Lunch at Trattoria da Rocco

Lunch at Trattoria da Rocco
Posted by Ree in Florence » Places To Eat on 25/Feb/2008

The Trattoria da Rocco, inside the Mercato Sant' Ambrogio is one of the rare places in Florence that you will still hear more Italian than English at mealtime. Everyone eats lunch here, from the occasional bewildered tourist to businessmen to construction workers. It's open for lunch, from about 11 to whenever they run out of food.

The market itself is wonderful and deserves a review of its own, so sufffice it to say that the trattoria is the same size as the regular stalls in the market but it's the one that looks more like a greenhouse. Don't be concerned if you can't find the door, there isn't any. Simply open one of the windows/walls and slide into a booth and prepare for a cheap, simple, and simply good meal...

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"Pasta e fagioli" looks so good!!!

Do you know a place I can get it in Montreal?

I'd suggest looking in Little Italy, a neighborhood I haven't really explored. It's considered something your mama would make, so try places that are into home-style cooking (not the upscale ones).

Yes, I think I am going to explore little italy, I haven't done it yet, but I would like to find a small and traditional restaurant.

By the way, it was nice to read another one of your articles, I really like them.

Purely from an aesthetic & usability perspective, I loved the concept of a restaurant in a box. Seems simple and brilliant, especially given that the box is placed in an already covered area. It eliminates the need for lining up at some bottleneck of an entrance and allows people to jump directly into their chosen booth. The waiters never have to deal with people coming and going and crossing their path.

Actually, it reminds me of a NYC condo project that was hyped a few years ago (did it ever get built? not sure) - in the building, each apartment was "reversed" , in essence containing nothing except a centrally located box - kind of like this trattoria. In the box, there were several compartments: one for the kitchen, another for the bathroom, yet another for the closet, etc. Your life is happening around the box, naturally, and for all the necessities you go toward the center of your apartment.