Florence Dispatches

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a Renaissance man. You know, the guy who can do many things well: speak foreign languages, play musical instruments, dazzle his conversation partners with obscure bits of science trivia, and light up dinner parties with tales of his travel adventures – all with the verve and panache of someone who knows what life is all about. More»

La Giostra is a fine restaurant in Florence where the flavors (and the quantities) of yesterday coexist in peaceful harmony with the culinary trends of tomorrow.

Just for its atmosphere, somehow combining old-school cordiality with a good-hearted, laidback attitude, eating at La Giostra would be a worthwhile experience. The restaurant’s history also makes it unusual, as does the fact that it is run by members of the Hapsburgs, the Austrian royal family. And then there’s the food.. More»

Perhaps because it’s more out of the way, smaller, and slightly less spectacular than the Mercato Centrale, the Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio is frequented mostly by genuine Florentines and their wannabe compatriots.

However, since it’s only a 15-20 minute walk from the Duomo, it can’t really be considered off-the-beaten track, and certainly such a convenient yet relatively uncrowded market deserves a gastronomic visit... More»

The Trattoria da Rocco, inside the Mercato Sant’ Ambrogio is one of the rare places in Florence where 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 suffice 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... More»

Pig’s head, anyone? I might have had it and so have you, in all likelihood. It’s just a way to make salami or any other kind of sausage. Usually, to make a salami, you take an intestine, fill it with ground up pig parts and there you have it. In this case, however, you’ll start with an emptied head (eyes and mouth sewn shut, all by hand) and get it filled with the ground stuff from the rest of the body.

This particular beauty was spotted at a grocery shop (La Standa, via Pietrapiana, 42, near Piazza Cesare Beccaria). And there’s more good stuff in that neighborhood (read on)... More»