Italian Culinary Adventure ~ Day Four & Five - Florence

Florence- Day Four
Tuesday, June 25th. 2002

After a night of violent thunderstorms, we rose early to leave Venice for the next destination of our trip which was Florence. After a quick breakfast, we took the waterbus back to the parking garage and were on our way. Upon arriving in Florence a few hours later, we had a little trouble finding our hotel as many streets are closed to traffic in the city. After a few tries though, we finally arrived at Hotel Due Fontane, in Piazza S.S. Annunziata. We noticed immediately, that the city seemed very noisy in contrast to the solitude of Venice, as motorcycle after motorcycle raced up and down the small streets outside our hotel. Since so many streets in the city center are now closed to traffic, I suppose motorcycles, and motorinos are becoming much more popular. We certainly noticed a great many folks using bicycles to get around the city. Venice that morning had been much cooler after the storms, but the heat in Florence was intense. The hotel appeared fine, perhaps just a little run down and in need of refurbishing, but our room was very clean, and for 180 Euros and just steps from the cathedral, it was just fine. Click on photo for larger view!

We quickly dropped off our luggage, and rushed off to see if we could make reservations at the restaurant Il Cibreo for later that night. When we walked into the restaurant, Fabio the owner/chef was behind the counter, and gave us a seating at 9:30pm that night. We noticed that they now have a new trattoria attached to the restaurant, where they used to just have a few seats in a small room behind the restaurant. Il Cibreo is one Italian restaurant that does not serve pasta. Apparently since pasta is not really a staple in the Tuscan diet as it is in other areas of Italy, the owner instead chooses to offer traditional Tuscan dishes with a contemporary flair. We went across the street for lunch to the pizzeria we had been to before. Il Pizzaiuolo serves very good Neapolitan style pizza, which isn't always that easy to find outside of Naples. Although I found the crust a little thick for my liking, my pizza was tender and crisp. We finished off two bottles of water, and then left the restaurant to explore the city.

Heading into the main shopping area around the cathedral, we were struck first of all by the huge number of tourists around, many in organized tour groups all trying to walk together in a large throng. Although Venice had its share of tourists, somehow, you never felt crowded as crowded as we did in Florence. Very quickly, I found myself disappointed with Florence, as it just didn't seem to have the charm for me that it used to. In fact, it seemed dirtier, more crowded, and noisier than I ever remembered on past trips. I was all too aware at that point why I never traveled to Florence in the summer as a general rule!The stores around the Uffizi gallery looked inviting, so we went into a few leather goods stores, Tuscan food stores, and ceramic stores, but didn't buy anything. We tried to stay out of the path of the large tour groups milling around, and did some shopping and took a few photos of the city. By late afternoon, we had certainly had enough of playing tourists, and headed back to our hotel to cool off, shower and change. Click on photo for larger view!

When we left the hotel a few hours later, it seemed to have cooled off a bit, and we wandered around the area between the hotel and Il Cibreo looking for a bar for a pre-dinner cocktail. We ended up in the small piazza beside the restaurant, and enjoyed a glass of crisp, dry prosecco wine among the locals at an outdoor bar. At about 9:15pm, we headed into Il Cibreo, and after a short wait we were seated at a large round table with two other couples. Although at first I wasn't thrilled with the company, once we began talking we found both couples very friendly and we found we enjoyed the company. One couple was from England, and the other from the US on their honeymoon. In Italy, you are often seated at tables with other people, but not usually at round tables where it is difficult not to talk to those across from you.

The meal which we had been looking forward to since we even planned this trip began with a selection of tiny appetizers brought by the kitchen which included a small bruschetta with Tuscan liver spread, another with half a cherry tomato that was roasted until sweet, some tomato aspic that was fresh and cool, a cracker with Robiola cheese and a small piece of mostarda fruit, and a rounded mound of couscous salad made with fresh mint, tomatoes and cucumbers. These delicious appetizers were just tiny offerings, to help prepare the taste buds for the upcoming meal. For my first course, I ordered the Sformata di Ricotta and Patate which I had had on a previous trip, and it was absolutely as delicious as I had remembered. It is a tender, pudding like dish served with a seasonal topping. The last time I had it they had served it with a small scoop of meaty ragu on top. This time it was presented with a dollop of vibrant pesto, roasted pine nuts, and grated Parmesan cheese. My husband had the server choose his meal, and was brought two soups to start, including Il Cibreo's famous Roasted Pepper soup, and a flavorful pureed porcini soup. Because of the hot day, both were served at room temperature, which even intensified their flavors. Click on photo for larger view!

I decided to order the tuna for my second course which sounded fresh and light when it was described to us. It was a nice presentation of thinly sliced almost raw tuna, served with a lemon, olive oil dressing, and a mound of finely chopped cucumbers and green onions. The overall flavor was wonderful, and the tuna melted in your mouth. My husband was brought pigeon, which came with a hot pepper jelly, a roasted beet relish, and a small side dish of green beans cooked in tomato sauce and garlic. Although I personally find the taste of pigeon too strong, my husband enjoyed his meal, and thought the side dishes went perfectly with the pigeon.

Although our table mates all ordered desserts that looked wonderful, we chose instead to order a selection of Tuscan cheese which we enjoyed with the rest of our wine. The cheese was indeed a perfect match for our Antinori Chianti Classico Reserve, 1999 wine. Having enjoyed both our evening and our meal completely, we returned to our hotel to rest up for the next day.

Hotel Due Fontane
Piazza della Santissima Annunziata 14 (A block or two from the cathedral!)
Amenities: American style showers, hotel bar, breakfast buffet included.
Click HERE for more information!

Il Pizzaiuolo
Via de Macci 113/r
Florence

Il Cibreo
Via dei Macci 118r
Florence, 50122
Tel: 055 234 1100
Fax: 055 244 966
Reservations usually required!

Buon Appetito!
By Deborah Mele 2002
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