One of the best aspects of staying in an apartment, as opposed to a hotel, is the freedom to cook and prepare meals at home. Not only will you save a considerable amount of money, you will also be able to use this opportunity to have encounters and interactions with Florentine people – your local shop owners, bakers, butchers and pastry chefs! Shopping for food is a national pastime and many Italians will stop at five different shops for five different items, making sure they get the very best and freshest item with each purchase. Thus, picking up a few items for a casual dinner in your apartment can turn into a cultural experience and will allow you to feel like a temporary resident, instead of merely a tourist.
Here are some of our favorite places in Florence to put together the makings for a traditional Tuscan meal:
- Many Florentines make a visit to their local market on a daily basis. They are also probably on a first name basis with their favorite vendors and can spot a good tomato just by looking at it. In terms of location, price and variety, the
San Lorenzo (just north of the San Lorenzo church) and
Sant’Ambrogio (in the Sant’Ambrogio neighborhood north of Santa Croce) markets are the best in the city.
- Stop at
Zanobini (Via di Sant’Antonino 47) for a well-priced bottle of local wine. We suggest a Chianti Classico or a Brunello di Montalcino from the Val D’Orcia region of Tuscany. Let the shopkeepers know your menu for the night and they will suggest the perfect accompaniment.
- Though
Pegna (via dello Studio 8) could be classified as a supermarket, it is unlike any supermarket you have seen. Row after elegant row is lined with the best dried pasta, jams, biscuits, teas, and conserves. Their cheese counter stocks local pecorino varieties that are great on crostini.
- For a show-stopping dessert to complete your meal,
Patrizia Cosi (Borgo degli Albizi 15) doesn’t disappoint. Her cakes, tarts and cookies are all divine – especially the mutilayered
millefoglie cake.
Context Florence visits the above places (and more) on their
Florence Market and
Florence Food Experiences walks. Context is a network of scholars and specialists—in disciplines including art history, cuisine, urban planning, history, restoration and classics—who, in addition to our normal work as professors and researchers, design and lead in-depth walking seminars for small groups of intellectually curious travelers. For more information on what Context does in Florence (and about our services in our other cities: Rome, Venice, Naples, London, Paris, Madrid, Athens, Berlin, Istanbul, New York, Philadelphia and Boston), visit:
www.contexttravel.com
