So far, this blog has visited the Bargello, the Boboli gardens (this order was determined by the occurrence of a sunny day), the Gli Uffizi. Next on the itinerary was the Pitti Palace. But first, I think we're past due for a post on food and wine. And opera! Priorities must be followed!
There is a conspicuous lack of chain restaurants in Italy. There are the occasional McDonald's, mostly by the train stations. There's Eataly, which I would classify as a chain at this point. But for the most part (>95%) are single proprietor places. This is good for the adventurous, but a drawback for those seeking familiarity. I've found that the ratings of eating establishments on Google Maps to be a fair guide. If you are looking ahead and plan, ViaMichelin.com provides some good information (but as always, anything recommended there will be posh, even if not starred).
The cost of eating in Italy is substantially less than in Seattle. A very good 3 course meal at a Michelin recommended (not starred) restaurant with 3 glasses of wine rarely exceeds 60€ (or about $66). A similar meal in Seattle would come in at $100+ before tip (and there are no tips in Italy). So roughly about half. I have pushed a meal above 100€, but that's because I chose a very nice (and pricey) bottle of wine.
One metric I use is whether I can keep the cost of the food greater than the cost of the wine. (I know, first world problem.) In some regards, this is affected more by the quality of the wine list, than the quality of the food. Still. In Seattle, I'm usually challenged to meet the metric (that is, the wine cost usually exceeds the food costs). In Italy, it can be a challenge to miss it. Excellent wines by the glass are often 3-7€. In Seattle, similar quality wines would be $12-20/glass.
Here's a list of restaurants, all in Florence, that I visited for dinner, each followed by my rating (out of 10):
- Osteria dei Centopoveri (7). Meh.
- Ristorante Buca Mario (8). Michelin rated (no stars). I ate here twice because the wait staff were so helpful and fun. One waiter whistled like a chirping bird whenever a new group entered the dining room. I called him Signore Uccellino (Sir Little Bird). He seemed to like the moniker. The food was competently made of good ingredients.
- Florence Central Market (8). This is like a food court in a mall, except much more varied. There is the obligatory pizza stand, there was an Eataly shop, and there was a place that had up-scale food that all included white truffle. Unfortunately, I discovered this place on the way out after having a pizza. Still this is a cool place to eat, mostly because you can browse around so many different types of food: from pizza to truffles to Tuscan steaks; pastries, beer, wine, etc. And often there's a live band.
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| Florence Central Market |
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| Florence Central Market |
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| Florence Central Market |
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| Florence Central Market |
- I Latini (8). Michelin rated (no stars). The usual Tuscan menu, well-done, with very good service.
- La Bottega del Buon Caffè (9). This is a 1-star Michelin restaurant. I ate here twice. The first meal consisted of an abbreviated tasting menu (I didn't think I could make my way through the entire tasting menu). The second was favorites from the first, ordered a la carte. I also got the wine pairings with the tasting menu--only one of which I'd ever heard of before. Service was superb--attentive without interruption; friendly without being obsequious. The dishes were inventive, but not outrageously so. They provided a hint of frisson without taking a mallet to your palate.
- Primosale e campagna di Borgo (a soft salted cheese from Borgo, which is where they have a farm growing many of their ingredients) and field greens
- Capasanta con porro, mela e fiori di Borgo (scallops with leeks, apple, and flowers from Borgo)
- Risotto alle erbe di campo, kefir di pecora, salsa di limone, mandorle (risotto with field herbs, fermented sheep's milk, and almonds)
- Agnolotti di coniglio alla cacciatore (agnolotti are small ravioli, in this case stuffed with hunter's catch rabbit)
- Sottobosco. Literally "under the forest" or forest undergrowth. Some mushrooms and flowers.
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| La Bottega del Buon Caffè amuse bouche (yes, the "dirt" is edible) |
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| La Bottega del Buon Caffè Primosale e campagna di Borgo |
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| La Bottega del Buon Caffè Capasante |
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| La Bottega del Buon Caffè Agnolott |
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| La Bottega del Buon Caffè Sottobosco |
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| La Bottega del Buon Caffè open kitchen with chef plating |
I know they say you should never trust a skinny Italian chef. This case is an exception!
In almost all cases in Florence, they will offer you a menu in English. I usually ask for the Italian menu. In a lot of cases, the English menu has an abbreviated (and often inadequate) description. At least the Italian menu has the detail, even if you have to type most of it into Google Translate (which, by the way, is most unhelpful with even slightly out-of-the-way Italian food terms). For example, in the above menu, there is a risotto with "kefir di pecora." Now a foodie in the US would know that a kefir is a fermented milk product, but Google is frustrating (translating "kefir" in Italian as "kefir" in English, which is correct, but unhelpful). A foodie would also know that pecorino cheese is a sheep cheese. So, "kefir di pecora" must be fermented sheep's milk. But none of this is going to be obvious to anyone reading the menu in either English (which doesn't even mention kefir) or Italian. So you really need to rely on the waitstaff for a reliable explanation.
Okay, enough about food. The final part of this post is about opera! While I was in Florence, the opera company performed Giacomo Puccini's I Trittico. For opera aficionados, you know that this is not a single opera, but 3 one-act operas that Puccini composed to be performed together. The common thread in all three is that each contains a concealed death. They each have their individual emotions. La Tabarra is dark and brooding, with some violence. Suor Angelica is an uplifting tale of religious redemption. Gianni Schicchi is a farce with schemes and double-dealing.
Sadly, the three together are rarely performed, although some of the individual one-act operas are performed from time to time, mostly Gianni Schicchi because of its memorable aria "O mio bambino caro". Probably one reason is that it's difficult to stage: these are 3 operas, so require 3 stagings, 3 sets of primary singers, etc., all adding cost.
Florence opera performs in Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, was inaugurated in 2011 with a performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony under Zubin Mehta. It's a cube with simple faces designed to project video on. It's quite striking.
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| Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino |
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| Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino |
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| Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino from balcony |
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| Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino lobby |
The performance of I Trittico I attended was very well done. The staging was made to be reconfigurable so it was reused in all three one-act operas. The singers were phenomenal, the chorus was excellent. The costumes were appropriately period. Orchestra seats weren't cheap, about the same as Seattle Opera. The hall had great acoustics (I was in the center of row G, orchestra) and great sight-lines. During the two intermissions, there was easy access to drinks (champagne, prosecco, etc.) and espresso. I thoroughly enjoyed the evening hearing opera in the city that invented the art form in 1598.
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