Forget the Art.....Let's talk about Food!

While Florence is known for its wonderful selection of art and leather goods, I toured both major art museums and spent way too much money on leather trust me, I was most surprised by the great food! I suppose when you think of Tuscany as a whole you think food and wine but it didn't always register with Florence in particular. It didn't take long for me to think of Florence as food and wine as well. I spent two nights in Florence, thats 6 meals, and I didn't have anything close to a "just ok" meal. For lunch, I experienced my first Olio, a little bar that sells sandwiches and the like. I had the luxury of sharing and got to eat half of an eggplant sandwich and half of a salami and cheese sandwich. There were different bread options as well as the option of a side of fries. I was proud to have ordered for myself and my parents entirely in Italain, and was even prouder of our food selections (see below).

Our first dinner allowed us to sample the staples, each of us had some version of beef a la Florentine....and none of us were disappointed. You can read this article to get a grasp of what the "a la Florentine" really means and how a dish is prepared in this manner. Of course we also had to have the classic Chianti wine of Tuscany with our meal, and based off of my wine tasting training, however limited, I was able to taste the true Chianti flavor and enjoyed the wine near the place of its origin.


Our second dinner experience was much different, but fun and exciting. We signed up for a 3 course "meal deal" including wine, water, primi, secondi, and side for a flat fee. This small trattoria style restaurant was perfect to capture the small town feel and I felt like I was eating in a true Italian kitchen. The restaurant also permitted street musicians to enter the restaurant so we got to listen to some nice accordion music while enjoying our meal. Between the three of us eating, we were able to capture a good sampling of traditional Italain dishes. Tortollini, Penne arrabiata, and spaghetti bolonese as well as Tuscan sausage, chicken, and pork chop. We left this adorable little place fatter and happier and ready to rave about the food of Florence right along side the art and the shopping.