Something his guests rave about as they leave the restaurant, "O it is the best restaurant in Italy: the best food we have had on our trip..." they gush as they meet Soldano on their way out of the restaurant.
I'm standing with Soldano laughing about his stories of all his true friends, who happen to be famous rock stars, (Sting & Trudy dine there with 20 guests about once a week from their home in Tuscany) and yet Soldano chats with each and every guest on their way to jumping into the romantic streets of Florence. 
Wine rules Italy, maybe now with a little help from Giorgia Meloni, & AnneMarie at MillesiMi Grandi Vini Di Toscana rules Florence with her 22 plus years of helping nobility within the Florentine walls choose a little dinner wine & mostly French.
Near Santo Spirito Square at Borgo Tegolaio 33/R #055 26 54 675
Whether very French & Bourgeoisie upper class looking or sleek & elegant with her hair tucked discreetly behind her ears, AnneMarie is a fascination. To listen to really. You can interject & give a little opinion, yet it is truly amazing to learn so much about the French landowners of vineyards since Napolean & the wine that is produced from these famous lands that I tend to just love the stories. 
She has a noble face of the Dante Aligheri family line, yet she is totally French. She lives very near to the new winemaker who we as Americans know as the famous movie star, Brad Pitt, & buys his wine directly from him. "Mostly because of course he has a importer, yet I know what his wine costs, so I buy it from Brad Pitt himself." I say that it is very nice to have such a excuse to chat with Mr. Pitt, too, so that is a added plus! 
The Omidimo, which translates to "hope" has been associated with quality since before 1999, when Roberto broke away from his father's factory to open his own boutique store. His father had made leathers for all of the leather market vendors, yet when Roberto decided to open Omidimo, he asked his father to only make leathers exclusively for him. Being Italian & very proud of his father's craft, Roberto built a tiny empire that is one of & perhaps the only one that has remained the same the last 40 years. He employs 45 craftsmen & women in his leather factory & they hand sew the leather jackets & accessories everyday only for Roberto. 
SAN LORENZO Leather Markets: #1 in the World
Omidimo is a elegant leather store. It is super modern & fancy in its interior design to reflect the care that the owners take of their quality & image of their leather coats. They do have belt accessories, yet the Capo, Roberto, has his brother-in-law, also named Roberto, next door to take care of the wallets, bags & purses of his guests. The father started the leather business & he used to make leathers for all of the market. That was “back in the day” as we Americans are fondly of saying. When people from every part of the world came to Florence to specifically shop for leather coats & bags.
With new designers
& new technology, you can purchase leather coats elsewhere; however, it is
accepted & acknowledged worldwide that Florence leather is the top in the
world for quality & design. For over 40 years Roberto’s family has been
taking care of the leather market in Florence. When Roberto branched out to
form his own flagship store in the San Lorenzo markets, he asked his father to
only make leathers at his factory for him. Now, since 1999, they employ 45
craftsmen & women to create the beautiful designs that you can find here.
Indeed, it is the only place in the world that you can still find the original
leather makers from 1989. So, come here with your pocketbooks & find some
great items to last a lifetime.
As I chat with Roberto, I am givin' a VERY SPECIAL TREAT on Thanksgiving. 4 Americans come in & start trying on leather jackets. They come from Houston & I am so happy to hear American voices after 3 months in Europe that I am just tickled pink. They say Happy Thanksgiving, & I say O yes that is right it is Thanksgiving! They buy 3 leather jackets, although I am pretty sure the lady is the only one who came in to do so! It is that kind of place. You try on & fall in love. Plus the team, headed by Roberto, is very lowkey & just tries to help you with your decision. Roberto constantly tells funny stories of all of his American guests & we all just laugh & listen. Then as they exit 4 more Americans, from the Philadelphia area, come in. The young couple live in the Cayman Islands now, & the 2 ladies live in Virginia & Pennsylvania. They buy a leather jacket & the other lady says she shall come back the next day. They decide to use my Emmeanesbook for dinner at Soldano's La Giostra! The fun part of shopping at Omidimo is the wine that keeps flowing from the Chianti box for all the guests; whether you buy or browse. Or espresso if you wish. We were all partaking in a little Happy Thanksgiving celebration while the Guests shopped, & I personally had sooo much fun laughing & talking to the leather buyers. “As I said, I love my guests. They come here about 20 years in a row. They call me, they email me, they call & say Hey Roberto, we’re sending friends to come visit you in 2 weeks, please take care of everybody.” So, of course Roberto takes care of everybody. They whatsapp him, they call him, they come in with arms wide open greeting him. He just sits & smiles & laughs saying, ”I’m Italian & I have been doing my job about 22 years. I don’t pressure my friends. I know that you come to buy leather & it is your decision which one. I can tell from a person’s body what will look good on them, but ultimately they have to love their coat. A couple of months since a woman came in & bought the reversible leather coat that you tried on. She then went home, ordered 2 of these & wire transferred me $2,000 from America! Then she bought 25 coats! She said that she can sell these for $4,000 in America! I said, alright if that is what you want to do!” Wow. Americans should just travel on a $500 round trip ticket to Florence; it is cheaper to fly!
So, what kind of leather would the owner of a 25-year leather jacket store choose? I guess the traditional black leather jacket, as shown here.
Mercato Centrale: Florence VegnVeg
Piazza del Mercato Centrale 4
Meet Marcella Bianchi, of VegnVeg
Which me being classically trained in Shakespeare from London Academy of Performing Arts, I totally relate to with Bianca being the beautiful daughter of Baptista Minola the wealthy gentleman of Padua. Which, honestly, considering Mr. William Shakespeare is very much a London man (Stratford Upon Avon) I often wonder his fascination of Italy lore. I always played Kate, who must be married first before Bianca can be married! 
However, Ms. Marcella Bianchi has a very adventurous spirit to herself & is nothing akin to Shakespeare's spoiled Bianca!
"I went to college to become a lawyer. In my last years, I thought that perhaps it is not lawyer for me," says Marcella as she starts her fascinating & charming story.
"When I lived in Australia, I worked on a natural farm growing vegetables and all of that for about 6 months. Everybody does that when they come to Australia. It gave me time to appreciate the earth & the natural food & herbs & when I came back to Verona I thought of what I want to do with life. I asked my sister's husband to help me with marketing & we approached the Mercato in Florence with my idea of all natural burgers, vegan & healthy vegetarian options. They were unimpressed & asked in a business way for a proposal to do it. My sister's husband made my ideas into a professional storyboard & we presented that to the Mercato & they said yes. When we opened I had worked with the Desgo Chef, who is famous in Verona to help me to develop recipes with burgers that are all Vegan & we started here with learning everyday from 7:00am to close for 2 years of how to make a VegnVeg ristorante survive!" laughs Ms. Bianchi, yet she is totally serious. "At first, the Italians did not want us. The tourists loved our healthy food, yet the Italians said yuck, where is the pasta &pizza!" She laughs. "It has really become popular after Covid because all of a sudden people want to superboost their immune system & that is what we do."
https://www.vegandveg.it/eng
"Some Vegan &Vegetarian places are not very healthy, they use fried veggies & unhealthy sauces or oils, but my concept is about natural & healthy food which happens to be vegetarian at my restaurants. All natural & all without chemicals. I want a very healthy natural alternative to eating Vegetarian," says Marcella. 
I fell in love with all the designs on the top floors. You will too. They have 25 designs of backpacks, for instance, & duffels, clutch purses, wallets, handbags, overnight bags,etc. I totally wanted every piece of leather. The handcrafted items are all made by artisans in their private factory of 40 years. You must buy here!
Roberto & his wife Layla are very shy. They're very kind & very humble & yet very professional. Layla laughs shyly when I tell her I bought many items from her about 25 years since. She says that they have customers from 30 years before to the present. That they receive many emails & phone calls from guests who have been here for years & have sent friends & friends of friends. I say tha is the way that the business circle has formed to become big. To have word of mouth is always the best & when you are the best, it just makes it better! So, come buy a couple of bags. I say a couple because I totally challenge you to buying just one. Impossible. Roberto says that he loves his factory of 5 artisans working only on his orders & projects. That each bag is one of a kind & that each bag can be found at only one place in the world. Here. From his 5 craftsmen/women who work tirelessly to provide each guest with their precious purchase that lasts a lifetime.
Can you imagine receiving the beautiful piece of luggage for a present, say for Christmas? Wow. 
The glossy texture, the detailed design & the quality of the leather says it all. 
Taverna Divina Commedia
Via Dei Cimatori 5/7/r, Florence, Italy
reservations: +39 338 6409196 
Francesco Cofone has owned the famous Taverna Divina Commedia from 2003. He is a very important musician in the Florence region & has made you tube videos & a new CD during his many years owning a famous music club in Florence. Nowadays you can enjoy hearing him play at the Taverna Divina Commedia on Saturday nights starting at 8:00pm where he plays with other musicians he has scheduled. When I asked if the Music Star Sting has come, he says,"That would be great if he came. I would be Wow! to play with Sting. I LOVE STING!"
The Taverna has a fun feeling to it. The Chef, Giorgio, is always out talking to guests, then he goes to cook your dinner, then he brings it to you. The place is so very artistic with the music playing, Francesco's love, the live music on Saturday night & the various artistic paintings & candles scattered around the charming Taverna, Angela's love, that you feel like you could almost imagine Dante sitting at a table writing his famous poem! Having a little dessert wine with his Italian biscotti.
Or sitting outside receiving inspiration from the many passerby's as they wonder the cobblestoned alleys of Florence. 
Dante's family house is about 100 meters from here, so that is why Francesco named it after Dante's famous poem, The Divine Comedy.
These are some of the traditional dishes at the Taverna Divina Commedia such as: Crespelle alla florentina, Pappardella al ragu di chianina, Tortelli cinghiale e porcini & if you feel as if you would love to be true to Dante of Dante's Divina Commedia, try the pizzas. For instance: Virgilio, Dante, Inferno & Cerbero. Or the Beatrice. 
SimBiosi Organic Cafe, Pizzeria & Ristorante
are the "brainchild's" of the pair of Mr. & Mrs. Donato, thanks very much, of Florence. I am always thrilled when I have actual Florentines on my website, & especially friends from many years. I first met the pair in 2015 when they had just opened the cafe & we laughed about how they had started a baby online business from their homes; baby clothes etc. And here they were with their first Biological Pizzeria. They had never been in the Pizzeria business, yet were very loyal to biological food & healthy food. Now plus 7 years & here they are with 3 very successful respected businesses. https://www.facebook.com/pizzeriasimbiosi
SimBiosi Pizzeria is located at: Via de' Ginori, 56r, Florence, Italy, 50123
The atmosphere is stone historical walls that are typical of most buildings of Florence with wooden rafter ceilings & wooden tables that make you totally comfortable. The pizza makers create right in front of you, which is totally fun to watch!
SimBiosi Organic Cafe is the 2019 edition of Donato's 3 ristorante empire & is as charming or more so than the other ones. It has a historical rustic feel to it, all stone & wood, again, with a floor window to the cellar below. There is a long wooden table under the window & I ask if I could eat down there, but Donato laughs. "That is only for show, for ambience." & I ask if maybe in the future he shall renovate the Cafe to include the downstairs table in the window, yet he just laughs & says that um that is only decoration. Yet he does have news for me on the newest edition to the cafe. "In about 10 days we shall do brunch," he says. Wow, that is definitely a American item, doing brunch. "Yes, we are doing a new menu that shall include brunch items." I laugh & say that he must include Mimosas & Bloody Marys if he is doing brunch, but he doesn't know these American items, so I have to describe what is in each. "O that sounds very cool. We shall have to add these," he says! Here is a link to the video: 
https://www.facebook.com/ristorantesimbiosiorganic/videos/1484269225417429
https://www.facebook.com/ristorantesimbiosiorganic/videos/1484269225417429
The old traditional charm of the SimBiosi Cafe located at: Via De Ginori corner : of Via Guelfa. "We plan on doing brunch in 10 days," says Donato. 
As I mosey to the place next to the SimBiosi Cafe, the Ristorante, Donato follows & he asks the cook, Leonardo, if he knows what Bloody Marys & Mimosas are. "Yes but I don't care for the taste of Bloody Marys," says Leonardo & I say that Bloody Mary's are famous in America. All the golfers drink Bloody Marys! It is a golfer idea of a breakfast! Donato wants to know what a Mimosa is made of & I tell him that it is Champagne
& Orange Juice. However, if you are in Florence now & need a breakfast item, they have Yogurt & Graola with bananas & fresh berries, or Porridge with bananas & fresh fruit, or Avocado Toast which is 2 slices of bread topped with avocados or try the A Cai Bowl which is served with bananas & fresh berries with seeds! All organic & all healthy, of course to carry on the tradition of their philosophy. They have been doing healthy & natural before it was very cool to do!
See? Now that is the kind of food that I totally love to eat. All fresh, natural & healthy. It is so good for you & your immune system & it tastes great. You also feel super fresh after eating such food, so please come & give it a try!
And finally my favorite is the SimBiosi Ristaurante located at Via Ginori 60R.
I call the picture the "quiet before the storm" as you will never see the chairs empty when the ristorante is open. Everybody loves the sharing table where they sit side by side with others dining in the "Alice In Wonderland" atmosphere of fun, funky & top of the line quality food.
I love the fact that Leonardo, at the SimBiosi Ristorante, the head chef, is from Florence. As is most of Donato's team, & the others laugh & say that they are from Florence, too! As you can see, the organic food that is Tuscan recipes done with a little bit of creativity are so beautiful to look at that you almost don't want to eat it, yet, when I see the pictures, I want to run to lunch! 
Try a little bit of each of the menu or try the degustation to have a very typical Florentine menu, yet the tweak is from Donato & the creativity of Leonardo.
Eating with friends, on a lunch break as a student, backpacking around Europe or here with family. Try the great varieties at each place. The ristorante has some of the most scrumptious food in Florence that I have ever had. Spaghetto aglio e olio, or Maccheroni Al Pomodoro, Tagliatella Di Giu, Lasagna Nel Bosco are just a few surprises in the organic pasta category.
One of the MOST Important Trattoria's, if perhaps THE MOST IMPORTANT TRATTORIA in Florence, is The Trattoria GARGA, located at Via del Moro 48/r.
As I walked away from my funny roommate from Germany who is heading to Rome in the morning, I sashayed to Trattoria Garga, one of the most beautiful Trattorias (or Osterias or Ristorantes in the World). You sashay to the Trattoria in the city where 15% of all the World's Treasures of Art happened to be. The entire Trattoria is awashed in famous paintings from Italian artists & has been that way in the centuries old building at least the last 50 years. 
Keep in touch with Lorenzo who plans on redoing the art-filled wine cellar where the whites are kept on one side & the reds the other.
"I want to build a bar where my guests can chat in the wine cellar, admiring the art filled rooms that only VIP clients interested in my rare wines venture down to see now. Yet in the future, I want to have a room here with degustation for special parties & the other room where people can wait comfortably for their tables upstairs." 
"I want to build a bar where my guests can chat in the wine cellar, admiring the art filled rooms that only VIP clients interested in my rare wines venture down to see now. Yet in the future, I want to have a room here with degustation for special parties & the other room where people can wait comfortably for their tables upstairs." I am invited from my gracious friend, Lorenzo, the Capo of Trattoria Garga to sit with him to dinner. 
We sit at the side table near a famous painting, of course, & opposite a table with a famous movie director & two women that he is entertaining with very cool stories of Milan.We're introduced to his dog who is very friendly & she keeps coming under the table. He seems more interested in introducing us to the dog than the women. I am given a very special treat named, The Magnifico dish. It is Trattoria Garga's signature dish & here it is. I had a baby portion because it is rather big & hearty, yet it is so very good.
The Capo talks about meeting the famous singer Mika who everybody in Europe loves & who recently filled up the entire Verona Arena...Lorenzo said that he is one of the nicest people that he has ever met & very tall!. 
Alright, so the food & wine is very important when you dine out so here is a little bit of the menu. You should know, too, that Lorenzo just walks around & sits at your table laughing with you, the waiters, who are all young & beautiful, do the same. They're very formally dressed, yet totally comfortable & cause. Lorenzo says, "Yes because it is a Trattoria. We don't have stuffy Michelin status."
Here is a couple yummies:
Scaloppina all'avocado, Paccheri con polpo brasato al Chianti, Galletto Nostrale con patate rustiche,
Scaloppina all'avocado, Paccheri con polpo brasato al Chianti, Galletto Nostrale con patate rustiche, 
The leather location is right down the alley in between my famous Pinocchio Osteria & ZAZA Ristorante behind the Centrale Mercato at #2. He is always busy talking to people & everybody buys something from him, not browsing only. He is just a trustworthy person, he works with you in the price & the leather you want reasonably & his leathers are top of the line, all handmade by him & his leather crafters. 
Leather is definitely making a huge impact on the tourist revenue in 2022; maybe because the world has missed the real handcrafted leathers that you can only find here. Mostafa has Gucci calling him to make leather bags for them, at 3,000 unit orders, so you know the man knows what he is doing. They're just really funny & they enjoy helping us tourist out. Have fun & buy leather.
The Ribollito Soup of Florence is a bread soup with beans & vegetables & is always served in the winter months. It is amazing & along with the wild boar ragu & the duck, pertinent to the locally of Tuscany. You can try the penne al sugo di Peposo pictured here which is a simple local Tuscany dish. 
Alessandro opened the Trattoria in 2015 & has been serving the same traditional dishes since that time. In the beginning, he often had to be the main chef as they were learning to select the head chef from many & he says that the kitchen is his! "If you ask me about the wine, I can tell you the wine on my list that I personally love, which is the Frescobaldis, the Antinoris, of which
are the most important families of wine in the world. And one of my favorites is the Conte Guicciardini; I have several selections of that vineyard from 20.00 a bottle to 80.00 euros. The wine of Italy you will find it impossible to find a bad one!" he says.
Piazza del Mercato Centrale, 2/3 R
reservations: 0039 347 543 307 7
Alright for lunch after you've laughed & joked with the leather market aisles & perhaps purchased some leather to last a lifetime, mosey on down the aisle opposite the Mercato to the lovely & top best Italian Tuscan Osterias 3 years straight now at DelliOsso at Dalle 10 Alle.
You will be greeted with smiles & professional friendly service as Gerardo, the Capo, seats you. "The very top priority is friendly welcoming service. That is my first thought ever. The food from my chef is important of course, yet you must like your guests & you must remember that they're your guests to make them feel comfortable, " says Gerardo. "Why have we gotten the top Tuscan Ristorantes of Florence 3 years now? I believe it is the service & the fact that we're small. We have only 20 places & we provide the top quality. It isn't about quantity; it is about quality. That has always been my priority & when I opened the Osteria, it is just me taking care of it all. The design, the team; which I trained from learners to masters, the quality of the products & the advertising to show who we are." https://www.instagram.com/osteria_dell_osso/
When I write about the Capos it is always the food, here it is of the "highest quality-that is how we become the top because I choose the top products which do cost a little bit more, yet I have local farmers, for instance bringing me cheese or veggies everyday asking me to try theirs. We taste, we try-me & my team. I choose the ones that have that special something & honestly it is usually the more expensive ones. I don't cut corners. I choose the highest & I want the top quality for my restaurant. It represents who I am & my values. I am Albanian & I have lived here about 20 years with my family. I know Italian food. I love it & I am proud to do what I do." says Gerardo. Well, I shall tell you a little about his food, yet I am not writing with PIGPEN's philosophy saying I don't care what people think of me when I leave the room! Remember Pigpen from Charlie Brown! My philosophy is that I care about when I enter the place & I care about when I leave the place. So, the kilo of Florentine steak is waiting for you to try & trust me you can eat all of it. It is that good! 
I love that it is a little playful here. Gerardo says that at night it is all lit up outside & that you don't have the traffic of the Mercato hustle & bustle at your doorstep, yet we as foreigners find it rather fascinating instead of distracting, so its very cool actually. 
The most important item about the menu is that every item is made to order. Every item. "I wanted a small Osteria to give excellent service & attention to all my guests. It is quality of life & my chef makes every plate especially for you. That is important & I have trained him in all. If you know little about the ristorante business yet you truly want to learn, I hire you & I help you to learn. You can come here & learn how to cook, if you wish. Loyalty & curiousity is important to me."
A picture is worth a 1,000 words & some of the fur/leathers are worth more than that in the store, so come have fun.
The electric blue seems to be the color in the leathers.
The bags are sooo gorgeous & I loved his backpacks before the pandemic, yet he is all out of these today so have to wait.
Always very cool to see very happy guests when they finally decide which luxury leather to buy. Here is the Capo, Badie, with his two guests who bought some great jackets & accessories!
O hey when you're Old School, you're Old School...images say it all. CAMMILLO RESTAURANT FLORENCE
reservations please call: 055 2124 27
As you can see, Cammillo is a very traditional restaurant, with the waiters themselves being here 37 and 30 years each respectively. The family is lovely and graceful and very aristocratic although when you walk into the historical restaurant that "doesn't even have a instagram, facebook or website to it after 65 years," as quoted from the 4th generation daughter, Vittoria,you feel as if at a real Italian home. 
What about Twitter, I say because I love Twitter & the lovely people who tweet! Maybe for the future we can tweet with Cammillo's team.
Chiara of Cammillo says that She is very in love with cooking & food & making new creations & that she has every Tuesday & Wednesday makes dinner with from 10-12 guests where everybody shares on the table with wine & very low atmsphere very casual & intimate. At the restauant she helps out everyday, yet the special dinners at home she continues the tradition. I have known the family and especially Chiara, the 3rd generation daughter, 8 to 7 years now. As a matter of fact, Chiara and Cammillo restaurant were my very first sponsors in Florence, Italy when I started the website. "The one item you must say about Cammillo is that we are very steeped in tradition and keeping the same recipes of my Grandmother since 50 years. You can find the same food that my mother has taught Salvatore, who came to us when he was 15 and he is now 59, to the recipes that my mother herself cooks everyday. Although I am the 4th generation, I wouldn't even change the beautiful pictures adorning the walls everywhere. I love the rest of the team as well as they see me & love me too. "I recreate all the time, from my Grandfather who started the restaurant to now, yet it is mine now," says the Capo of Cammillo.
"I am very young in age & spirit compared to my mother who still at 95 walked to the restaurant to eat everyday. When we are 20 we see 30 as very old yet when we are grown we see ourselves as young. I plan on being here at least 20 plus years from now & ruling the Cammillo with a velvet hand of love."
Helga was a professional volleyball player for Italy in the top teams for 20 years at the top level of championship for 15 years while she is the player. She played on the European league & in America.
She met her husband, Paolo, who owns Pinocchio Osteria in 2014. She fell in love with his food & wine & Paolo! She starts laughing when I say that & says all! Now she says that she drinks all the wine having met Paolo who loves his wine collection. Paolo is creative & is the artist. He designs the ristorante with wooden edging & he has the vision to create the ristorante. Only Paolo chooses the wine. He is the creator & Helga says that she is a good worker because she was always discipline in the art of sports.
Here is the Cantina where the people can do events. In the winter the Cantina in the basement is open to relax & eat dinner. All you have to do is ask.
I think that the mind is with each other. Together. Helga says that she loves his food & yet their diversity is a asset to both of them, it is a reason for growth. The couple tend to the Osteria together now the last 5 years & let me tell you that Helga is gorgeous. As a professional athlete she kept in perfect shape & says that they are in sync. She is 50 & looks 35 & loves her new life being the Osteria Capo's wife. The new decisions are made together & yet the new pasta makers to make their own fresh pasta in house & low temperature cooking are items that Paolo passionately wanted for the future. It makes Da Pinocchio special & stand out in the Mercato Centrale square of 13 ristorantes. All homemade pasta-fresh from kitchen to plate
.
. The wine is all small vineyards; it is Paolo's passion & predominantly Tuscany.
Osteria Dell'Osso on the Square opposite the Mercato next to Mamma Napoli's Pizza is a meat lover's; dream. Located at Piazza del Mercato Centrale 2R-3R - 50123 Florence
+39 347 543 3077
Perhaps you can try the Tomahawk di maiale agli aromi su crema di carry e curcuma e tarte di fichi, which is basically Flavored pork tomahawk & curry cream & fig tart. They have Stewed baby octopus on toast & pea cream as seen in the photo here: Warning, they feed you lots & lots of food hree & the people eat all of it. The people is me! I had long homemade pasta & ragu sauce plus the octopus. And way too much wine, of course, so I need to do a diet but it is impossible in Tuscany, especially Florence to do a diet.