Trattoria Zaza

Zaza is a bustling trattoria right next to the Mercato Centrale (Central Market). The food is fantastic. Since I went on Good Friday, I ordered from their Seafood Only menu. The risotto con gamberetti e curry (shrimp curry risotto) was excellent, a combination of three foods very familiar and dear to me. But I've never had them all together like tht. Far more familiar were the steamed mussels. They were in a white wine, garlic, red pepper flake and parsley sauce that, although too strong to sip on its own, was perfect to enhance the mussel taste and dip bread in. I finished the basket nearest me. My friends finished all the remaining bread on the table by dipping.

Piazza del Mercato Centrale, 26 Red
Florence, Italy
+39 055 215 411
http://www.trattoriazaza.it

Old Shades

It would be far too easy to make jokes about British food. I'm going to remain positive. The best British food is easily "pub food," the stuff you eat with your pint(s) of beer. Basic meat and potatoes if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it dishes.

Since it was (Easter) Sunday, my Londoner friend suggested we get some Sunday roasts and split them. Sunday roasts are exactly what they sound like: Roast dinners only served on Sundays.

We got roast beef and roast chicken. Both were good. The beef was tasty, moist, and thickly cut. The chicken wasn't the least bit dry or lacking in flavor. Both came with roast parsnips, roast potatoes, mixed vegetables, onion gravy, and of course Yorkshire pudding.

I love Yorkshire pudding by the way.

Although we had drank a few pints of beer with dinner, we couldn't help but order dessert. The bartender told us they had only two slices of "giant chocolate cake" left and that one slice would be enough for both of us.

Good thing he warned us. The quarter of a 9-inch cake he brought us lived up to its name. It was three layers of chocolate sponge cake glued together with chocolate fudge, frosted with chocolate icing, sprinkled with chocolate chips and brownie pieces and served a la mode with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Pretty awesome.

So yeah. I take back any negative comments I made about British food since my last visit there circa 2000.

Old Shades

37 Whitehall
London, SW1A 2BX
United Kingdom
+44 020 73212801

Pizzaiuolo

My friends and I got “antipasti misto,” which sounds a hell of a lot cooler in Italian than “sampler platter” does in English. (Literally it means “mixed appetizers.) The antipasti were mostly delicious carbs … rice balls, fried pasta, quiche, olives, and a huge hunk of mozzarella about the size of my fist.


For my primo, I got spaghetti con vongole (spaghetti with clams). I asked before ordering if the clams were “fresco.” They were. In their shells even. Florentine cuisine’s Achilles heel is seafood due to the city being landlocked. But fresh seafood is delivered daily and available at a higher price than in, say, Sicily. The spaghetti was fantastic. The noodles were perfectly al dente, and the simple mix of garlic, olive oil, parsley, and red pepper flakes complemented the rich clam flavor.

Then came the main event. Most of us had come for “pizza fritta,” which has the option of being aperto (open) or “chiuso” (closed). A closed, fried, pizza is a DEEP-FRIED CALZONE, which is exactly the reason we went. Although Pizzaiuolo is famous for its pizza, I’d say a D-F C is far more unique and exciting. Two versions are available. I got the fried calzone stuffed with fior de latte mozzarella, ricotta, salame, and pepe.

Dessert was a chocolate mousse, cut like a slice of pie and sprinkled with choclate chips.

Can’t forget the Chianti. When in Florence, drink as the Florentines do.

Sabatino

Nestled in a street corner across The Arno, this trattoria is small enough to be cozy but roomy enough not to be claustrophobic. Like any true trattoria, Sabatino is family-run, established over half a century ago. The family business and family recipes are currently in the hands of a third generation of restaurateurs.

They changed locations a decade ago, but the setting is still casual, and all the décor looks gradually added. It’s certainly not an interior-design tourist trap like some restaurants in the city center. One notable ornament is a framed menu from ’66. The prices have gone up but are still low. Their present-day menu has a few staple items like spaghetti and roast beef, but the rest change daily. (Showing Florence’s – and Italy’s – traditionally Catholic heritage, on Fridays the emphasis is on seafood.) The menu is not in English, but piatti tipici Fiorentini are highlighted. Don’t worry if your Italian isn’t perfect; the servers are courteous and helpful. They speak little English, and though service is fast, they are not impatient or condescending when breaking the language barrier.

As for the kitchen staff, the dishes show their skill as well as the quality of the ingredients. The meat is bought daily at the Mercato Centrale, and fresh vegetables are delivered every morning.

Their minestrone is tasty, smooth and pleasantly infused with celery. You’ll have a hard time finding beef as high in quality and simultaneously low in price as their bistecca Fiorentina. And a rich slice of torta di cioccolato e crema will make you consider a second dessert helping and probably ensure a return visit.

Via Pisana 2/Rosso
Firenze, Italia
+39.055.225.955

Rubaconte Ristorante

I’ll skip past the aperitif glasses of prosecco and the requisite bottles of acqua naturale and Chianti because anyone who knows me knows I always enjoy those. Course by course, here we go: The crostini with spicy salami was even spicier than expected because of extra red pepper flakes alongside the ones in the salami. But I still enjoyed them. The shrimp and zucchini risotto was rich with flavors. I would’ve preferred them to either leave the shrimps whole or completely shell them before serving rather than half-and-half, but that is a minor detail. The grilled lamb was delicious, as grilled lamb almost always is but the pea paste it was served on was a nice surprise besides the roast potatoes the menu told us came with them. Three desserts from the selection. Clockwise from the top of the next picture, they are: Cioccolato semifreddo (kind of like semi-frozen Jell-o), poached pear in marroni sauce, and tiramisu. Hands-down the poached pear was the winner.

Via Ghibellina 178/R
Firenze, Italia 50122

The Oil Shoppe

The Oil Shoppe is the perfect combination of American desire and Italian method. They make exactly what students like me want but make it with local ingredients and style. It’s basically a deli that makes hot and cold sandwiches to order. They also make fantastic steak fries from scratch. I got a roast beef sandwich with pecorino cheese, shaved artichokes, arugula, wild mushrooms, and truffle sauce. No complaints. I’m definitely going back. The combo was an affordable 6 Euro ($9) and came with the steak fries and a choice of “incredible” barbeque sauce or “special” mayo (both homemade) and a bottle of water.

Via San Egidio 22/Rosso
Firenze, Italia 50122
+39.055.200.1092
http://www.oilshoppe.com

Buca Dell'Orafo

I can't remember the last time I was this full. For me there are different levels of fullness: Not hungry, full, stuffed, and dear God my stomach will burst. This night fell into the last category.

We basically had a seven-course tasting menu but served family-style. So I'll just follow the progression of the evening.

We sat down to bottles of red wine, bottles of water, and baskets of bread and foccacia. This was all pretty standard for any restaurant although everyone LOVED the wine and the foccacia. They were finished pretty quickly, but the attentive staff kept bringing more and more.

Our first course was "crostini fiorentini" which was a liver pate spread on toasted but tender crostini. VERY LIVERY. Yet somehow everyone, even people like me who shun liver, loved it. I'm not sure how to explain. Usually people like liver when it doesn't taste like liver, but this tasted quite livery but surprisingly quite delicious.

Next was minestra di pane ribollita, a very famous Tuscan soup that is made of bread and vegetables. This was so hearty and filling despite being the only meatless course we had. It was so thick it was almost a paste and not a soup.

Then there were polpettine in umido, genuine, authentic Italian meatballs, about two inches eand diameter and in a red sauce. Pretty much as delicious as you'd expect.

We next had  penne salsicciae finocchietto, pasta with generous hunks of sausage. Is it redudant to just keep saying everything was delicious???

After that was groppa scaloppata al pecorino, seared beef covered with pecorino cheese and served with rosemary, juniper berries, and olive oil. This was fantastic. The restaurant staff seemed unsure we could handle "another meat course," but we assured them we could and polished this off despite our stomachs' protests. This was completely the "I really shouldn't eat another bite but this is so good I'll have as many bites as it takes to finish." Luckily the meat was carefully sliced, as thin as possible while preserving the texture, moistness, and a satisfying thickness.

The contorno it came with was patate in padella, parboiled potatoes fried in olive oil, rosemary, and sage. As with every other plate, this was demolished.

Of course, what would a meal be without dessert? They brought us "Dai Dai." These are basically like ice cream bon bons but a million times better. They are semifreddo (semi-frozen) cream inside a shell of dark chocolate and pine nuts. They are made in a factory here in Tuscany and you CANNOT buy them. The factory is way exclusive and only sells to a handful of restaurants in the area. They brought us two big bowls of them. Everyone tried to have only one, but we finished it.

This was the best restaurant meal I've had in Florence. Ever. So from me and my "fourteen dates," Buca Dell'Orafo gets a standing ovation. Oh wait, we can't stand because our new guts won't squeeze past the table.