Italian Culinary Adventure ~ Day Four & Five - Florence

Florence- Day Five
Wednesday, June 26th. 2002

The day greeted us with cloudy, overcast skies, and slightly cooler temperatures. After a nice buffet breakfast at the hotel of cold meats, breads, cheese, and fruit, we headed out to shoot some video of the city. By noon it had warmed up considerably, and my husband and I split up for a few hours. I spent my afternoon shopping, taking more photos, and cooling off in a shady outdoor café. I first went over to the outdoor leather market, looking for a particular type of purse, but after an hour or more of searching I ended up leaving empty handed. The Ponte Vecchio (see photo above) which is a bridge spanning the Arno river, with store after store that sells jewelery was my next stop. Again, after searching for a specific type of earings my dughter had asked for, I left with nothing. The only shopping I ended up doing that day, was to buy a couple more tshirts, since it had been so hot, I had been going through more clothes than expected. For lunch, I was going to have a panini, or sandwich, but instead I grabbed a quick hamburger at McDonald's, and enjoyed the experience of something familiar from home, even though it was far different from my meals of late. By late afternoon I had had enough of the city, its noise and crowds, and went back to the hotel to cool off. I was definitely looking forward to leaving Florence and heading down to Umbria the next day!

At 5pm. we went back out for another stroll, and stopped off at the café in front of the Uffizi gallery and shared yet another a bottle of water and a dish of Affogatto al Café, which is vanilla ice cream with espresso coffee poured over it, something I had learned to love since I had first tasted it in that very bar many years before. Sitting there in the famous Piazza Signoria, watching all the different people cross before us, with the statues prominently displayed in front of us, I caught up on my journal entries. We hadn't decided where we were going for dinner that evening and were debating on either Il Latini or Buca Lapi, both old favorites. Il Latini is a lot of fun, very casual and always crowded. Unfortunately, you almost always have to share a table with others, and since I have found the constant cigarette smoke very irritating, it probably wasn't the best choice. Finally, the decision was made and we went over and made reservations at Buca Lapi for 8:30pm. that night, since we weren't entirely sure how to find Il Latini again anyway, and Buca Lapi was just a couple of streets away from where we were. Click on photo for larger view!

Buca Lapi hadn't changed at all, with its unique décor of old travel posters pasted to the walls. We were seated side by side at a table for four, and noticed a few other couples seated the same way. On previous trips it had always been extremely busy, and we were surprised at the difference. We ordered a nice bottle of Chianti Classico Antinori Reserve, 1998, and a sampling of their house crostini. This included crisp grilled slices of bread topped with Tuscan liver spread, tomato relish, Tuscan black cabbage, zucchini, and one with a chopped cheese and prosciutto topping. All were good, but I particularly like the Tuscan liver spread and black cabbage toppings. I ordered the maltagliata pasta which came with a fresh tomato and basil sauce. The pasta was freshly made, roughly cut strips of egg pasta, but wasn't cooked enough for my taste. Although I certainly like my pasta al dente, I found this dish just a little too firm to the bite, although the flavor was delicious. My husband chose the Ribollita (Tuscan vegetable soup), and it was homemade and delicious. It was so thick, you could actually eat it with a fork rather than a spoon! Click on photo for larger view

We couldn't decide on our main courses, and I was feeling rather full after eating both crostini and pasta despite the fact the servings were small. As a rule, we used to always come to Buca Lapi for their Bistecca Fiorentina, but neither of us was hungry enough for steak at this point. I finally decided on rabbit, although the only rabbit dish on the menu was fried. It was supposed to come with artichokes, but we were told since they were no longer in season, zucchini strips were being served in their place. My husband ordered lamb, but was told it was no longer available, so instead ordered the same thing I did. The fried zucchini sticks were crisp and delicious, but I found the batter used on the rabbit to be too heavy. The rabbit meat itself was tender, and mostly white loin meat, but I felt the heavy batter too overpowering and ended up cutting much of the batter off before eating the meat.

To end our last meal in Florence, we shared a glass of Vin Santo (Tuscan sweet wine) with Cantucci cookies (small almond biscotti) and then headed back to our hotel in preparation for our next trip tomorrow to Umbria. Our dinner that evening certainly hadn't been as memorable as the one the previous night, but it was enjoyable to visit Buca Lapi again. The next time we go there we will order the Bistecca Fiorentina, which they prepare so well. Unfortunately, I couldn't say I enjoyed Florence this trip, which was sad since it has always been one of my favorite Italian cities. I'll have to come back again during the off season, and see if I can enjoy it more.

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!

Buca Lapi
Via del Trebbio 1
Florence
Reservations usually required. Order the Bistecca Fiorentina

Buon Appetito!
By Deborah Mele 2002
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