Enoteca Fuori Porta

Good views lead to good food. This panoramic was taken atop Piazzale Michelangelo. The uphill climb, brief as it was, built an appetite, so I headed down to whet it. Be wary of heading down the scenic garden path. If you're like me and go the wrong direction, you'll be looking at the road forlornly realizing that you have to backtrack. Unless you're confident in your wall descent skills even with a full backpack and camera. Go parkour!

The street wound me toward Enoteca Fuori Porta, a delightful restaurant filled with locals. That was an excellent sign. That and the cool air emanating from inside.

I peeled my backpack and took a seat inside. There were a few people inside including a man and his dog. I love dogs and it's neat to see so many dog friendly establishments in Europe. This place even had a water dish for this cute dog.

I ordered the tortelli di pecorino e pere allo zafferano e papavero (ravioli of pecorino and pears with saffron and poppy) and a 2009 Frescobaldi Chianti (€3). When in Florence, order the chianti.

Here is a grand meal. Simple, prepared well, and is filling. The tortelli (€10) arrived remarkably fast accompanied by grated parmesan cheese. It was a sun yellow pasta which reminded me of Tuscan yellow. The sauce was a lighter shade and dotted with poppy seeds. The cheese was light, slightly nutty flavor and crumbly. I couldn't taste the pear, but wonder if the pecorino and pear neutralized each other? Surcharge: €1.50.

This is where I wrote that Italian speakers sing. They really do. I enjoy the lilting rollercoaster of their language. And watching the interactions, I noticed the familiarity between guests and waitstaff. It's nice to know a restaurant has regulars. In the end, climbing down walls pays off.

This is their back dining area. Notice the color variety.

They had dense colored glassware too. A regular hides in the background.

Via del Monte alle Croci, 
10, 50125 Firenze, Italy
+39 055 234 2483 ‎  
fuoriporta.it 

The Search for Ginger - Perchè no!

I have a passion for ginger root. I desire the spiciness, the sweet heat. At sushi restaurants, I will eat your leftover pickled ginger. My eyes light up at new ginger products especially ginger beers and ales and ice creams. I rushed to Boulder, CO once I heard about Bitter Bar's Ginger Overload. I rushed to Glacé for their Candied Ginger ice cream once I arrived in Kansas City for Christmas 2010 (they were out). I splurged at Boulder's Frasca for Fever Tree Ginger Ale ($4 for a little bottle).

I'm obsessed and particular. Typically, my search leads to disappointment. Bitter Bar nailed it by muddling ginger right there. Reed's Ginger Ale makes my favorite ginger beer and ale. I love ginger candy for capturing ginger's essence remarkably well. Manifesto makes the fiercest ginger candy I've met yet. Ginger ice cream regularly fails me. Typically it's tame, spicy heat nullified by cream, whitebread, non-daring for mass exploitation.

Fortunately my non-diagnosed ADD (yay, bright lights!) lead me to unexpected finds. By late Sunday evening, I had already eaten 14 gelato samples at the Firenze Gelato Festival. I was aimlessly wandering when randomly flashing bright lights caught me attention. Blue! Green! Red! Yellow! Welcome to Perchè no!

They had many selections including alcoholic gelato (negroni and another), sorbetti, granata, and 2 soy-based gelatos. I was close to abstaining until I spotted this:

The heavens opened and shined upon the ginger gelato. I thought of all the wonderful and strange flavors I had already tried and capitulated. One scoop of ginger gelato in a cup, please.

So, not only does the ginger gelato display feature ginger root, this €2 single scoop gets layered with a ginger reduction! Ahhhhh! The heat, the spice, the actual ginger root bits, the fragrant ginger syrup on top, I was in heaven. Perchè no! delivered where previous ice cream establishments failed.

Another image of the ginger backdropped by the sorbetti and negroni.

Reviews of this fine establishment.

Another entrance shot.

Lists the flavors at the festival. Somehow I did miss their booth and I'm very sad I did.

 Perché No!
Via dei Tavolini, 
19-red, 50122 
Firenze, Italy  
+39 055 239 8969 ‎

Trattoria Angiolino - Florence, Italy

In an earlier post, I mentioned I researched typical Tuscan food. Here is my list.
1. Lampredotto stands - 4th cow stomach
2. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3. Bread
4. Chestnuts
5. Wine - try Chianti
6. Donuts
7. Ribollita - Tuscan soup
8. Schiacciata con l'uva - focaccia with grapes
9. Cenci - fried dough
10. Fagioli All'uccelletto - bean and meat dish.

It's an intimidating list. Whereas other people hunt the real David statue, I hunt food. This led me to Trattoria Angiolino on Santo Spirito.

They were advertising Ribollita (€7) and Fagioli all'olio o all'uccelletto (€4). These were rare finds so I was properly excited. They weren't open yet (be prepared for Italian restaurants to appear open but really aren't), so I gazed upon prosciuttos at Olio & Convivium (look at the per kilo prices),

 and I watched the Tango Spirito dancers for another hour.

Finally, their opening hour arrived and I was starving. Reservations are encouraged, but they were able to seat me and my second (my large backpack). I do recommend making reservations for Santo Spirito restaurants. They are very popular and receive much foot traffic.

Trattoria Angiolino has a fantastic interior. The exposed stone, murals, Tuscan colors, dim lighting add to its hushed atmosphere. Respectful of this, I glanced around and sneakily took pictures.

My food arrived remarkably fast. Here we have the Ribollita alla fiorentina. Links show that Ribollita means reboiled, was originally leftover minestrone reboiled with bread, and features inexpensive vegetables. It is a simple dish with white, green and muted red colors. There were light Italian spices present. Overall, a simple hearty dish presented with a triple layer of plates.

Along with this came bread and cooked white beans. The bread was part of the cover charge (€3). The white beans confused me for a while. Fagioli all'olio o all'uccelletto should come with meat, yet this was just white beans. Then I remembered how I ordered. Oftentimes at restaurants I'll say the beginning of a dish's name so I'm less embarrassed as I butcher the foreign words. The short, bald Italian repeated back to me: "just fagioli all'olio?" I replied affirmatively, therefore I received Tuscan white beans with sage and olive oil. D'oh! They were quite good and satisfying. The bread was dense and chewy. I even mixed the table olive oil with the bread and beans. So good, so smooth.

My bill came to €11 which meant they subtracted the cover charge since I erred my order. Thank you for the grace. So, if you're looking for traditional Tuscan fare on an interesting thoroughfare filled with street vendors and possibly tango dancers, go to Trattoria Angiolino. They also serve larger dishes perfect for sharing.


Another dining room.

The front of the restaurant.

via Santo Spirito 36r,

Florence,

50125

Italy

Pino's Arte Caffetteria Bistro - Florence, Italy

The news of my upcoming Florence travels tended to generate comments and advice. The architect spoke of the Campanile and it's 400+ steps. The artists spoke of the museums and statues. Food people also spoke of the gelato, but also admonished me that Italy wasn't all about pasta and pizza. With this in mind, I hopped on the internet and researched typical Tuscan food. Pizza was never very  far from my mind, but my stomach has its digestive limits. Really, it does.

My pizza desire brought me to Pino's Arte Caffetteria Bistro Da Mamma Anna on Sunday afternoon. It was affordable, looked promising, and the gelato festival hadn't started yet that afternoon.

The waiter showed me to my table. They have both indoor and outdoor seating options. I chose to sit in their outdoor courtyard which was nicely colorful and welcoming. It was also an oasis from the Ponte Vecchio's tourist craziness. I sat in my chair and nearly fell off it thanks to a newly discovered broken leg. Whoops. I think that's when I met Mamma Anna. They quickly replaced my chair and profusely apologized.

I placed my order for the Prosciutto pizza (€7) which featured tomato, mozzarella, and ham. Along with pizzas, their menu also has two fixed priced options - a Menu Toscano and Pasta (5 types) + Salad. As I waited, I glanced around and took some pictures. My table is in the bottom left hand corner. It's a pleasant looking establishment surrounded by religious art stores. Some tourists even came by to take pictures. Thankfully, they were respectful and silent.

This is the inside portion. Notice the gray and blood red flooring.

Finally, the pizza arrived. It smelled wonderful and was nicely fragrant. Oil glistened at the crust's edge. It was a bit watery probably from the tomatoes. The bottom was crisp with crust about 5mm thick. The cheese was not well melted to the crust and existed nearly as a separate layer. This proved troublesome eating.

Eventually, it was too soggy to enjoy eating. I even drained the pizza after my first 1 or 2 slices. Overall, the pizza's wetness and separate cheese layer was too much for me. I didn't finish my pizza. Neither did I take it with me. The wetness does not make this one for leftovers.

I left disheartened. My pizza experience has not lived up to my expectations yet.

Pino's Bistro
Opposite side of the River Arno by way of the Ponte Vecchio bridge. Look to the right as you walk down.
Good prices, no cover charge (a bonus here).
I do not recommend their pizza.

Firenze Gelato Festival

I stumbled bleary eyed from my plane, arriving in Pisa at 2:45am. Affordable travel options to my hostel did not exist, so I made the perfectly rational decision to stay awake until my morning Florence train. Rational? Ha! The sun began to rise, so I meandered outside the airport to find this sight:

That is how you deal with 7am. You drink enough red wine so it fits into your .5 Liter water bottle. I was emboldened to stay awake. Finally, I made it to Florence  around 9:45am. I charged into Florence and found tents, gelato signs and smiling people.Welcome to the Firenze Gelato Festival.

They weren't open yet, but also looked too generic for my taste, so I traipsed more. My morning was a tease of tempting gelatarias (not open or too touristy looking) and restaurants (again, not open). Finally, I landed here, the Piazza de' Pitti.

As I read the gelato signs and saw some product, I knew I found my Firenze gelato home. Still, they wouldn't open until noon. What to do? I was determined to be first in line, so I started waiting at 10:45am. Fortunately, they had shaded seating and I had Beyond the Pale by Mark Anthony, a Colorado fantasy author. Finally, it was showtime. €7 got you a rechargeable card and 5 samples. Each additional €5 gets you 5 more samples.

Arriving early also allowed me to plan my first visit. Unusual flavors, dark green soy cones, a temaki ice special, sushi ice (did not try)... the eclecticism appealed.

To the left, we have rice and wasabi gelatos flavored with freshly cut strawberry, black  sesame, red beans, spicy asian trail mix in the back. To the right, we have sesamo croccante (toasted? sesame) and pineapple ginger with the same accompaniments. The wasabi heat was subtle (thank goodness), nice rice texture (grew up on rice ice cream), some chewiness to it almost like sticky rice. You could smell the ginger. It was slightly sweet and the heat lingered a bit. The sesame was slightly gritty, such a nice dark taste. Oh, and that soy cone was so tasty.

Next was the Ricotta di Bufala from L'Ancora. I love water buffalo cheese and can't get enough in Colorado. The gelato was dense, but the taste light. It was there and gone. Ephemeral.

I want to capture this woman's voice just so I could hear her lilting Italian again. This is the Mandorla from Il Procopio. It features almond's nuttiness with what tastes like caramelized orange.

Next up we had Greek Feta and Cetriola (cucumber) from Il Re Gelato. The cream was inconsistent and chunky. The cucumber was a peculiar taste and didn't seem to fit. I wanted more feta taste and consistent texture.

Meet La Pera Al Pepe Rosa from De Coltelli. Everyone was ordering it, so I bowed to peer pressure. It was sorbet-like with a slight peppery smell. The taste was initially sweet then moved to a peppery finish. It's lightness was appropriate as I was onto my 8th sampling.

My notes only say "Grom - gritty with orange peel? Dried fruit". Delicious, though.

Day 2, Sunday, brought Ice Bau, the dog friendly gelato. With my limited Italian, I think it is rice based. It looks delectable, I've eaten gourmet dog food before, why not? The vanilla flavor came out true. Dogs, don't worry, you'll taste the vanilla. It had a granular look, good texture. Something was slightly off of the flavor. I only wish I could read Italian.

Darn attractive gelato carts, friendly proprietors and tempting flavors.

I was back to double fisting. From Cassia Vetus, we have Le Picce on the left (dried figs with walnuts and almonds with orange and lemon zest - flavor profile from tasting: fig then orange then nuts), and La Castagna Perella del Pratomagno (natural chestnut ice cream, so no air. Dense, grainy with chestnuts, so good). We need more chestnuts in Colorado.

Cavini, home of Funghi Porcini. Mushroom ice cream with a cracker. You could smell the mushroom up close. It was slightly sweet with a mushroom finish. It was nice, certainly edible by one that isn't a mushroom fanatic, but it was almost too much. I ate 3/4 of my container.

Le Dame finished my Firenze Gelato Festival two day expedition. This is the Persiano. From what I overheard, it features rose water, saffron, almonds (certainly persian, but unsure) and some other spices. Amazing spice and rose finish.

After €17, 14 large gelato samples, I was finished at the Firenze Gelato Festival. Cheers to Florence and it's delightful gelato culture. Hats off to their wonderful organization and card system. Each booth swiped your card and gave a receipt of how many samples you used there along with your remainder (genius!). If you visit Florence, look up these establishments and others and experiment with their offerings. Be aware of mass-produced, generic offerings, though. Look for the artisanal products. Your stomach and taste buds will thank you.

Welcome to Florence, Italy

Florence, Italy is home to renowned museums and artwork, gelato, simply prepared food, breathtaking views, and more. I visited Florence for several reasons. I love Italian food, heard of the artwork and statues, and RyanAir flew cheaply into Pisa which is a 50-70 minute train ride from Florence. The benefits of traveling blind is that you discover treasure in the most unlikely places.

The first surprise was the Firenze Gelato Festival. How did they know I was visiting? Apparently, Florence (Firenze) is gelato's birthplace. Over the 2 days I visited, I enjoyed 15 different full-sized flavor samples. Yes, I came back fatter. More on this later.

Delectable pasta with Chianti will also tempt you at small neighborhood cafes tucked near scenic gardens. Read more about Chianti wine here.

You try to balance between the gelato and pasta, but then discover their cheeses, specifically burrata. Osteria Marco meet Osteria Il Cantinone. You got served mainly due to their extremely generous portions.

Mmmmm. Second dessert - meat candy. I tried to decide between my travel budget, the Cinta Senese Prosciutto (€120/kilo), or the Spagnolo Pata Negra Prosciutto (€150/kilo). I asked for 25 grams of each. From the gentleman's demeanor I thought he was irritated at my small request. I got two slices of each free. Thank you! Thank you! This picture depicts the Cinta Senese which tasted of spiced fruit, olive oil and a slight peppery finish. The unpictured Spagnolo was more buttery, some spice finish, and the fat was slightly oily in a good way.

All this food meant much walking. Here are statues at Loggia dei Lanzi.

 A selection of Florence's random religious art. When walking their streets, look up often. You might find unexpected gems.

I fell in love with the Tuscan colors, primarily this yellow. It's a gorgeous city and it's fun to hear Italian.

Florence has many museums. I chose to visit the Museo Galileo. It's home to the vast scientific collections of the Medici and Lorraine family. The ingenuity of our predecessors is extraordinary. Go there to witness their creativity, engineering feats, and art of their scientific pursuits. Galileo is around the corner from the famous Uffizi Gallery. If you want to visit Uffizi, reserve your tickets and bypass their intimidating line.

They also have a rabid bike culture. You must look out for bicycles, scooters, and cars when crossing the street (do you see the man sleeping on his?). They also have a bicycle only paths. Thumbs up to you, Florence.

Besides being a nice view, click for an enlarged image to notice the innovative sunbathers. When surrounded by buildings blocking your sun time, concrete across the River Arno provides the solution.

There is much fashion to be found here also, including Ferragamo and it's accompanying museum.

My Florence visit was brief but busy. I walked a lot, dined a lot, ate too much gelato, and enjoyed their landscapes. I found it a great city to visit and would like to visit again. There are more museums to explore, many more side streets, and they have hills that tempt my hiking needs. I will leave you with a final video filmed on the Ponte Vecchio bridge.