. Try any of the tripe stands all over town, Bollito with Salsa Verde (Boiled beef with green salsa) in Nerbone, top notch ingredients in legendary ‘Ino, and something we truly enjoyed: mini sandwiches at Procacci. They are known for the truffle sandwiches but we really enjoyed the rest of the lineup as well. Don’t eat the biscotti sampler.. you will wind up buying a case for your entire family and your neighbor, even though their dog is annoyingly wakes you up early in the morning and is ugly. Had to get it off my chest

7) Pici – Pici is more of a regional dish and you will see Pici predominantly featured in the country side. Its essentially a thick round spaghetti, very “meaty”, very delicious, and very absent in the USA. When we learned how to make Pici in Montelpulciano our instructor made us add a little big of egg, though normally its eggless. Try it anywhere with any ragu like cinghiale (wild boar).

8) Anything in Mercato Centrale – Here I am torn. I need help from the locals as I see 3 options. A stupendously cheap full meal at Nerbone (inside the market), or just walk around the market and try everything in sight including the cured meats and cooked on the spot fresh seafood. Or, both of the above. 2 trips here would be ideal

9) Tripe – Ok, I have to admit, this is my Bacalhau in Florence. Meaning I wasn’t exactly crazy about what I tried. The plate of Lampredotto I tried at a restaurant that shell remain nameless was the worst thing I ever ate in Italy. Lampredotto is made from the fourth stomach of the cow. Maybe I’m just a first and second stomach kinda guy, or maybe this tripe thing is not for me. Either way, I tried it, I hated it, and I’m taking you all down with me. I mean, YOU may like it. Thats what I’m trying to say

10) Gelato – I started with something that isn’t so much a Florence thing and I’m ending with something thats definitely is. Some of the best Gelato in the world is right here, but you need to do a little homework in order to take advantage of this artisanal craftsmanship. We tried all sorts of Gelato all over town. Pretty much anything that starts with “Cara” is good (cara I think means delicious ice cream!) as in Carabe and Carapina. Gelateria dei Neri was another winner

What not to try in florence:

1) Swedish Meatballs

Categories: Florence, Italy | Tags: florence, florence eats, Florence restaurants, food, Italy, restaurants, Travel, What to eat in Florence | 15 Comments

Italy

The places