Florence Journal

My favorite... gelateria in Florence

This is day three of my "favorite" things list in Florence. I am still under the weather so I am not going to be writing anything elaborate and detailed, but I don't want to give up either.

Today's favorite topic - gelato. And the place: Gelateria de Neri

Vivoli is the old stand by in this category (and it is great - including breakfast at the bar in the AM, something tourists don't seem to know about), and Grom is the hottest newcomer (the lines can be incredibly long) - but for me Gelateria de Neri (can't a website for them!!) is simply the best. Family made on premises, a huge variety of incredible seasonal (and authentic) flavors, semifreddi, crepes and more. This is the place I send everyone to for gelato in Florence - don't leave without trying some.

Gelateria de Neri
20/22/Rosso, Via Dei Neri
50122 Firenze
tel: +39 055 210034

Christmas and New Year's dinners at the St. Regis

If you need a holiday meal - in style - then the St. Regis has some great sounding options:

Mama Is Chef’s Pasta Maker

Too funny:

“If you talk to people in Italy, especially the older generation, and you suggest, ‘Oh, have you ever tried making lasagna with goat cheese instead of ricotta?’ they’ll look at you like you’re crazy. They’ll say, ‘We’ve spent hundreds of years perfecting this recipe, and why would you want to mess with it?’ ”

Thanksgiving dinner in Florence, 2011

I am sure there are some independent Italian restaurants that must offer a Thanksgiving meal. All I ever receive via email is from the big hotels though. This year as usual the Westin Excelsior has a dinner, and so does the Four Seasons, which is 90 euro per person, plus wine. I think the Four Seasons meal was at night and fairly late - the Westin is during lunch hours and is 40 euro.

Update: see also the St. Regis Thanksgiving dinner (below the first image).

Young Chefs of Florence

There is a promotion going on until July 17th in conjunction with the Picasso, Miró, Dalí exhibit at the Palazzo Strozzi called "Young Chefs" - you can get a 15% reduction on a meal at the following restaurants (and these are some of the most exciting places to eat in Florence - we recently had dinner at both Il Santo Bevitore and IO Osteria Personale and both were excellent) with your ticket stub to the Strozzi. They also all have a special dish on their menus inspired by the exhibit.

• GASTONE
(have heard only good things)
• Il Palagio at the FOUR SEASONS
(would be the last on my list)
• IO OSTERIA PERSONALE
(highly recommended! My review coming soon)
• IL SANTO BEVITORE
(highly recommended!)
• ORA D'ARIA
(don't know this one yet)

Sorry about the bad photo:

Hard Rock Cafe Florence is open

The official grand opening isn't until July (from what I read) so I guess this is a soft opening as they work things out. My friend said her hot fudge brownie she had the other day came frozen solid. So if you want to pay €8.95 ($12.79 in dollars today!) for a frozen dessert and €15 for a cheeseburger, not to mention to continue to contribute to the soulless corporatization of the entire WORLD, check it out. Just off of Piazza della Repubblica in the old Gambrinus Theater. Below is the menu - click the image for a full size image you can read:

FLORENCE - FIRENZE GELATO FESTIVAL 2011

The tag line this year is "get your tongue tastebuds ready":

Hoping to spend more time (and eat more gelato) this year than last -

ChiaroScuro Cafe, Florence

ChiaroScuro is a good cafe/bar on via del Corso. I just got a reminder via email that they are having their Japanese aperitivo every Friday until May 27th, from 6 to 10 PM. For 10 euro, you get one drink, and access to the buffet, which is usually very tasty, so check it out!

And PS, this post means we are back :)

Easter cooking class

The Cordon Bleu School of Florence has a special one day class coming up next week with an Easter menu. This is a great chance to get some hands on experience from one of the most trusted cooking schools in Florence. Tourists and English speakers welcome.

On restaurants in Florence...

This is a comment that for some reason I can't seem to post as a response to this thread on the Rick Steve's forum:

I really can't in that neighborhood -

Doug - "Za Za is hardly the Autogrille" - is sort of my point. I think it is comparable - it is a little more dressed up, with a better selection, but that is what I was getting at.

Someone mentioned the Cafeteria Leonardo - this is a great place (and cheap!) as long as you know that you are eating at a "cafeteria". And that is what I mean when I mentioned these other places - they sort of are dressed up cafeterias. It is not fine "dining".

Not trying to be a pain in the neck troll on this, but the sameness and lack of effort in the food here in the center of Florence is a real issue when you spend a lot of time here.

If I was near the market, I would eat there - at Nerbone. Their panino lesso (boiled beef) is one of the best cheap eats in Tuscany. And the rest of their food (again, cafeteria style) is probably better than most every other restaurant in that neighborhood.

Again - this is just my opinion! I grew up in restaurants, my dad ran both the front and back of the house, my one brother is a chef, the other one a cook - it really is about perception, and what YOU like. Unfortunately for me, I can't really afford to eat where I would like in this town often, so I am down to lunches out!

Other lunch bargains around town:

Trattori Anita (near Santa Croce, or behind the Palazzo Vecchio) - 3 course lunch, 8 or 9 euro still I believe. Can be very good to pedestrian, but you are not leaving hungry. Water and wine extra.

Il Brindellone (near Piazza del Carmine) - huge, home style lunch, 3 plates, coffee, water and wine - 9 euro.

A newer one, on Lungarno Corsini, Bistro del Mare - two plates, usually a seafood appetizer and a pasta - 8 or 9 euro.

These are all pranzo veloce - not a la carte - which will run you much more.

Also for reasonale primo piatto at lunch, Il Santo Bevitore (via Santo Spirito), Boccadama (Piazza Santa Croce - a tourist restaurant no doubt but still some great lunches - I had the rigatoni with sausage and black truffle yesterday - AWESOME), and Garbo (also via Santo Spirito) - for a real treat - try Teatro del Sale (near Piazza Sant'Ambrogio) for lunch, or in the same area Il Giova for lunch or dinner, and Semel for panino at lunch.