I call this picture Pesce con fame (Hungry fish). I think this is my favorite food picture. The fish was baked and delicious and I couldn’t resist playing with it. I created this art at Centopoveri, Via Palazzuolo, 31r (near Santa Maria Novella). This was listed in the guide book as a small romantic restaurant specializing in seafood. However, it has morphed into a much larger restaurant with a wood burning pizza oven. They replaced the rustic tables and chairs with modern Milan-type high style plastic chairs. I was not optimistic about the food when I saw the new decor but I was wrong to judge this book by its cover. I started with the zucchini flower ravioli in cream sauce. It was delicate and very good. Arnie had the raw artichoke salad that had lots of sliced parmesan and great crunch. Arnie followed his salad with the sliced steak. He was kind of doing an Atkins diet thing. I could not have been more pleased with my baked Seabass with asparagus (pesce con fame).
First, the initial presentation was lovely, filleted with the head and tail placed back on the plate. The fish was so light and flavorful. Best of all, it was really well priced. The staff went nuts when they saw my “art”. Everyone came out of the kitchen and we had a group picture. Surprisingly, when we returned 3 weeks later for pizza, they remembered me. Oh, and we got those freebie drinks and Arnie found a new Grappa, Sibona, made from the Barbera grape. It is his new favorite.
Some have suggested that we may be partly responsible for the world wide food shortage. There may be a little truth in that and I do feel a bit guilty about our over-indulgence, nevertheless, we did enjoy ourselves. To eradicate some guilt I made a contribution to our local food bank and I would encourage you all to do the same. That said, here’s what we ate:
4/1 La Maremma, Via Verdi 16r.
La Maremma is in our new Santa Croce neighborhood. The décor is rustic but the food was not. They have very sophisticated food for surprisingly good prices. They also have a great wine list. Arnie started with Risotto with grilled radicchio followed by duck in orange sauce. The risotto was done perfectly as was the duck. The orange sauce was not overly sweet and had a bit of a kick to it. I started with pasta with spring vegetables followed by fillet seasoned with herbs served on Tuscan bread. The bread soaked up all of the filet juices and made for quite a flavorful open face sandwich. This is worth a repeat visit.
4/1 Enoteca Boccadama, Piazza Santa Croce 24/26r.
Boccadama is right next to our Palazzo. In fact, our front doors are adjacent. We would not normally eat right on a main tourist Piazza fearing that the restaurant has no incentive to serve good food because of the location. The menu looked interesting and we were tired from our long trip of moving our belongings a 10 minute cab ride. Arnie started with spring Pea soup with goat cheese that was very good and he finished with a lovely warm octopus salad. I had the pureed fava soup that was a little bland and followed that with eggplant with melted cheese that wasn’t quite eggplant parmesan because the eggplant was grilled. I was pleasantly surprised.
4/3 Quatro Leone, Piazza della Passera, Via dei Vellutini, near Pitti Palace. We weren’t planning on going here but it was raining when we left the Pitti Palace and this restaurant is close by. We both started with salads and Arnie wanted the octopus but they were out so the waiter suggested the mixed fry; fried rabbit, chicken, artichokes and onion rings. What could be bad about that. I had the beef stew. The real theater was the bistecca. The waiter brought out what we would consider a raw roast for the approval of the patrons. Then, that same beast was brought back to the table, charred and looking like it still had a pulse. We said we would go back and try it but we just ran out of time.
4/8 Trattoria Sostanza, Via del Porcellana 25r
Sostanza is an old time Trattoria with two long rows of tables and a middle aisle. The aisle people sit on stools and the wall people sit on a bench. I was a wall person and had a view of the kitchen at the end of the aisle. The menu is pretty simple. You get one of 3 pastas with your choice of butter or meat sauce. I had the penne with meat sauce and Arnie had the tortellini in butter sauce. Good basic stuff. As a second course I had the veal chop, which was really really good and Arnie had the fillet. I didn’t pay much attention to his dish because I was enjoying mine too much. One of the most memorial parts of the meal was the spinach. It had just enough garlic and olive oil and could have been a meal on its own. We encountered more Men Who Lunch. The 5 men sitting next to us ordered what looked like a 5 lb. roast that they examined in its raw state and devoured with gusto when it emerged charred and bleeding. We finished with vin santo and biscotti. We were the only English speakers in the restaurant which we think is a good thing.
4/9 Osteria del Pozzo (formerly La Baoranda), Via Ghibellina 67r
This is the new restaurant with the stickers from the previous restaurant. I started with a mixed salad that was really good and Arnie had ravioli with cream truffle sauce that is a contender for the best pasta dish (Giovanni and Belcore are in the running as well). Arnie had the special beef stew, a possible winner in the beef stew category. I had the pork chop; beautifully seasoned and tender. I think I already mentioned the 2 free limoncellos and grappas. We wanted to return but, so much food, so little time.
4/11 Mangiofoco, Borgo SS Apostoli 26r.
We had a good chuckle while we sat near the steep stairs and noticed a handicap access sign. We wondered how they would manage to get anyone with a handicap down those stairs. Maybe they are just required to have signs, not comply with them? Anyway, we came to Mangiogoco because we wanted something light. We had visited this wine bar for drinks and the cute young staff members encouraged us to return for lunch. They have a very limited menu that is pretty light by Tuscan standards. We started with the best Salumi & cheese plate. I never eat this stuff at home but Arnie had to be careful to guard his half of the plate. We discovered that the kid, who was the bus boy in the evenings when we had our wine, was the chef during the lunch service. I decided not to tax his abilities and had the swordfish carpaccio and Arnie had the salad with tuna and mozzarella. Both were very good and we felt very righteous after our almost diet meal. This is definitely a place to return to, if not for lunch, then for their excellent wines by the glass.
4/12 Osteria Antica Mescita San Nicollò, Via di San Nicollò 60r
I already wrote about this one: Bruscetta with black cabbage & lardo, wild boar stew (the best), duck in orange sauce. We went back for a repeat and again had the fabulous bruscetta. We shared a tagliatelle with asparagus and this time Arnie had the veal stew and I had the roasted rabbit. Great food for great prices.
4/13 Osteria Caffé Italiano, Via Isola delle Stinche 11/13r.
This is another neighborhood restaurant, more upscale than we usually choose, but Sunday is our dress up day. We started here with their Salumi tray that was really good. Arnie had the rabbit and I had the chicken grilled under a brick. Both were good and basic, even if the prices weren’t. It was a very pleasant Sunday lunch.
4/14 Ristorante Il Profeta, Borgognissanti, 93r
This was a research project to compare this restaurant to the much more rustic Sostanza. Slow Travel hosts this blog and I read and participate in the Slow Travel Forum. One person wondered why everyone seems to talk about Sostanza for bisteca but there was no mention of this restaurant. I decided to find out why. I started with a nice mixed salad and Arnie had a really good risotto with red wine and bacon. I, of course, ordered the bistecca and Arnie ordered the sliced filet. It is not very common to have a bistecca for one person. What I got was about a 1 pound T-bone. Arnie had to eat most of it. It was good, but it was way too much for me. The waiter brought over a free dessert and drew a line 2/3 through it saying that since I didn’t eat much of my steak, I had to eat most of the dessert. Who am I to argue? We never went back to Sostanza for the Bistecca, so my research project was not complete. I’d say the pasta at Il Profeta was better than Sostanza but I do think that the veal chop that I had at Sostanza was seasoned better than my bistecca at Profeta. The pricing structure was about the same but Il Profeta added a 10% service charge. Il Profeta is a real restaurant with tablecloths and cloth napkins and Sostanza is a very rustic trattoria. Deciding between the two would depend on the type of experience one wanted and whether the pasta was as important as the meat. One can’t really go wrong with either. There is the 10% addition to consider as well.
4/16 Trattoria Pallottino, Via Isola delle Stinche, 1r
This is recommended in 2 guide books. Seeing a line of older men waiting for a table was the only recommendation that we needed. We returned to see what they were willing to wait for. This is not a fancy place by any means. There are communal wooden tables and stools. I had an unobstructed view of the kitchen. The kitchen staff is all women. The pasta chef, tattooed and pierced, worked with the most banged-up sauté pans, throwing a pinch of this and a pinch of that. I watched her make my pasta carbonara. She put most on the plate then decided it needed a bit more time and dumped it back in the pan for a few more tosses. She did Arnie’s pasta arabiatta the same way. Arnie had the beef stew that tasted like it was made yesterday and reduced down to a fraction of its original volume. It was fiery with black peppercorns. My veal scaloppini with porcini mushrooms was very tasty and a huge portion given the price. One big draw here is the 2 course lunch for 8.50 euro. This was good food for good value.
4/17 Trattoria del Fagioli
This restaurant is around the corner from our Santa Croce apartment and I noticed the infamous stickers on one of our walks. We first tired it on a Saturday night and it was a mob scene. We decided to return for a more relaxed lunch. We started with Crostini with lardo, (sliced warm bread with pig fat). The lardo was not sliced as thin as San Nicollo so it didn’t melt as easily so it was a little less appealing. I started with the chicken soup with pastina because it was one of those rainy days. Arnie had the giant tortellacci that were very good. Arnie then had the involtini, rooled slices of veal stewed in a tomato sauce. I had the meatballs which were so tender they reminded me of my mother’s meatballs. We also had the steamed giant asparagus that we say as we walked in. Man, they were sweet. I had a great view of the kitchen and watched the ancient chef. There was a mix of tourists and locals. I found out later that day about their global advertising. I did a Google search for a gallery in Florence. A link for a video of the gallery came up. While I was watching the video I noticed a link next to it for a video of our restaurant! I watched the video and learned that the restaurant was a family affair with the 2 brothers as wait staff and dad and brother-in-law in the kitchen. We didn’t get a chance to go back and tell them what a good job they did on their www video debut.
Link to video: http://www.geobeats.com/videoclips/italy/florence/del-fagioli
Our best meals in Florence were at home. Towards the end of the Florence stay we ate more at home than in restaurants. Fresh pasta from the market; fresh sauce; beautiful cheeses; home made sausages. Life just doesn’t get much better.
After 2 short months in Florence we are now off to Calabria to find my father’s Italian roots.
First, the initial presentation was lovely, filleted with the head and tail placed back on the plate. The fish was so light and flavorful. Best of all, it was really well priced. The staff went nuts when they saw my “art”. Everyone came out of the kitchen and we had a group picture. Surprisingly, when we returned 3 weeks later for pizza, they remembered me. Oh, and we got those freebie drinks and Arnie found a new Grappa, Sibona, made from the Barbera grape. It is his new favorite.
Some have suggested that we may be partly responsible for the world wide food shortage. There may be a little truth in that and I do feel a bit guilty about our over-indulgence, nevertheless, we did enjoy ourselves. To eradicate some guilt I made a contribution to our local food bank and I would encourage you all to do the same. That said, here’s what we ate:
4/1 La Maremma, Via Verdi 16r.
La Maremma is in our new Santa Croce neighborhood. The décor is rustic but the food was not. They have very sophisticated food for surprisingly good prices. They also have a great wine list. Arnie started with Risotto with grilled radicchio followed by duck in orange sauce. The risotto was done perfectly as was the duck. The orange sauce was not overly sweet and had a bit of a kick to it. I started with pasta with spring vegetables followed by fillet seasoned with herbs served on Tuscan bread. The bread soaked up all of the filet juices and made for quite a flavorful open face sandwich. This is worth a repeat visit.
4/1 Enoteca Boccadama, Piazza Santa Croce 24/26r.
Boccadama is right next to our Palazzo. In fact, our front doors are adjacent. We would not normally eat right on a main tourist Piazza fearing that the restaurant has no incentive to serve good food because of the location. The menu looked interesting and we were tired from our long trip of moving our belongings a 10 minute cab ride. Arnie started with spring Pea soup with goat cheese that was very good and he finished with a lovely warm octopus salad. I had the pureed fava soup that was a little bland and followed that with eggplant with melted cheese that wasn’t quite eggplant parmesan because the eggplant was grilled. I was pleasantly surprised.
4/3 Quatro Leone, Piazza della Passera, Via dei Vellutini, near Pitti Palace. We weren’t planning on going here but it was raining when we left the Pitti Palace and this restaurant is close by. We both started with salads and Arnie wanted the octopus but they were out so the waiter suggested the mixed fry; fried rabbit, chicken, artichokes and onion rings. What could be bad about that. I had the beef stew. The real theater was the bistecca. The waiter brought out what we would consider a raw roast for the approval of the patrons. Then, that same beast was brought back to the table, charred and looking like it still had a pulse. We said we would go back and try it but we just ran out of time.
4/8 Trattoria Sostanza, Via del Porcellana 25r
Sostanza is an old time Trattoria with two long rows of tables and a middle aisle. The aisle people sit on stools and the wall people sit on a bench. I was a wall person and had a view of the kitchen at the end of the aisle. The menu is pretty simple. You get one of 3 pastas with your choice of butter or meat sauce. I had the penne with meat sauce and Arnie had the tortellini in butter sauce. Good basic stuff. As a second course I had the veal chop, which was really really good and Arnie had the fillet. I didn’t pay much attention to his dish because I was enjoying mine too much. One of the most memorial parts of the meal was the spinach. It had just enough garlic and olive oil and could have been a meal on its own. We encountered more Men Who Lunch. The 5 men sitting next to us ordered what looked like a 5 lb. roast that they examined in its raw state and devoured with gusto when it emerged charred and bleeding. We finished with vin santo and biscotti. We were the only English speakers in the restaurant which we think is a good thing.
4/9 Osteria del Pozzo (formerly La Baoranda), Via Ghibellina 67r
This is the new restaurant with the stickers from the previous restaurant. I started with a mixed salad that was really good and Arnie had ravioli with cream truffle sauce that is a contender for the best pasta dish (Giovanni and Belcore are in the running as well). Arnie had the special beef stew, a possible winner in the beef stew category. I had the pork chop; beautifully seasoned and tender. I think I already mentioned the 2 free limoncellos and grappas. We wanted to return but, so much food, so little time.
4/11 Mangiofoco, Borgo SS Apostoli 26r.
We had a good chuckle while we sat near the steep stairs and noticed a handicap access sign. We wondered how they would manage to get anyone with a handicap down those stairs. Maybe they are just required to have signs, not comply with them? Anyway, we came to Mangiogoco because we wanted something light. We had visited this wine bar for drinks and the cute young staff members encouraged us to return for lunch. They have a very limited menu that is pretty light by Tuscan standards. We started with the best Salumi & cheese plate. I never eat this stuff at home but Arnie had to be careful to guard his half of the plate. We discovered that the kid, who was the bus boy in the evenings when we had our wine, was the chef during the lunch service. I decided not to tax his abilities and had the swordfish carpaccio and Arnie had the salad with tuna and mozzarella. Both were very good and we felt very righteous after our almost diet meal. This is definitely a place to return to, if not for lunch, then for their excellent wines by the glass.
4/12 Osteria Antica Mescita San Nicollò, Via di San Nicollò 60r
I already wrote about this one: Bruscetta with black cabbage & lardo, wild boar stew (the best), duck in orange sauce. We went back for a repeat and again had the fabulous bruscetta. We shared a tagliatelle with asparagus and this time Arnie had the veal stew and I had the roasted rabbit. Great food for great prices.
4/13 Osteria Caffé Italiano, Via Isola delle Stinche 11/13r.
This is another neighborhood restaurant, more upscale than we usually choose, but Sunday is our dress up day. We started here with their Salumi tray that was really good. Arnie had the rabbit and I had the chicken grilled under a brick. Both were good and basic, even if the prices weren’t. It was a very pleasant Sunday lunch.
4/14 Ristorante Il Profeta, Borgognissanti, 93r
This was a research project to compare this restaurant to the much more rustic Sostanza. Slow Travel hosts this blog and I read and participate in the Slow Travel Forum. One person wondered why everyone seems to talk about Sostanza for bisteca but there was no mention of this restaurant. I decided to find out why. I started with a nice mixed salad and Arnie had a really good risotto with red wine and bacon. I, of course, ordered the bistecca and Arnie ordered the sliced filet. It is not very common to have a bistecca for one person. What I got was about a 1 pound T-bone. Arnie had to eat most of it. It was good, but it was way too much for me. The waiter brought over a free dessert and drew a line 2/3 through it saying that since I didn’t eat much of my steak, I had to eat most of the dessert. Who am I to argue? We never went back to Sostanza for the Bistecca, so my research project was not complete. I’d say the pasta at Il Profeta was better than Sostanza but I do think that the veal chop that I had at Sostanza was seasoned better than my bistecca at Profeta. The pricing structure was about the same but Il Profeta added a 10% service charge. Il Profeta is a real restaurant with tablecloths and cloth napkins and Sostanza is a very rustic trattoria. Deciding between the two would depend on the type of experience one wanted and whether the pasta was as important as the meat. One can’t really go wrong with either. There is the 10% addition to consider as well.
4/16 Trattoria Pallottino, Via Isola delle Stinche, 1r
This is recommended in 2 guide books. Seeing a line of older men waiting for a table was the only recommendation that we needed. We returned to see what they were willing to wait for. This is not a fancy place by any means. There are communal wooden tables and stools. I had an unobstructed view of the kitchen. The kitchen staff is all women. The pasta chef, tattooed and pierced, worked with the most banged-up sauté pans, throwing a pinch of this and a pinch of that. I watched her make my pasta carbonara. She put most on the plate then decided it needed a bit more time and dumped it back in the pan for a few more tosses. She did Arnie’s pasta arabiatta the same way. Arnie had the beef stew that tasted like it was made yesterday and reduced down to a fraction of its original volume. It was fiery with black peppercorns. My veal scaloppini with porcini mushrooms was very tasty and a huge portion given the price. One big draw here is the 2 course lunch for 8.50 euro. This was good food for good value.
4/17 Trattoria del Fagioli
This restaurant is around the corner from our Santa Croce apartment and I noticed the infamous stickers on one of our walks. We first tired it on a Saturday night and it was a mob scene. We decided to return for a more relaxed lunch. We started with Crostini with lardo, (sliced warm bread with pig fat). The lardo was not sliced as thin as San Nicollo so it didn’t melt as easily so it was a little less appealing. I started with the chicken soup with pastina because it was one of those rainy days. Arnie had the giant tortellacci that were very good. Arnie then had the involtini, rooled slices of veal stewed in a tomato sauce. I had the meatballs which were so tender they reminded me of my mother’s meatballs. We also had the steamed giant asparagus that we say as we walked in. Man, they were sweet. I had a great view of the kitchen and watched the ancient chef. There was a mix of tourists and locals. I found out later that day about their global advertising. I did a Google search for a gallery in Florence. A link for a video of the gallery came up. While I was watching the video I noticed a link next to it for a video of our restaurant! I watched the video and learned that the restaurant was a family affair with the 2 brothers as wait staff and dad and brother-in-law in the kitchen. We didn’t get a chance to go back and tell them what a good job they did on their www video debut.
Link to video: http://www.geobeats.com/videoclips/italy/florence/del-fagioli
Our best meals in Florence were at home. Towards the end of the Florence stay we ate more at home than in restaurants. Fresh pasta from the market; fresh sauce; beautiful cheeses; home made sausages. Life just doesn’t get much better.
After 2 short months in Florence we are now off to Calabria to find my father’s Italian roots.
Here is the link to the rest of the food pictures: http://www.flickr.com/gp/25519767@N06/41WL9i
