Where to Eat: Restaurants - Part 1 of Many

Florence has some delicious restaurants.  Any guide book could tell you that.  What they won't tell you is that its really overpriced.  This place is expensive when you want to eat out.  None-the-less it is nice after a light apertivo to go out and have a tasty dinner. 

For the most part we have been eating mostly street food that you can find every few steps, there are some delicious find out there.  The only problem is after a month panini become rather dull.  To combat this we have been trying to adventure out here and there to explore the food options at our finger tips.  While living on a budget we have also been making an effort to find affordable eateries.  Two places have stood out in my mind thus far.

The first is I Ghibellini.  We stumbled upon this place a few weeks ago and were delightfully surprised with the results.  The restaurant has a welcoming charm and a friendly staff.  What earned this place the honor of being mentioned in this first edition of 'Where to Eat' in Florence was the table bread.  Straight from their wood fire oven, they brought out what might best be described as the Italian version of a soft tortilla chip.  Imagine the tastiest thin crust of a pizza you have ever had now kick that up several notches and you would be in the ball park as far as flavor.  From there I enjoyed their gnocchi which was everything I was hoping for.  On our second trip back Rachael and I decided to try out some of the pizzas they had to offer.  Sticking with my go-to pizza diavola I was not disappointed.  Rachael adventured into newer territory with a pizza topped with prosciutto cotto, mascarpone, e mozzarella.  Can I say delicious?  Absolutely.

Next up is Pizzeria Toto'.  This place some amazing pizza.  Like AMAZING!  For any of you in the know, this is vera pizza.  For those of you not informed this is a very precise way of making pizza (the best way.)  To see exactly what I'm talking about you can read what it takes here just to be qualified.  The have the best pizza the I have had since being back in Italy.  The crust is perfectly cooked with that combination of almost chewy/slightly burnt.  The sauce is simple yet delicious, and then they top it off with a showering of olive oil.  All of this for a reasonable price as well.  Definately worth visiting the next time you are in the neighborhood.

A map for the establishments, and all others reviewed by "Where to Eat," can be found by clicking here.  More editions coming soon...

Due Caffe Lungi Grazie.

As many of you know I like to consider myself a bit of a coffee connoisseur. Thus I was quite excited at the opportunity to start trying Italian coffee, which is generally considered to be some of the best in the world. On average I would rate the caffe that I have had here as superior to what you could expect from an American coffee shop. Thus far I have not been absolutely blown away, but I have found one bar in general that I particularly like, La Loggia on Via del Corso is quite tasty.

We stumbled upon La Loggia after wandering around Firenze last weekend and I’m sure it was fate. Why is that? Well let me tell you about the bomboloni we discovered while deciding what to have with our caffe lungo (a slightly long pulled shot of espresso).  Imagine a light and fluffy freshly baked doughnut that doesn’t have the hole cut in the middle. Now roll that in sugar and inject it with a sweet lemon flavored custard. Best thing ever! Those just happened to come straight out of the back, still steaming, while we were standing in line. Like I said, it was fate. Needless to say, after seeing these delicious little treats we had found our afternoon snack. On top of that La Luggia has had the best caffe I have had since I have arrived in Italy. I need to try a greater variety of the options that La Loggia, but if you ever find yourself in Piazza Della Repubblica in desperate need of a coffee between 4:30 and 5:00 (they bake fresh bomboloni at this time!) in the afternoon don’t miss the opportunity to check this place out.