We were both excited to post our first food specific blog from Italy. So who gets to write it? We decided that we both do. Instead of trying to co-author a single, uniform post, we thought it might be fun to decide on some topics, and write them independently. We didn't collaborate other than to decide the topics. So here are the same experiences from both Jake and Jesslyn's eyes and palates.
INTRO
Jake:
We chose to write about (mostly) the positive food experiences. They haven't been all great. I had a porchetta sandwich of dry pork on stale bread. We had some so-so salads and boring panini. We chalk it up to being in a touristy area. What follows are the highlights of our culinary experience thus far.
Jesslyn:
I was drawn to Italy for so many reasons: the history, the breathtaking cliff-lined coasts, the language (delivered by your entire body, not just your voice)…………..the gelato, the pasta, the tiramusu, the percorino, the coffee….the list goes on. After almost a full week in Florence, it’s time to reflect on the food thus-far. The history etc. we can talk about later. In case you don’t know this already, it’s important to know that each region of Italy has very different cuisine. For instance, Bologna is known for its lasagne, in the South of Italy, the food is much more Mediterranean-like: not pasta and heavy parmigiana, its fish and veggies. So, let’s reflect on what we’ve had so far in Tuscany:
TRIPPA
Jake:
Our first night in Florence (and in Italy), we ate upstairs at Mercato Centrale. We don't have many markets like this in the States, but it is a typical market in other parts of the world. There are stalls selling meat, others selling cheese, some selling fish, spices, wine, vegetables, etc. Upstairs at the market are a number of places selling food ready to eat. In the middle is a giant bar and tables to sit and eat and drink. You order at the one of the counters, then take your tray to the table. It is kind of like a food court at the mall, but with delicious food.
OK, back on track now. This post is about "trippa". On our first night at the mercato, the gentleman serving us our wine said that we had to try the "sandwich of the cow's 4th stomach". Most of you are probably thinking... "gross, no thank you". If you are like me, you are thinking, "yes, yes, we must try this". So, on our second visit to the mercato, I searched out the sandwich. I knew that a cow's stomach is tripe, and in Italian, it is trippa, so that is what I was looking for. I found the trippa, but no sandwich. So, I got a plate of "trippa fiorentina". It was ladled from a big pot onto a small plate, and served with some spicy oil drizzled on top and some bread.
I don't recall ever eating tripe before in my life. I am sure there is a good reason for that too. If it was good, I am sure I would have had it by now. This tripe was... good. Not the most delicious thing I have eaten, but not terrible. I think the sauce that it was cooked and served in was delicious, and it accounted for most of the flavor. It was a fresh, spicy tomato based sauce. The tripe itself was fairly mild with a slightly gamey flavor. Jesslyn took one bite and nearly spit it out. So, I ate the whole plate!
After a little more research, I figured out what it was that I was actually looking for. The sandwich is called lampredotto. It is a special kind of tripe, made specifically from only the 4th stomach. It is called lampredotto because lamprey eels were common in the nearby Arno river, and the ridges in the tripe looked like the mouth of the eels. Mmmmm, delicioso! Anyway, keep an eye out for the next food blog. I plan to go back and have the lampredotto.
Jesslyn:
Tripe sounds so disgusting to me but it is super tuscan and I put my inhibitions aside and was very excited to try (eat?) this dish. Mercato Central is a multi-level marketplace in Florence. During the day, the lower level has several counters that sell meat, fish and cheese that I assume restaurants come to buy as the entire level is closed by 14:00. There is an upstairs to the market that is open into the evening hours and is self-service. It’s pretty awesome. You can buy pasta from one place, meat from another and a bottle of wine from a third. So, the other evening I sat at a table sipping some vino while Jake went to buy us a tripe (TREE-PAH) sandwich to split. When he returned, he didn’t have a sandwich but a plate that looked absolutely delicious. It looked like some sort of a meat sauce with bread. They were out of the sandwich, but no problem, like I said, this looked delicious. One bite and I was done. Gross. Gamey, gamey, gamey. I was very disappointed because I full-on wanted to like tripe but I will not be having another bite!
BISTECCA ALLA FIORENTINA
Jake:
Ah, the bistecca alla Fiorentina. The Florence steak. It is a 2 inch thick T-bone steak cooked over an open flame. Do I need to say anything more? The funny thing is on the menu it says that it is "only served rare. Don't ask for anything else, we won't do it". I love it!
Jesslyn:
T-Bone steak - a super tuscan dish. I LOVE steak and was super excited to order this in Florence. We stumbled upon a trattoria that looked good and we were super hungry. We weren’t looking for steak that night - just a good meal. When we walked in - it was clear that it was a tuscan steak place and we were totally up for it! When I got the menu and it said that they only serve it RARE I wasn’t afraid. Bring it on. The redder the better. It was good - really good. But……….I’ve had so many good steaks over the years either with work events or special dinners with Jake that this didn’t top my best steak dinners in the US (Del Frisco’s, Ruth Chris, Keen’s, Peter Luger)…it was an expensive meal but I might have to have it again while we are in Italy to see if it can top my list.
LIMONCELLO
Jake:
We had the bistecca at a fun place called "Tito's". I was a little skeptical to eat there because of the loud music pouring out onto the sidewalk (damn, I am getting old). We gave it chance, and it did not disappoint. The wait staff was a lot of fun and the food was great. We noticed bottles of yellow liquid on many of the other tables. After we finished eating, I asked what it was, and the waitress said it as limoncello and will bring some. She brings an already open, large plastic bottle with no label, about 3/4 full, and 2 shot glasses. We pour our own, and sip the mostly sweet, and slightly tart lemon liquor. Delicious. We wonder how they charge us for it though. Do they weigh the bottle before and after they serve it? Do they use the honor system? We went to pay, and I notice the limoncello is not included, so I mentioned it. No charge! My favorite type of drink... free. Then, we are not allowed to leave until we do a shot of limoncello with the owners of the restaurant. This is our kind of place.
Jesslyn:
As we were eating our steak we noticed that other tables had finished their dinners and moved on to limoncello. We hadn’t planned on drinking anymore but it seemed wrong to not also partake in the limoncello. So we asked for some and an entire bottle appeared on our table. Don’t picture the bottle of limoncello you can buy at the liquor store….picture an empty tall water bottle filled with something yellow. That’s what appeared on our table with two (shot-sized) glasses. Pour it yourself for as long as you want and pay for what you drink. We had two glasses each and decided it was time to go “home”. As we started to leave, a couple entered whose presence excited the staff (who by the way were already super jubilous dancing around the restaurant to Pitbull all night). As we left we were stopped by the waitstaff to do a limoncello shot with about 5 of them and the two owners. Why us? Super memorable. Super fun. Super tuscan. Super us.
TRUFFLE PASTA
Jake:
We got a recommendation for the truffle pasta at the mercato centrale, so we made a return trip to try it. Neither Jesslyn nor I are big fans of truffle. We typically avoid menu items that include truffle oil. BUT... it was amazing (and I don't use that word lightly because it is extremely overused these days). It was spaghetti in a truffle cream sauce with fresh shaved truffle (tartufo fresco) on top. It is completely out of our price range at 20 euros per plate, but we are going back to get it again. It was that good.
Jesslyn:
Before we attempted the tripe dish, we actually split a plate of pasta with truffle cream and shaved truffles. OMG. One of the best things I’ve had this week in Florence. Here’s the thing though: I don’t like truffle. “What?” you say? Either because you don’t understand how I could possibly NOT like truffle OR because I just said it was one of the best things I’ve had. Let me explain. In Brooklyn “truffle” was EVERYWHERE: truffle fries, truffle mac-n-cheese, truffle …cupcakes? I didn’t have too much of it and have had enough - I just never really liked it. In Brooklyn, when a waiter raised their eyebrows and was like, “Do you want the truffle fries?” I was like……”No thank you”. Jake felt the same way. What the heck is all the rage with truffles? Well, here in the land of truffles - OMG - I want to eat more. Absolutely-freaking-delicious. Going truffle hunting was not on my radar for this trip - but now - maybe - we need to go and then cook a delicious meal ourselves with the truffles found!!!
GELATO
Jake:
It's everywhere in Florence, and it's great. You are expected to order 2 flavors even for a small. I suspect Jesslyn will elaborate on this topic quite a bit, so I will let her fill you in.
Jesslyn:
EVERYWHERE. More gelato shops than I could have ever imagined. It is absolutely delicious. However, if I’m being truly honest - if I had my choice between gelato or a purple cow with jimmies from The Backroom or Kimballs - I’d go with the purple cow. Perhaps I haven’t found the right gelato shop yet but in my opinion, ice cream shops back home - you know - the good ones - are better. For me at least. However, there is much more to say about the gelato….we are being picky - making sure to go to the places that we know make it themselves. I’ve read how to know the difference….things like, does the shop window say, “produzione propia” which means that the gelato is made on site…or…can you see the mounds of gelato heaping over the container or does the container have the silver cover on the top? You want the place that covers its gelato. That one we learned from a guy we chatted with over lunch one day who was doing a summer abroad from Johnson & Wales. I should note that very unrelated to food - I’m finally starting to understand what it feels like to be ok being the age that I am. We’ve interacted with a lot of people that are 19, 20 years old and I’m thankful to be through that stage of my life. They are great people, I’m just saying that I’ve figured some things out and I’m thankful that I’m on the other side of that awkward figuring out life stage. As I right that I want to vomit a little bit because at the same time I feel like I have so much to figure out. Ok, maybe I should just get back to the food…….
VINO
Jake:
It's inexpensive. I like wine, and I have probably drank more than my share, but I still don't think I have a very refined palate to appreciate fine wines. In NYC, we typically would only buy bottles under $15. Here in Florence, you can find good wine (in my opinion) for under $5 a bottle. The cool thing is that you can buy a bottle of wine or beer from a grocery store or shop, and sit outside in the piazza with your friends and drink it. It is a lot cheaper than going to a bar.
Jesslyn:
Cheap. Great. Tuscan. Red. Red. Red. Jake and I don’t discriminate. Back in the states, we drink red wine, white wine, pink wine, green wine….any color wine we can find really. Here in Tuscany, sure they sell all kinds of wine - but people from Firenze - they drink rosso. It doesn’t matter if it is 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit)…you drink red, red red. So, when in Florence…..:) In the grocery store we saw Tuscan wine for 2.20 Euro. Heaven. We haven’t had that yet but I am going to assume it's awesome. Still on our to-do list is buying a bottle (or if I”m in charge two bottles) of vino rosso and sitting in a Piazza with a pizza e vino. Next week.
BREAKFAST
Jake:
Not much to report here. It isn't a thing. For the first week in Florence, we stayed with a family and they provided breakfast. It was pre-packaged bread-like things with jam or Nutella. OK, so this wasn’t a highlight, but it is interesting that in a land of great food, they mornings don’t start with it.
Jesslyn:
Lacking. What I expected. Italians don’t do breakfast. Maybe it's different at a cafe or at other accommodations but we’ve been staying with a family and eat what is offered to us: processed food and instant coffee. However, there is Nutella on the table. Before we left the States for this trip I had never had Nutella. Wait - don’t judge! I don’t like Hazelnut. Well, I eat it every day now, for breakfast! Apparently you can like Nutella and not like hazelnuts. I haven’t figured out how that works yet but am adapting just fine. I haven’t ordered the Nutella gelato yet but maybe I’ll get there. Tomorrow we move on to a hostel for eight nights and breakfast is included. I look forward to seeing what another breakfast environment is like.
SALUMI:
Jake:
In NYC, we called it by its French name, charcuterie. Basically, a meat (and perhaps cheese) board. It typically includes thinly sliced prosciutto, salami, capacolla, and mortadella. We had it for lunch one day, and it was soooo good. More than we could eat for 13 Euros.
Jesslyn:
In NYC Jake and I ordered many a “char-cuterie”. On our first day here in Firenze we were looking for a lunch spot. Imagine us being starving and super hot. We had just survived our first Italian class and can’t believe how hard it is. Ok…so we are aimlessly walking around and we walk by something that catches my eye. We walk another block or two and I say - “Ok - we have to go back to this place I saw”. Enter awesomeness. There was one woman frantically working and I told her that we…”wanted what they have”….which was an large plate of many Tuscan sausages and prosciutto and cheeses….and two glasses of wine. It was so much food and so good and……..we need to go back!!!
ARANCINI
Jake:
Fried rice balls. We had them at a tiny place where you order from the counter and they hand you a pre-made arancino from behind the glass in a napkin, which you eat with hands. They have different types: I got the cheese and veggie, and Jesslyn got the eggplant and tomato. Simple, quick, and delicious (I keep using that word, I need a thesaurus).
Jesslyn:
Amanda told me to be excited about three menu items in Italy: gelato, coffee (let’s tap it Da!), and arancini. Yesterday, a gelato place was recommended to us so we went there after lunch. Turns out that it is an arancini AND gelato spot. So - we went back today for arancini. SOOOOOOO good!!! I had the “Norma” and Jake had the “Verdure”. This was the kind of place that didn’t have any descriptions in English but I had remembered from previously reading about arancini that I’d like the one called Norma. I’m all about name-association for remembering things and of course the name “Norma” reminded me of Norman. I wish I could tell him about our time here because I think he’d be super excited about our tuscan adventures in food. After taking my first bite I was reminded that the “Norma” contains pomodoro sauce and eggplant. It was absolutely delicious and we’ll be going back another day for lunch to try other kinds! I loved that they serve it on a napkin and you just bite into it….Garrrrrr!
I want to give another shout out to Norman here: when we were in Munich, we went to a museum that had more models of ships and planes that anyone could ever even imagine seeing in their lifetime! I know that he would have appreciated the work that went into creating those models sooooooo much. Thinking of you Norm!
CROSTINI TOSCANI
Jake:
This was another thing that we read Tuscany was known for. It is bread topped with some sort of meat / pate. It is one of the best things I've had here. It has a slight taste of liver, like pate, yet has a more meaty, chunky texture. The best of both worlds.
Jesslyn:
After we had been in Florence for a few days, I realized that I didn’t remember which foods were truly Tuscan vs. which were more well known in other parts of Italy. After refreshing my memory I came across a list which included Crostini Toscani. When I read about it, I remembered thinking, “Well, I’ll try that but it doesn’t sound that awesome.” Tonight we had our first menu which included it. It didn’t have a description - just the name which triggered my memory that we should order it. So, we did, it arrived and there it was - a crostini with pate. Now I remembered. I had a bite and it was kind of gamey. Then I had another bite and it was pretty delicious. That overall experience reminded me of the venison we had in Fort Williams (Scotland)…where the first bite was kind of “eh” and then it got better and better. Weird yes, but an accurate description of eating it. I’d have it again!
CONCLUSION
We are so excited to be in Italy and specifically in Tuscany. The food is great. We’ve had some disappointing meals but more often they have been very good. We can’t wait to try more Tuscan food and cuisine throughout other regions of Italy. We are looking forward to a full day of cooking classes next Saturday at a school just outside of Florence. After that we’ll be spending one night in Verona before moving on to four nights in a small village on Lake Como. On Lake Como we'll have an apartment where we plan to do some cooking with fresh ingredients from the local market and bakery. We aren’t sure what to expect for a kitchen there so it may end up being cheese, salami, bread and wine, but that still sounds pretty nice! Later in August we have rented an apartment for seven nights on an olive farm halfway between Florence and Siena. We know that we have a pretty legit kitchen there, and look forward to not only cooking…but maybe even having a cooking lesson on site.
- Jake and Jesslyn