Upon our arrival we stopped for lunch at the first place that caught out eye...TRE MERLI in the Antiques district. The outside terrace looked appealing,the other patrons were smiling so we sat down..gasping with thirst and with rumbling tummies.
The young waiter was "lurch-like" he hovered over us,spoke barely above a whisper and after he gave us our menus seemed to wallow in invisible quicksand...Everything seemed to be too much for him to bare:...waiting at the till for change....getting an order out...taking an order!! ...we were not only starving by the time he inched his way to us but so thirsty our tongues had developped fur coats :
"What would you like?" he asked amicably.
" I would like a Quatro Stagioni pizza please..."
"Ok...and you?" he turned to the Coach.
" A Calzone please."
"We would also like a couple of beers...what do you recommend?" I shouldn't have bothered as his reply came wafting towards my ears on the wings of a whisper...i.e: I didn't hear a bloody thing .
"Yes"...said the Coach and we hoped for the best.
The beers were in long,cool glasses and we chugged merrily....before the waiter retraced his steps:
" ...Sorry...what pizzas did you order ?" Yikes!
It was a longish wait but we were on holiday...where was the rush? He showed up with pizzas and we smiled with relief ...until:
"Calzone for Signore and....Quatro Formaggi per lei..."
I looked down in disbelief:
" I asked for Quatro STAZIONI not FORMAGGI!?"
Unflustered he accepted his mistake :
"It will take 5 mns, signora".....
Yeah....right.
The pizza was good and by that I mean the crust and the Tallagio cheese...the tinned mushrooms and artichokes just looked sad and ruined my pizza experience in la Bella Firenze.
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But not one to linger on culinary disasters we knew we had dinner plans with my aunt that evening and it did not disappoint:
Buca della' Orafo is just off the Ponte Vecchio with an entrance so small you could sneeze and miss it but what it lacks in size makes up for in food.
I had the thin slices of beef and Parmesan shavings with sage and herbs and yummy stuff that makes you close your eyes and see angels frolicking on clouds.
...look...the food was gorgeous...enough said.
On our last night Patrizia suggested the Trattoria del Orto...which was over the bridge and easily found and not far from our hotel..as the crow flies and with the promise of the best fiori di zucchini stuffed with mozzarella... we were positively struttin' like peacocks.
The terrace is lovely ,there is something about eating outdoors when you no longer have to suffer the indignities of summer heat and it's unsightly consequences...which I suffered profusely at Buca della Orafo...what can I say...the A/C wasn't on!
Here they are the marvellous,mouthwateringly good: stuffed courgette flowers in a batter as light as a gossamer wing.
The Coach's Charcuteria platter....
And then my main dish....Pappardelle al cingale: wild boar with pappardelle pasta...I am swooning just looking at the photo....Lord only knows what the Coach ordered I cannot remember for the life of me...back to my pappardelle...
The food in Florence is simply divine...there is no other way to put it...Delicious,down to earth cooking that holds your stomach hostage during your stay that upon your return home...nothing... simply nothing! is worth eating.....
Well, until you get over it.
