**This blog was updated in 2024 after a trip to Florence.
Just thinking about eating the Tuscan food found in Florence, Italy gets my mouth watering. Florence is—without a doubt—my favorite food city in the world!
Although quite regional, good Italian dishes are generally comprised of only a few exquisite ingredients, pasta and meat are served as separate courses, and balance is the name of the game—pizzas aren’t dripping with cheese, pasta is not drenched in sauce, and dishes capitalize on fresh, seasonal ingredients. There are many wonderful restaurants in Florence that practice that food ethic.
In Florence, you will find ancient dishes connected to the rich land of Tuscany. Bistecca alla Fiorentina (from Chianina cows who grazed on the nutrient-rich grasses of the region that produces Chianti wine) perfumes the city as grills heat up around dinner-time. It is served medium-rare, dressed simply with salt and olive oil, and melts in your mouth like beefy butter. Bread-based hearty soups like pappa al pomodoro or ribollita are Florentine favorites. Boars (cinghiale) roam the Tuscan countryside and are porky perfection in pasta dishes featuring cinghiale ragu. Make sure you fare la scarpetta—scoop up the leftover sauce with Tuscan bread. The salt-free slices are a perfect vehicle for wiping your plate clean.
You can get a great sandwich (panino) at stands across the city. Lampredotto (the fourth stomach—because the others aren’t as good) is a local favorite. The sandwiches (panini) are served on crusty, chewy rolls with a parsley sauce and chili oil. Have the vendor dunk the top of the roll in the broth for you. I find lampredotto okay but prefer my panino with boiled beef roast (panino con bollito). This sandwich is served on the same hearty roll as lampredotto with the same sauces. But unlike its offal cousin, it occupies my dreams and is one of the first things I eat when I get to Florence and one of the last (I’ve even had it for breakfast when travel plans necessitated).
No meal would be complete without stopping off for the dessert that the city is probably best known for—gelato. With less air than its American counterpart, it’s remarkably creamy and rich yet lower in fat than ice cream…so you can feel good eating it.
Although I’m always finding new favorites, here are a few of the places that I think are the best restaurants in Florence. Many of these places are old favorites that…
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