"My vision is to make my restaurant MIchelin. It is very easy to work hard everyday with that goal. I am revamping the recipes and now they are 80% mine, along with the team, and at night we have 5 servers for such a tiny restaurant. Yet I want a good reputation and the only way to slowly move up the ranks is with hard work, attention to the guests and food, and a great attitude. That is my aim, to make the best traditional food from the kitchen, yet to keep the tradition of the woman who made it famous for 40 years. My promise to her." says Gulian. He is animated, young and talkative and I know that you will have a great time to lunch and dinner and most importantly the food is awesome!

via del Corso 42r

055 215019

The beauty of the intimate restaurant, very tiny and set amidst the busy street of Corso, is why I chose it the first time many years ago, okay about 5. A little Italian lady owned it 40 years! The most delightful meeting I had in 2017 is with Gulian, who is the 34 year old capo of Il Paiolo.

I sat down at lunch in the upper alcove, which is intimate, romantic and private, however it being lunch it turned into a funny conversation with who I thought to be the accountant!Yet when we started talking it turned that he is the capo!

"I went to law school and my mother is so proud and I used to eat in the restaurant all the time. My favorite little real Italian restaurant in Florence. I heard that the lady was closing the restaurant. She didn't want to sell it to keep her tradition. So, one day I walked in and say that I shall love your restaurant the way that you do and I am giving up the corporate world(much to the disappointment of my mother) and becoming a Capo of the restaurant. She, unbelievably, said yes!"

and at night it is very romantic... Image may contain: 1 person, night and indoor

"The tradition of the Paiolo is that it is zero kilometers, which means that all the food used to come here from Florence region only. Yet, when I came in I decided to have all the ingredients from everywhere in Italy, only the highest quality, and the food Tuscany. That way the guests can have the best food and the Tuscany recipes. It is the only way I could do it. And the wine I choose myself. I know each and every vineyard and the wine is all from the region of Tuscany. We have the best wine in the world with Chianti. It makes sense to give the guests Chianti. When people go to the Champagne region of France they don't order wines from Germany."

Contacts: instagram

https://www.instagram.com/ristoranteilpaiolofirenze/

facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/ristoranteilpaiolofirenze/

website:

http://www.ristoranteilpaiolo.it/

I loved watching the tourists walk into the restaurant. Usually tourists will check out the menu, check out the prices and maybe wander in. Here it is such a real beautiful restaurant that every tourist sees it, looks inside and comes in to sit down, take off their sun hats, lay down the sunglasses and relax with a glass of wine..taking time to find a perfect choice on the menu...Loved it.

Benvenuti all' OSTERIA DEL PORCELLINO

http://www.osteriadelporcellino.com/it/
And for all the Americans that love Wild Boar you can find the speciality here where Vincenzo with friends rides horses and does real Wild Boar hunts...and the specialty of the beautiful restaurant that is right near the Piazza with the bronze statue of the Wild Boar is of course...Wild Boar!

Via Val di Lamona, 7r - Firenze Italia - Telefono: +39.055.264148

Image may contain: people sitting, candles and indoor

Vincenzo has a lovely and delicate art collection adorning his walls of the Osteria. It matches the soft mysterious beauty of the multi-level intimate restaurant and while the other restaurants of the city have the outdoor sitting and umbrellas, even Vincenzo's outdoor garden is elegant. "The art is my personal collection, from the fire truck painting, to the large open book of pages, to the different colorful cars on the walls. It compliments the restaurant where the food that I give my guests is very personal to me and I want the guests to feel as if in my home, surrounded with my traditional views. The Wild Boar, I believe, is the best here. And yes when me and my friends do a wild boar hunt, we do bring the wild boar back here and have a feast, yet it is only me and my friends. Italy, as it should, has very strict rules on the high quality of the wild boar meat and we of course must buy the guest's meat from licensed approved farmers." Okay that being said, Vincenzo, is it fun to go on a wild boar hunt, like Queen Margot's (Medicis) brothers and Henry of Navarre? "Yes, it is fun," he says! http://www.osteriadelporcellino.com/it/

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R & R FLORENCE EMOTION t-shirts

"The cool thing about my store is that anybody can request something on the t-shirt and I can make it. I love Braccio di Ferro, Pop-Eye the sailor man to Americans, and so I made my own T-shirt." he says as he laughs and shows me the shirt he is wearing. Think of Yves Saint Laurent in a wide modern open space waving you in so he can custom make a T-shirt for you and you've got Raffeallo. "I made the T-shirt with different kisses from countries around the world, that is my design and I love it. The Tourists love that they can facebook me a photo and I can immediately make a handmade T-shirt from it!" And the R&R what is that about? "Raffeallo and Rudy, my partner!"

https://www.facebook.com/RudyeRaffafirenze/

R & R Florence Emotion

Via Dell'Oriuolo 34

324 619 1217

Raffeallo shows me the Albanian alphabet that he added to a T-shirt, " The Albanian has 36 letters which is the longest alphabet in the world, so I put it on a t-shirt!"

THE TEAM IS FUNNY and

PROFESSIONALLY COOL!

"Everyday I would walk past Robert Cavelli or browse in the Giorgio Armani stores and I could never find T-shirts that I really loved. I am from Albania and moved to Pisa 20 years and now Florence and saw a lot of different t-shirts. And one day I said, Maybe I can just make my own t-shirts. And I opened here 10 days now. Tomorrow we put on the sign and the store is operating now." says Raffeallo, who has hired Geraldo (like Rivera) for his graphic designer. The store is open, wide, white and modern with 4 expensive T-shirt maker equipment pieces meticously placed.

VINCANTO No automatic alt text available.

Vincanto is one of my favorite trendy, intimate and swanky ristorante cocktail bars around the world. It is on the famous Santa Novella Square and if has the little outside umbrellas, yet the inside is full of modern art from the personal collection of the owner, Giovanni, who is as he says, "A beach person at heart. I love the beach. I am happy here of course and I make the best cocktails, that is really what I am famous for, and my love of the traditional food of Florence and Tuscany, Here the people can find highest quality of Florentine food with a little modern fusion. And the tourists love the food, especially the little pig. It is high quality and sophisticated. And they love my art. The personal collection is mine from a friend, On ofrio Pepe, and now we do a little collaboration of him bringing a sculpture here every couple of months. People buy these beautiful sculptures all the time and I am happy to show my friend's art. But, ultimately it is about the food and the drink." he says.

https://www.facebook.com/ristorantevincanto/

It is always a pleasure to visit and chat with Giovanni. I should say it is always fun. The word pleasure seems appropriate in the chic ristorante, yet Giovanni is such a casual and easy going person that you feel right at home. "I would love to have some good musicians in here, yet we become very full and it is difficult to move around live musicians and give people the food at the same time. It is something that I have thought about, though, since I do love music. Yet I want my ristorante to reflect something very special. I can only concentrate on the food and drink and the aesthetics right now. Maybe in the future we can have musicians if I can figure out where to put them!" he says. reservations: 055 2741555

Risultati immagini per vincanto restaurant florence

http://www.keysofflorence.com/

A TOUR BY CARRIAGE WITH THE WONDERS OF CHIANTI

The Coolest about The Keys of Florence Company? The people, I had the pleasure of meeting Roberta and Eleonora, and chatted with both about the company. "I am the Manager of the Apartments of the Keys of Florence, of which we have about 48 here,. They are all luxury apartments and they can range from 70.00 euros to 300 euros per night. The fun thing about the apartments is when the tourists book to stay from one day to one month, they don't know that we are also a highly qualified tour company of the city and they are always pleasantly surprised that they can manage the entire city just from booking their place to stay!" says the young adorable, Roberta. "I have been here 4 years and I am only 20 years old, yet I probably know much more about he city than most people. It helps if you are trained in art history, which I am, and of course it helps if you love culture!" she says. Risultati immagini per keys of florence pictures

Risultati immagini per keys of florence pictures

"Yes and a cool story of Dante is that in the 600s or is it the, wait I think it is the 12 th century, Dante fought on the wrong side of the war in Florence and the city exiled him to Ravenna. That is where Dante is buried, in Ravenna. However, now Florence wants Dante back and the city of Ravenna says too bad you shouldn't of exiled him!" they say laughing.

In addition to learning historical stuff about the cool city you can take a little walk to the Wild Boar and kiss his nose!

Supposedly the cutest thing about the statue is that it brings everybody good luck! Image may contain: outdoor

Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling, people sitting, hat and outdoor

"I've only been here one month, yet I've been to the Uffizi, which is the third most important museum in the world, by the way, many times already. I LOVE that museum. It has the famous head that is in the movie, Dante, in it. THE REAL ONE, I mean, it is amazing, " gushes Eleonora. She is the tour manager of "22 tour guides. The Tour Guides of Italy all have to be licensed and it takes at least one year of schooling to have your exams. It costs several thousands of dollars and you can tell that what is important to Italy is the highest quality of promotion of its cultural, historical figures, and historical buildings, and of course the food and wine." she says.

"We have many more than 22 tours, though. We have tours to the wine country and tours on horsebacking and we're working on more tours. I love the city. It has so much history and stories to tell. For instance did you know that in the most beautiful church in the world, Santa Croce, is the body of Michealangelo buried? Yes. Most people think that the body is buried in the Vatican, yet it is actually buried in the Medici chapel since Michealangelo was a artist of the Medici family." she says.

Reservations: 055 045 3121

at Via del Trebbio/ 8r

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cammillo/201813633167651 L'immagine può contenere: 6 persone, persone che sorridono, persone sedute, tabella e spazio al chiuso

L'immagine può contenere: 6 persone, persone che sorridono, persone sedute, tabella e spazio al chiuso

Location is Borgo San Iacopo 57-r, Firenze.

for reservations please 055 212427

L'immagine può contenere: persone sedute, tabella e spazio al chiuso

"I love to think that I make that work with love, and that from my Grandfather Cammillo and my Grandmother in the 1943 when they open a wine bistro to today I hope to bring the elegance and respect that they first imagined. I am VERY HAPPY people can recognize my work, but it is easy for me. Once upon reading a book," the definition of the cook" , Vasquez Montalban, said, "is to transform material into sensations..." that I loved. I am both grateful and very happy making it work. I KNOW the food is good. I KNOW my competence is strong. During the years anyway we work as a team. It is difficult to be the only woman amongst all men and yet I am the boss. It is with utmost respect that I have for my team and they in turn for me.For instance the chef you saw leaving came here at the age of 15 and stayed with me, now the age of 54. Yet for all of that to do here everyday the highest quality with love it takes hard work. When one of the big strong men in the kitchen say, "O Chiara, O Chiara, O Chiara help I need a little bandaid, if they have a little cut on the finger, it is Mama Chiara they call, instead of Boss Chiara!" she laughs when she says that.

Above a young protege attends to the

learning the art of Cammillo Tradition! Risultati immagini per cammillo trattoria florence

"Ultimately my love is the idea of the food taking the ingredients that I have in my mind and imagining new ways to use each spice and each one in a way of the smell and texture and the way that they add to my recipes. That is something that I truly enjoy." says Chiara, who is a 3rd generation and one of the most respected Woman Restaurant owners in the city of Florence. Her daughter, Vittoria, says, "When we have the Tuesday and Wednesday at home my mother cooks for 15 people dinner parties that are very special. Instead of relaxing at home she cooks. That is her love. And I always eat at that table. The food is huge and much of it and sometimes the plates she makes for the guests at home she brings to the restaurant. She rarely cooks the food that we serve at the restaurant because all of the guests usually already tasted these!" laughs Vittoria, who that day is busy making tarts in the kitchen!

"I love the idea of cooking and I live to present my plates to the guests. When I come to the table and they ask from me a grilled Florentine Steak, of course we have that specialty, yet if they ask of me something special from Cammillo I will never suggest the Florentine Steak. As I am the creator of each recipe, I want them to try to one of my specialities such as the Mango Chutney. That is a delicate chutney that only we have served with perhaps prawns and a glass of wine." says Chiara, "one of the most famous recipes here is from when my mother and father used spices from India to make the Mango Chutney. When the factories closed, I panicked as I could not know of how to make it. I had a old can that it had originally come in from India and I knew each ingredient, yet not how much of each. I remembered the taste and the smell so much and I tested and tested. A little of that a little of more a little added ingredient and tasted and tasted. After many many tries I finally got it perfect from the very first taste. Now it is exactly the way it should be." she says. "The guests can take the Mango Chutney home when they leave the restaurant as we have these in jars. That is something I am especially proud of." L'immagine può contenere: cibo

Here you see Cammillo waving to her charmed guests, "Yes I remember you from 5 years now, " says Chiara when I see her now at Florence. I tell her that she is my very first guest on the Website when I first came to Florence and remember with such fondness of her and her families acceptance of me when they welcomed me to lunch. A newcomer to Florence! I had entered and they sat me at the family table near the window to the kitchen and on one side is drawings of children that love Cammillo during the years and adorning the walls valuable paintings and etchings from years and years. They all talked fondly of her Grandfather, Cammillo and they showed me old family pictures. Upstairs hidden from view is a grand elegant private table for up to 20 guests where birthday parties and important events are held. Just ask and you can secretly dine while peeking out the window to the tables below!

"Yes that is my view everyday, EVERYDAY!" LAUGHS DANIELA...it is charmingingly funny to think of all of us tourists coming in awe of the Piazza and the statue of David and yet Daniela sees it as her backyard everyday! "Alright sometimes in the morning and sometimes in the afternoon..." she laughs and I wonder if she is speaking of her husband coming in the mornings or afternoons to the restaurant or the famous view of the Statue of David that is on the famous Piazza, where the entrance to Micheangelo's Original Statue of David awaits."

Ristorante Il David

Image may contain: 4 people, people sitting, table, food and indoor

Are the other 8 restaurants important? "Only me..." giggles the very beautiful lovely Daniela, who is the 3rd Generation of Il David on the famous Piazza in Florence. Perhaps the most important Piazza in the world? "Only my restaurant on the Piazza." she is adamant when she says the tourists should only come here! OKAY! I say! Piazza della Signoria 2/R 055 215372

https://www.ristoranteildavid.com/ No automatic alt text available.

I finally found one picture of Daniela on her facebook, where most she says is taken from her husband who loves to be in all the tourists pictures and if you check out her facebook you will see that is true! He is in every picture laughing and posing with the guests! https://www.facebook.com/RistoranteIlDavid/

"The restaurant, Il David, is 3 Generations old and is made from my Grandfather in the 1950s. It is unusual of a restaurant on a famous Piazza to keep in the generations since so many people come to buy these! We love our restaurant and it is from my Grandfather, my mother,Giovanna, and me which is 3 generations. My father used to be at the helm yet he passed away. My sister, Barbara works with me and we run from the bar to the Casse to the people all day. I insist that we talk to each table and learn the stories of the people. It is not a restaurant that you rush food and leave. It is to have a good time with the guests. I enjoy the guests especially now the year now it is real friendly Americans that come. Every year they come, yet this year for some reason they are super friendly. And I communicate with the Chinese and Japanese and the Asians with hand signals usually if they do not speak Italian or English. Every culture tells me something new. I want these guests to remember us." she says. Image may contain: food

Of course the food is important...ha ha ha! "Yes they come of course because of the beauty of the Piazza and they want to see David, however, they come back here for a couple of reasons, one is the food since it is very good. Yes it is Tuscany, yet Italian and a little touch of international. The wine is all Italian and Tuscany and my husband is the wine master. He chooses the wine. The people that come here maybe stay at Florence 5 days and if they find us the first day it is amazing that they come here everyday to eat. I would say it is because of us!" laughs Daniela. "We are happy and friendly and they have a lovely vacation with us. The food is excellent or they wouldn't come back and the chef is here 20 years." she says.

"I think that my mother loves too much the restaurant, perhaps more than me even!" Daniela says. "It is difficult to do a restaurant that is such famous on the Piazza and now I have a 3 year old daughter and it is very difficult. Family is fun and we do love the restaurant and for my mother it is her life. My husband is the funny one and he jokes with everybody. They love to take pictures with him!"she says. And her? "I love to take pictures of everybody else!" she laughs.

"Yes it is a beautiful view and in the summer with the fountain and the people it is always funny. Always. There is so many tourists that come and they are always surprises to watch. Yet I remember that the restaurant's food is special too. The Florentine Steak is unique in Florence in that we give 1/2 a kilo where everybody else is one kilo. That way a little person, such as me, since I eat the Florentine steak a couple times a month, can manage the 1/2 kilo!" she laughs when I ask if she always eats the Florentine steak. "We have pasta and old dishes from traditional Tuscany too..." she adds.

"The most joy to us is really when the people that come here come the next year and the next. They're friends. For Example the picture here is friends from San Francisco and they come every year...they even look like fun!" says Daniela of her friends on facebook. "We have people from New York that come every year and now they start to bring presents to the baby, she is 3 and 1/2. They bring her dolls from New York and English books.It is lovely. We make friends from everywhere in the world as they come to try the Italian Tuscany experience we try to give."

https://www.facebook.com/segwaypoint.firenze

Image may contain: 4 people, sky, motorcycle, cloud, outdoor and nature

Vespas 45.00euros

to 70.00euros.

3Wheels with

guide plus

all tours call the Segway at

055 28 5 600

bikes 5.00euros to 20.00euros

Segways 19.00 euros to 69.00

...and for you law enforcement on vacation wanting a little excitement this one is for you!

alright let's start Learning how to play Polo people, and after buy a pair of great Salvatore Ferragamo shoes!

Risultati immagini per wine and cheese tour in florence segways

"We have about 20 bikes, 40 Segways, and 8 Vespas, and in addition with have 3 Wheel Carts with 3 people with 1 driver and 2 of these on private tours. They do all around Florence tours to Vineyards in Chianti to lunch in Chianti on the Segways or Bikes or following the 3Wheelers on Vespas.

We Always make it educational and fun. An Experience. When you come here we only have professional licensed guides that make it a fun experience. The best guides make it the best tours." says Sonny laughing. "At the Segway Chianti tour you drink Chianti of course, and eat a Italian lunch in the vineyards, which is fun and pratical all at once!

Sonny, who owns Segway Point in Florence, is great.

http://www.segwayfirenze.it/

"I started the Segway with 10 in 2010 and everyday from 2010 and 2011 and 2012 the people loved Segways and I had to buy more Segways. One day in 2014, the Grandson of Salvatore Ferragamo called me and said that he had his own private polo Segway Team and asked if I wanted to form a team to play together. I said yes and we started the Florence Segway Polo Team. Now I have Segway Polo Team classes where groups can come from 2 people just to learn or 6 and more to play with our team. It is 80.00euros per person with 4 hours of Learning and playing with the team on Segway Polo. And yes it is real fun." says Sonny when I ask if he has a great job!

"Alright," says Sonny and tells me the story of why he has a age limit..."the Segway is from 16 to 75, 76 and older must show that they can ride a Segway. and yes here is a story of why. One day a very fit 77 year old came and started zig-zagging in and out if traffic showing off. He could really ride the Segway. Yet, 15 minutes later we receive a call from the journey and he hit a car. Fortunately he is alright, yet the car is totaled. We had to use the insurance that Segway gives to pay 5,000.00euros for the car. From that point on, you have to know how to ride the Segway!" I ask if he is sure it wasn't the car's fault instead of the Segways? He laughs hysterically, "O yes I am sure!". Enough said!

Luigi's passion is "playing the piano..." says the affable owner of Vecchio Mercato...you guessed it right across from the famous Central Mercato in Florence. "Here let me play for you..." and he plays "happy birthday." I start giggling. "Wait, I can play two songs..." and he plays a second beautiful ballad. Why only these two songs? "Because I love the piano and I love these songs and I wanted a piano in here and I wanted to say that I can play two songs." Alright... however the 6 nights during the week that you can hear jazz music on the soft speakers you can come on Monday night and a real live pianist plays music for you while you dine. Located at Piazza del Mercato Centrale, 12/13 it has a beautiful intimate dining area inside and the lively mercato and merchant carts outside. Now 2 years later, I come to say hi to the capo again! "What is new? I learned to play another song on the piano!" he says and plays the song, Calypso, which along with the song, Summertime and Happy birthday, he says is his only songs. He asks if the other guests are alright with him playing and they say yes.

Lunedi Jazz al Vecchio Mercato Florency Italy...

Here the 13th century walls on the left behind the piano and across from it is 17th century walls! Why the difference? "I don't know why. The 1300 ones used to house the merchant carts and maybe they built a structure in the 17th century on the other side. See the difference?" We examine the walls. Pretty cool. "I added the piano and I added the pictures and the new colors. That is about it. The rest is from the original owner...I've only owned the restaurant since 2 years and before that a wine bar." The difference? "The restaurant is more work!" he laughs. "I am happy now. It is what I want to do."

http://www.vecchiomercato.it/

for reservations call 055 211978

Here is the elegance of the entrance to the Mercato restaurant. Is it expensive? "It is normal say between 15E to up to 300Euros if you include a expensive bottle of wine." He says. The atmosphere is romantic and intimate and I ask if he has any other interests besides the restaurant and the piano! "Yes I love to ski and see the cinema and I have two daughters...one 6 and one 16. The 16 doesn't listen to me at all...o she pretends to and I talk on and on and then she says NO! at the end of the conversation!" he laughingly says. And the 6 year old? He smiles. "That one loves me. Daddy Daddy Daddy. All the time." "Maybe in the summer my 16 will say I want to work with the restaurant and I will be happy!" he says. A new Generation.

http://www.ristorantelamaremma.com/

Via Giuseppe Verdi 16/R

+39 055 240972 +39 055 244615

Glamourous and intimate with seatings of only 65, the real authentic family owned restaurant has been here over 50 years, and has the etched crest in the doorway to prove it. "We are proud to give Tuscany products and especially form Maremma which is the southern section of Tuscany. The wine is from there too and if you come in you must try the wild boar in its various forms, which of course is only good with red wine and that is why we specialize mostly in the red wine of Maremma where the wild boar roams free. The wild boar destroys the grapes from the farmers and the vegetables and that is why we must hunt the wild boar. It eats all that it sees. Yes they can get quite big and we go hunting with the dogs and the guns. To be honest, when my father used to go hunting he would stop and take pictures of the hunt, but I don't have time to take out my IPHONE and say "Stop Wild Boar" I want to take a picture!" he says laughing and his table of 4 team, including the cook start laughing. They are at the table sitting with us as we interview before opening that night. Are they eating the wild boar? I ask. "NO they are eating chicken!" he says laughing.

Image may contain: 7 people, people smiling

Image may contain: 5 people, people sitting, beard, table, eyeglasses, drink and indoor

"Okay the restaurant is famous for the boar. We could say that everything that we serve is wild boar, the wild boar with stew and wine on polenta, the wild boar cut up, the wild boar on pasta, the wild boar on rice, and you could say that the restaurant is a total boar restaurant, but I would prefer that you say that the restaurant is a Total Cinghiale, which is Italian for wild boar!" says Marco, one of the brothers that owns the glamourous restaurant to the left of Sante Croce. Image may contain: food

"We're basically famous for the meat here. The florentine steak, of course which is only prepared on the grill. I guess that is why Americans and Chinese love that. And they always ask if we have wild boar which I guess the reason is that in America that isn't a usual thing to order. Here everybody eats it." says the funny owner of La Maremma in Florence Italy.

Unfortunately, the boar didn't make it...

Florence Italy. Think swinging 20's and you will imagine the decor of the modern bar that transports you back into that era. Originally Piero Serni bought the restaurant and opened the first pizzza restaurant in Florence. "At that day and age the restaurant is open til about 3am to 4. We had politicians and actors and writers and cops and thiefs all piled in. It was a time of no taxes and tons of money with Italy rebuilding itself after the 2nd World War. People had a great time. My father bought Bussola since 1981 and redecorated to what you see today in ,1986." says Stefano.

Anna, Francesca and Stefano make up the 3 Generations of the family of La Bussola, "Francesca is my little assistant and now she is 12!" says the proud man who owns La Bussola. https://www.facebook.com/labussolafirenze/

055 293376 Via Porta Rossa 58/R

http://www.labussolafirenze.it/

"Here is one of the places where all of the famous people used to come. The entire restaurant used to have pictures on all of the walls and I kept a small wall here to show people." Stefano says. I oo and aa when I see Steve Martin and Ms. Williams the tennis player. "There was a lot of famous Italian movie stars and singers back then who always came here. The place has a lot of history and I try to carry on that traditon." he says."We of course are famous with the fish and Tuscany food and the pizza. " he says. "Downstairs I used to have a disco but now that I am married and settled down the disco is gone! Now it is a family restaurant including my brother Michele who has a day off today." he laughs.

The pizza ovens in Florence are some of the most beautiful ever as you see here in the background. Stefano says, "My father and a architect made the entire length of the bar entirely marble and underneath is black granite. It is amazing... the amount of marble that they put into the place. And the walls are all outlined with marble in addition to the are where my mother stands." It is so incredibly beautiful to see.

The owner and his team who says, "We have improved the menu with always trying to find the best ingredients, you know the item on the menu is the same yet we add little touches when we find something better...such as a more delicate cheese or meat or fish. We never stop improving to find the best." says Stefano. His team loves their boss. Below the quiet elegance of the La Bussola.

The Taverna Divina Commedia

The charming Medieval Palace is hidden and in plain sight all at once, odd really that after 8 years it is the first year that I saw it! It is raining and cold and I stumble down a alley desperately trying to find shelter, perhaps as the Knights in the 400Ad had done before me? And I walk into a amazingly beautiful restaurant that is shabby chic and old world palace with a huge center brick open pizza oven and kitchen set as I imagine the Medieval times would have with open fires cooking the knights food! It is real charming and I am real hungry and I decided to stay and eat pizza! I am happy as the next sunny day I met the owner, Francesco, who introduces me to the story of his buying the restaurant and making the traditional Tuscany food with the cool pizza that I had. "I am a Musician and own the Eskimo which has live music everyday. Here we have bands that play outside in the little cobblestoned courtyard in the summer and in fact my friend, who is from Tuscany, is playing live music tonight. He shall stroll around and entertain the guests with real Italian songs. We have huge 20 piece bands that play in the summer and everybody loves to hear the music and when they find the musicians down the alley they always come here and decide to eat the pizzas and the wild boar and the Florentine steak of course. It is really about the music though. Maybe in the future we can combine the Eskimo upstairs when the Palazzo is ready and the Pizza downstairs and have two different restaurants in one. And of course we can have live music in the medieval stone cellar since I love the medieval aspect of the building and play upon it all the time with the Knights and Armour and the actors." he says.

https://www.facebook.com/taverna.divinacommedia/

via cimatori 5/7r 055 215369

"I bought the restaurant about 10 to 12 years now and initially it is two places and I combined these. It is a ancient building from the 400AD and it is very important building. When I opened the restaurant I say to my friends from Calabria, do you know that in the famous city of Florence where Dante Alighieri writes his Divine Comedy there is no restaurant named for Dante. And I become the first restaurant that is named for that famous poem." he says. (It is a real long poem being a book essentially or a play although I could never quite read the entire long poem, let alone do a play on it. However, the restaurant is kind of cool since it has 3 levels and the cellar is eerily medieval. "There is a vault in the floor of 400AD stones and I want to open the vault yet I have fear as to what is underneath the stones. And my wife says Do NOT open it! and I say...hmm maybe I should open it!" I say open it! Tonight|! It could be the Knights of the Templar Secrets since both Michelangelo and Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci both were Knights of the Templar and just maybe...

https://www.facebook.com/PortodiMareEskimo/

Image may contain: people sitting, table and indoor

"The Eskimo is a elegant restaurant that is a little more upscale and we have fresh fish everyday and live music everyday. EVERYDAY," Francesco says when he tells me the difference between the two restaurants that he owns. "I am from Calabria, which has natural wild beauty and here in Flòrence the difference is the sea side in the south is more gorgeous and the city of Florence in the North is more gorgeous." he says. "I am a musician at the heart. I love music and I love playing. My own band plays here and it is named Itallica Street Band," he says and when I say like Metallica? He laughs, "We are traditional Italian music, " he says, "not electro music." "The restaurant needs reservations and is a high standard and has a high reputation. We serve food til midnight and sometimes if people are listening to the live musicians and say they are hungry the kitchen stays open til 1.00am. Hey, if the guests are hungry, I feed em. Regardless of what time it is. Since we have live music til from 22.00pm to 2.00am everynight, it makes sense that people still want to eat!" he laughs when I ask the difference between the two. "We don't make Pizza at P.d.m. Eskimo. And no it isn't for the people from Alaska. It is a Italian saying that means to wear a jacket and to keep warm." Eskimo, Via Pisana 128, Firenze, Italy. 05 57 120 34

Opulence, Playfulnes, Conversations...that is the atmosphere at the SimBIOsi in Florence with its new 5 month old Biological Restaurant...can we say that it is the loveliest techy Renaissance space we have ever seen?

Via de 'Ginori 58R and 60R

Image result for simbiosi restaurant florence italy

The newest addition SimBIOsi Restaurant with fresh homemade pasta and biological pizza!

"The Long table is reminiscent of royalty at a formal dinner yet, it is for social contact. When people come in here to eat lunch or dinner they must sit at the long table and talk to each other. The conversations are always fun.' says Donato. 'The bunny picture has become social media famous and we have facebook games associated with it to COME PLAY WITH US.'

tel. 055. 06 4011 5

I first met Donato about 3 years now, he and his lovely girl of many years had just gotten the courage to transition from a online baby clothes business to a new Organic Biologically correct pizza restaurant. Not your typical bent on either course as it originally had opulence and shabby chic decor from day one. However, today I walked into one of the most fun and playful and lavish restaurants that charmingly fit into the old world white brick interior superbly. Connected to the pizza section with a small window in the century old brick walls, it oozes wealth.

http://www.simbiosi.bio/

Image may contain: 3 people, people smiling, people standing and indoor

'The open space kitchen with the modern tech equipment gives a funky tone to the restaurant. I combines lavish chairs that I found all around Italy, with playful new architectural designs and the pasta maker that the chefs use to make the pasta you order everyday. It has a feeling of being in a huge palazzo connected to the kitchen where you sit and talk to the host making the dinner and the guests that they sat next to you to make you have a lively conversation and joyful dinner.' Says Donato. I found it soooooo beautiful and gorgeous that I kept oooing and aaaing the entire appointment!

http://www.ristorantemomoyama.it/site/ interni-momoyama10

The beauty of the 20 year and counting restaurant is amazing and the fish the Japanese chefs use such as, "Octopus from Morocco, Sea Bass from Celofania Greece, Red Prawns from Sicily, all come from a special dealer that I use exclusively," says Duccio. " After all of my years of experience, which is 9 years, a new owner bought MOMOYAMA and asked me to be the director. I said yes, although I had just finished with my law studies and with my law exams. I loved MOMOYAMA and stayed here at the Director. The first item that the new owner did is change all the vendors and only bought the highest quality from around the world of fish. I had known with experience the best dealers and it is I who order everyday the fish. The dealers know me and I know the best. It is important of course to know how to prepare raw fish and sushi, yet at home I can prepare most dishes myself. Here only the head chef who really knows what he is doing can prepare the fish. It is a beautiful presentation of course yet first it must be the highest quality and the presentation comes from that." says Duccio Di Giovanni, the very eloquent and poetic speaker of the MOMOYAMA famous Japanese house in Florence. He is serious yet funny as he shows me how to physically find the restaurant pointing to the old Aristocratic 300 year old numbers outside etched in the stone, "See we are at number 10red, which is different than blue or black. Sometimes people google us and they head down the alley then they have to call us on the phones and say, Where are you!" says Duccio. I promptly add...

Borgo San Frediano 10/red, Tele: 055 2 918 40

"The restaurant is set in a 15th century Palace and the tiny cocktail bar next door is a 11th Century Palace. We work with the beauty of the structures and the restaurant has a open garden in the back and two different staircases up to two different levels and rooms. The upstairs is private as is the gardens where you can have a special intimate dinner. At times we can have as many as 100 people here and I do it all myself. Of course I have runners help me, yet I wait on each and every table myself and talk to the guests. I don't use menus, since I know the special inventive items everyday, I am the one who deals with the highest quality fish everyday and know what the chef is having and I know the traditional Japanese menu that we have everyday. At first the Inventive Menu and the Japanese Menu were together. Yet I the new owner said that the Inventive menu isn't so inventive if it is the same everyday. So, now we have the everyday Japanese menu and we have the Inventive menu which is inventive new everyday." Let's just say it looks yummy!

I am most impressed with presentation and with the preparation of dangerous and exotic fish, since honestly I am most impressed with what is difficult for me to do. Here they have lovely presentations with delicate and rare seafood everyday. A treasure I found, yet it has been here 20 years! How did I miss it!

Duccio says, "We have a formal atmosphere with simple and friendly service with exquisite highest quality fish. That is about it!"

"The cocktail bar next door is light sushi and cocktails, which is special to Florence since the Florentines aren't used to cocktail bars as such. However, they love it and the international students and tourists are finally finding us!" he says. It is quite chic. Image may contain: food

Image may contain: 2 people, people sitting and indoor

Met these two great, alright 3 since I met the mom first who is a wonderful person, people who own the lively Rock Music Pub named, appropriately Virgin Rock Pub since the lady is Virginia and the man Mateo! They opened the Pub about 1 and 1/2 years now and it has "been our dream. We love the Pub and Music and honestly it has been fun everyday. It has been work of course, and the first year only me and Mateo, yet now we have 3 girls that help us. We have live music every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday is Live Mic night and everybody can come and sing. In addition we have the cheapest and best aperitivo and buffet in Florence. Me and my husband, Mateo, were bakers for 15 years. We know how to cook! You receive a huge cocktail, a big pint of beer, a big lovely glass of chianti and the buffet and for only 4.50Euros! Plus you receive a stamp from us and at the 10th one a free buffet and pint!" says the lovely Virginia. She is such a beautiful warm and friendly person." We laugh as Mateo makes the buffet and Virginia says, "It is great since he is the cook. He makes every dish and I had to learn the bartending. At first, I read from the bartending book and learned the recipes and finally I know how to make many drinks. It is totally exciting and fun and relaxing to own a bar, and a lot of people agree that it is work!"

"We went to America in the last 20 years and went 5 times to New York and San Francisco and Las Vegas and San Diego and everywhere and really wanted to open a Music Bar in terms of how America had these Pubs. We have Blues that are live and we love both the Rock and Roll and Blues. People come here since they love the music, I hope they love me and Mateo and of course the atmosphere of the Pub. The Music is important to us and the pub revolves around it, as a matter of fact, the drums that are attached to the ceiling are Mateo's real drums." says Virginia.
The Virgin Rock Pub is open from 3pm to 3am everyday and the most important aspect is coming in here and having a nice pint and chat with Mateo and Virginia, and of course listening to the music. Virginia's favorite band is Guns and Roses and we're both kind of digging Aerosmith!

Image may contain: 2 people, people on stage, people sitting and indoor

VIRGIN ROCK BAR ...live music ciao!

       Via Dell'Agnolo, 78/r Call 342 516 1096
   When I ask Virginia to ask Mateo his favorite band since he speaks basically only Italian, he says, "The Doors!" Okay! It shows that we're in the early to late 30s age range here!
         Most Importantly is COME HAVE FUN
                 AND DRINK A COUPLE OF PINTS.

http://www.ristorantenatalino.com/ita-gallery.php

Risultati immagini per ristorante natalino florence

Borgo degli Albizi, 17/r - 50122 Firenze -

055 289404

I first met the family that has owned Natalino in Firenze for 25 years about 3 years now. I interviewed Gabriele, the son, and the matriarch mother, Alessandra. Today sitting with honor at family table at lunch, I interviewed Laura, Alessandra's daughter and her nephew Alessandro, Gabriele's son. It is a funny treat and Laura makes you laugh a lot!

"It is my mother's restaurant since her and my father started it in 1993. I started working for her in 1995 at a early age. I have much fun here and I am happy that I do the restaurant. If I could have a choice of anything it would be to do Natalino since it makes me happy to have something that makes people proud to come to. It is difficult work and with my brother, Gabriele, of course we argue. Um, everyday!" she laughs good-naturedly. "Doesn't every brother and sister argue? See I am the type of person that asks my boss, who happens to be my mom, about every decision. Whether it is where to seat the important guest that is coming here for the first time, which wine we choose for the restaurant or if we should redecorate the tables with the glass tops...I always ask. Gabriele is the type that the next day you come into the restaurant we all have new wine glasses! I guess that is the difference!" Laura says laughing. Immagine correlata

"Although my mother looks like a little frail Italian Grandmother, she is the boss. She rules with how do you say? A iron fist in a velvet glove. She is the boss and she chooses all of the wine and all of the food that we serve. She speaks ONLY ITALIAN! and she wanders around the tables talking to the guests only if they speak Italian. We all speak english and talk to everybody. Everybody smiles and nods at her, yet they should know that the entire feel of the traditional Natalino is because of my mother, " says Laura with the utmost respect. "Hmm, let's ask Alessandro that question," she says when I ask if it is funny to work with her mom. "AAA, " starts out Alessandro, "is it always funny? Is it fun to work with my Grandmother? It can be." he says trailing and Laura and I laugh. "She is the boss," says Laura finishing his sentence. "I would say yes I hope so that it is a fun day since it is my life here. We are a simple people and a simple family. We try to be friendly with our guests and to be kind always with everybody. Yet we, me and my mother and brother, we are 3 different bosses and sometimes the heads have different ideas!" Okay got it! And the food? Risultati immagini per restaurant natalino facebook florence

Risultati immagini per restaurant natalino facebook florence

It is a gorgeous place and a gorgeous location and a great people watcher place and of course we love to meet the Italians and eat great food...

is it the most beautiful picture you've ever seen?

Image may contain: 11 people, people smiling, people sitting

"The painting in the back is from the 1960s when the famous artist painted the fresco showing the depiction of the Florentine country life. On the mural is the host, Natalino, standing and Annigoni is sitting with his back to you. While on the right is the chef of the father of Romano Stefanelli who is the author of the fresco. It is very famous and people always take pictures of it. The building is a 1,200 year old woman's monastery, a convent? Perhaps is the name and for many years the church owned the building. In the 17th century it was restored, and we love to keep the charm of it. Sometimes I come in here in the morning and I look around and I say, "maybe I should change it? I talk to my family and we only change maybe the glass topped tables with the worn-wood look and the dark chairs to reflect that tradition. Ultimately it gives a cozy feeling to the guests that transfers them back to the 13th century. All comfort and lived in look to it. And of course we have the outside tables where the guests can sit and people watch. For me the guests are too funny, " says Laura.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Il-Barroccio-V-Vigna-Vecchia-31r/155429691147083 Image may contain: indoor

Near Il Barroccio V. Vigna Vecchia 31r

is a amazing 20+ year Tuscany kitchen that is homey and classic. The owner sometimes in the busy season has the help of the cuoco, yet in the little section as you enter is a computer on a small table and his handwritten checks for tables. It is amazing that on some days he is the cuoco and the waiter! How does he do all of it? "I am passionate about my life and my restaurant, young I think!, and you say I look shy yet I am not shy. I only look shy. I love to have guests to my home everyday for dinner. When you come here you are a guest in my house and of course when you come to my house, I cook the food!" he says. Yes however 30 to 50 people as guests everyday for 20 years that is a lot of people.

For Reservations click on the link

below or call: 055.627.109

https://www.thefork.it/ristorante/il-barroccio/57121 Risultati immagini per il barroccio 31 florence

It is named "the little restaurant that could," for a reason. "Guests say that when they come to eat at 6:45pm they end up staying and having a bottle of wine or two til 10:00pm. I love my guests, if they want dessert and they want another bottle of wine and they want to talk about Florence and Italy and Chianti wine, I let the guests stay!" he says. The huge picture of tons of bottles of wine on a cart dominates the tiny room's wall and I imagine that it is a subject of many of his guests questions. "Yes they always ask if that is a real picture and they want to know the story. Let's just say the Italians love Chianti as much as the tourists!" Immagine correlata

Giovanni has great "Italian Grandma" food as I love to name it. The kind my very Italian Grandma from Modena used to make for us everyday. "The people who come here usually know us since we are a little hidden from the tourist traffic. They come for a week in Florence and if you read the trip advisors, you can see that they come here everyday of the vacation. They say they feel like family and when they come and say, Giovanni make us something special, I go to the kitchen and cook dinner. That is every night. Every item is special and of course we have Florentine Steak and the Tuscany dishes yet it is my cooking and recipes. I hope that you bring me many lovely and fun guests," he says. I say yes that I do to! Risultati immagini per il barroccio 31 florence

Risultati immagini per il barroccio 31 florence

How charming and romantic can a Florentine Restaurant be? Check out Giovanni and Il Barroccio 31 which is famous world wide...the little provincial jewel...if you can find it!

Ristorante Il David

https://www.ristoranteildavid.com/ No automatic alt text available.

http://www.lortone.it/en/

"The cool story of my father is that he worked for the famous vineyard of Antonori for 25 years when they were totally about the Antonori family. We had so much Antonori wine at our house! And you know that Antonori is the best in the world, it was REALLY GOOD WINE!" says Frederico, the son who happens to own the smooth Jazz boutique ristorante of L'Ortone in Piazza Ghiberti 87. "The name means BIG FARM and as a child I remember the entire Piazza Square as one big Farmer's Mercato, which it is today. At the first 3 years we struggled since people of Florence became to know us and everyday the reputation of my elegant jazz restaurant with reasonable prices became known. And the tourists from the 4 Stars started coming and they started talking about the restaurant that has quiet gentle service as if one is in a person's elegant home. That is my intention to give each guest as if I invited to my home for dinner." he says: reservations 055 234 0804

"The cuoco is the oldest of all of us and at only 33 a totally funny team that is young and wants to build a great reputation," says Frederico, as he leads me up the brick stairway to the top where if you dine upstairs you can watch the cooks through the glass windows.

"My father has a wine business named Better Wines and I have a selection of 125 wines in my restaurant," says Frederico. "We have a large selection of French wines too, which is unique to Florence since most of the restaurants only carry Italian wines. Since my father gives me the production company names we are priveleged to choose the best. However, if you come to my restaurant you can expect to spend between 30.00euros to 70.00euros and that includes the best wine. As you can see, the table here is from the 4 Seasons and they chose us for lunch! That make me very proud of that fact that people recommend my restaurant, yet it is affordable for everyone." says the young and funny Frederico.

"Yes I love the jazz and the blues music. People say that it has a Woody Allen, 1920s flappers, French cafe feel to it! It has all of these and that is alright since that is my vision. Elegance. Jazz. Soft music. Lovely service. Great food. It works. We're finally successful!" And they have live jazz as you can see. "The important item here is that we give great service to the guests. We pride ourselves on that since it is fun for us to have people talk to us and tell us that they have a nice night. I guess we're still young enough that we feel comfortable talking to each guest and we love when new people come and say that they had a friend tell them about us. That is success."

"I went to Hospitality school here in Florence and after the first 2 years I chose the restaurant sector. I finished the 3 years and went to work about 20 kilometers from here at a Michelin restaurant 3 years. I learned the very formal service and more importantly I learned how people appreciate attentive service. And from here I went to New York! Yes I know yet I loved working in the Tribeca region very much. I loved New York and Ioved the American people. I have since been to Los Angeles and I love that too!" says Frederico. "The process here is one day I asked my father if he would love to help me open my own restaurant at the age of 28. We renovated the entire restaurant and he is one of my partners along with my friend, Eduordo. Every person here is a friend of mine. And we hire the American students at the Cooking School too. They're cool, nice and want to learn. We like the Americans." he says. Image may contain: food

Image may contain: 2 people, people playing musical instruments, people sitting, people on stage and indoor

The 100% Italian Kitchen in the hidden alley, Via de' Magalotti 11...

Trattoria Icche C'è C'è Risultati immagini per trattoriai cche ce ce florencer

What does Atlanta Georgia and Via de' Magalotti 11/r - Firenze +39 055 216589

have in common? The Cuoco aka Chef and Capo of I'cchè c'è c'è of Florence...who for the last 20 years has been invited to the Georgian Club's 4 exclusive members only clubs to do private Tuscany event cooking for 2 weeks and to invite the 5,000 plus members to try the cooking classes that Jacopo and his father, Gino!, graciously give 2 weeks of the year of their precious time towards.!

"I came to the restaurant at the age of 17 and at the age of 20, after dishwashing and waitering, my father finally started teaching me cooking. He said that I needed to learn the entire restaurant business and what it entailed. I totally appreciated that opportunity. Now, he comes every morning to prep and I am in the kitchen, yet for instance in the morning today for the first time I did my own version of a recipe that has been his forever and he yelledme! I said, Papa, it is the same recipe only a little different and he said no, you always add the ingredients in the order that I say. And he is right since if you add lemon first, say instead of sage if it is usually first, the dish will taste a little more lemony than it should. Yet I wanted to try it my way and I loved it my way yet he did not approve!" he laughs...the generations of change!

located down a exclusive alley at Via de' Magalotti 11/r - Firenze+39 055 216589

the Capo, Jacopo in his open kitchen cooks for 40 some guests every night himself.

http://www.trattoriaicchecece.com/

de' Magalotti 11/r - Firenze
+39 055 216589 Risultati immagini per trattoriai cche ce ce florencer

Asking Jacopo's team about their favorite foods, "Everything is good, " Jacopo laughs as he translates his Italian waiter's words, "because Jacopo puts his passion inside plates!" and the Capo laughs saying, "honestly that is what he said, I translated it word for word!" he says. I believe him since later we go inside the kitchen while I watch the Capo prepare my number one special Italian food, Gnocchis! "The only time I ever went on vacation in 28 years and left the restaurant open is when my father Gino was in the kitchen!. And I am constantly on the phone...tell me about that, where exactly did that happen, when did that happen, etc. The stress level is high for me. When I first hired Stefano, who is from Naples he said that he had tons of experience. After the very first night it showed he had zero experience and I sat him down and said that I would train him my way. One year later he can run the entire dining room himself. I love to train my own team since ultimately if they make a mistake that comes back to me making the mistake. The weight is on me. My team doesn't make a mistake, trust me." he says laughing. Risultati immagini per i'cche' c'e c'e firenze food

Risultati immagini per i'cche' c'e c'e firenze food

"I guess the most difficult thing about being the cuoco and the Capo is that many things to do as the Capo don't occur in the kitchen. Sometimes I don't want to do them yet it is a job. I have much more fun in the kitchen trying new recipes and loving when the guests are happy with my food, though." he says. Great real Italian team and the Gnocchis were yum!

http://www.trattoriaicchecece.com/

"I experiment with new recipes and ideas always myself first in private and if I like it after many tries I let my team try. If the team likes it at that point the regular customers and my personal friends can try the new recipes. And at that time we let the guests try. I rarely make mistakes at that stage since everybody says they love it. And let's see...you asked me if I have any STRESS! Let's say that I work 17 hr. days and maybe 11 of these hours I am happy and having fun and the other 6 hours are stress! Sometimes it is stress alone and sometimes I am arguing with the team for about 10 minutes letting off steam and the next minutes we are all joking. Yet it is a very hard life and although I do yes love being a Capo, it is a constant project to control and perfect everything. When I am ready for the guests every night I glance from the kitchen and I see that every glass is perfect and the way it is supposed to be and if it is a little different I am out of the kitchen fast and rearranging it. The team knows that. It is difficult to control everything and since you are dealing with guests from all around the world, some things do go wrong at times. I try to talk to each guest yet I am in the kitchen all the time and sometimes I am nervous if everything was alright. I come to the tables after I see that they are smiling!" he laughs. "If they are smiling I know they love my food!" Risultati immagini per i'cche' c'e c'e firenze food

"You know we have a wild boar stew that we cut into pieces and a grilled wild boar that I do named Cinghiale in umido which I marinate for 3 hours in red wine. It is very different than anybody else's. People love it. It is really the best. And the wild boars don't mind it since there are too many wild boars." We laugh. "They actually have wild boar open season to lesson the wild boars since they eat in the vineyards and destroy crops. We only use the shoulder here since that is the highest quality. And you asked about truffles? We do have truffles when they are in season. You know they search for truffles with truffle smelling dogs, yet they also use truffle smelling pigs! True, I swear to you...the pigs are real fast though and you have to grab the truffles before they eat them!" he says.

Here is Kitsch and Kitsch deux..."the reason we named it Kitsch deux is that in French 2 sounds better and it also means day...we liked that and since the French are a little more chic than the rest of us..." starts the conversation with Marco's partner of more than 38 years. "We've known each other since 5 years old. We grew up with each other, and one day we are jogging with each other on the river and Marco's says, Fabio I want to open a Disco! And I say, no Marcos a Disco is way to difficult to start out and how about if we open a bar instead? He says O alright yes lets open a bar and 15 years now we have Kitsch. Let me tell you the first couple of years we had 5am dancing in the street and inside the Kitsch we hired dancers, professional ones if you know what I mean, to dance all night...at one point 8 dancers. So I guess in a way, Marcos got his dream of a nightclub! Then the Italian government cracked down on dancing and loud music and we had to tone it down. Now lets just say that it is a little more quieter than it used to be!" says Fabio laughing. I say, um...okay what does Fabio, who runs the Kitsch deux, just right down the alley of Ginolori street, love about life now? "I guess Marcos loves being the IPHONE Dj and I love drinking too much. Yes I must say that I love to drink and drink a lot of Champagne, the real good stuff. It is nice since every night I can drink as much Champagne as I want. Marcos loves the vibes and the music and I love drinking!" laughs Fabio. He asks me the best food in the city? I say I just had dinner at OLIO and LOVED it! "Alright since I haven't been to OLIO, I shall invite you to dinner and we can eat together!" he says. Now that is a great invitation from a famous icon of the music nightclub scene in Florence Italy, I say.

"Kitsch when it first started is a wild place. Me and Fabio started it 15 years ago. That is a very financially productive time. People would drive cars and bikes by here and stop and park and we would have people outside dancing with drinks and music playing and on the weekends the place open til 5:00am with people dancing and laughing." says Marcos. "Now it is still the number one cocktail bar in the city. Yet back then it was one of 15 nightclubs that people would all go out to. There is 3 of us left." he says.

http://www.kitschfirenze.com/kitschbar/

In all the books of Florence, Kitsch is still the number one place for cocktails and aperitivos...it is noted as the place where the movers and the shakers go to have a cocktail, eat the buffet, sit in their table reserved especially for them. No automatic alt text available.

"Me and Fabio opened the 2nd Kitsch near Santa Marco named Kitsch Deux and it has the same theme and all of that since the last 8 years. People love both of these places and we love to see everybody happy. It used to be much more wild in Florence and I do miss that!" laughs Marcos as he admits he is quite the party guy. And Fabio? "Yes him too!" he laughs.

via S Gallo 22 / Call 328 90 39 289

"You know at Kitsch over the course of the 15 years we've had to do reservations for the inside tables. Every table and I mean everyone is reserved from 19.30pm on, however, if you come at 18.00 to 19.30 you can eat at the buffet and drink cocktails. Or you can sit outside which is what most people prefer in the summer. The coolest thing about KITSCH is that for the first cocktail and unlimited aperitivos it is only 10.00euros and only 5.00euros for each additional one after that...the Italians and the Americans and the Australians love to come at say 20.00pm and stay til 22.30 drinking and munching. It is a buffet that is huge and open til at least 22.30 every night. And if you have say 3 cocktails and keep going back to the buffet it is only 20.00euros. That is 100% unbeatable in the city of Florence. However, since the DJs we used to have every day a couple of years ago and that is how we got our fame, the Italian law has cracked down on DJs, so now I am the IPHONE DJ and do it from my choices sitting at the table and it is tunnelled into the speakers and I pick great music. The people usually stay til 2.00am partying and if they came for the buffet they can have 6 drinks and each one is only 5.00euros, Manhattens, Cosmopolitans, any of the cocktails and wine is only 3.50euros. I would love to say that it is the reputation of Kitsch and the great music is why they come, yet I know it is probably the great buffet and the fact that they can drink great shelf cocktails all for only 5.00euros each if they do the buffet first." says Marcos as he laughs and picks and chooses different music while we chat for one hour. Image may contain: 9 people, people smiling, indoor

Image may contain: 9 people, people smiling, indoor

Viale Antonio Gramsci, 1/5 R, 50121 Firenze - tel: 055 2343890 -

Image may contain: 1 person, sitting, stripes, motorcycle and outdoor

"I guess that people remember the craziest club ever being Kitsch and even though now it is quiet, we still have a chic nightclub where you can have great cocktails with the "beautiful people of Florence" while hearing great music and eating the best food in the city. Although it is only 10Euros for the first cocktail and aperitivos, each drink after is only 5euros, I mean that is really cheap since it is the number one cocktail bar in the city. That is important to remember and the wild crazy days of Florence are a thing of the past...now it is sophisticated drinking and crazy dancing on the Kitsch tables when nobody is looking! We said, hey lets open a Kitsch in Paris and we are thinking about that soon, after all it is better to be real chic in Paris than forget the good times!" says Fabio. I agree!

Via Gallo and via ginori in Florence for Kitsch deux, and Via Gramsci Kitsch 1

GUSTAVINO BURGERS, florence italy...

Okay let's talk about you and me let's talk about 123 let's talk about all the different burgers that you see...the funniest ones are at the new GUSTAVINO BURGER in Florence which is a TOTATLLY GOURMET BURGER right opposite the GUSTAVINO PIZZERIA FAMOUS RESTAURANT.

Via della Condotta 34R

Why Burgers? "You know honestly I personally love Burgers. I am from Albania and at the age of 13 came here to Florence and opened the famous Cavallino on the Piazza with David and the Osteria del Proconsolo behind the Duomo and last year bought the GUSTAVINO PIZZERIA. Now I opened the Burger 3 days. The college kids always ask where they can eat real good burgers. You know sometimes I went to Hard Rock Cafe, but it isn't Gourmet Burgers and they are more expensive. I guess the tourists can afford those yet the students love the real Burgers and they love to try new things and here the Burgers are from 8.50 to 13.00 euros. They can eat these everyday and honestly I have known my people that cater to the restaurants the last 20 years. Each of the Burgers comes with a certificate as to where it came from, how old the cow is, or the boar, or the rabbit. Each one is 100% pure. That is important that you know the quality that you eat." says Arti.

https://www.facebook.com/gustavinoburger/

"Okay the other restaurants you can find the great real Authentic Italian Pasta and of course the Florentine Steak, the same Chianina meat that we use for the real Florentine Steak is the same that we use in the Burgers, !" says Arti. And if you would love the meet the very kind and funny person visit him at one of his restaurants...usually since it is his new one of 3 days you can find him here...or at http://www.osteriadelproconsolo.com/

OSTERIA DEL PROCONSOLO - HOME

OSTERIADELPROCONSOLO.COM

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ristorante-Il-Cavallino/156222467732546

Ristorante Il Cavallino

Italian Restaurant

As you can see the Burgers are 100% Gourmet and 100% pure...the Rabbit is Rabbit, the Chianina is 100% Chianina, the Wild Boar is 100% Wild Boar, and each one is certified. Along with Burgers being my favorite food, even though I own some pretty famous Italian Restaurants, I had to make sure that they were the highest quality. You know the additional thing is when applying for a license it has to be 50% Tuscany. The products, the quality and the region. And when we said alright let's do the Burgers, we used all of our vendors and contacts that have already developed trust with us the last 20 years. We use the Chianina Cows for the Italian Restaurants in the Florentine Steaks and said okay why not use the Chianina Cows for the Burgers? And we do." says Arti, who owns the famous restaurants that you can try when you have finished the 5 days of eating Burgers!

http://www.gustavino.it/

GUSTAVINO – Ristorante pizzeria

GUSTAVINO.IT

say hi to ARTI and the team at the GUSTAVINO PIZZA, opposite the GUSTAVINO Burgers!

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https://www.facebook.com/Jimmys-Leather-Collection.../

"The people that come love the leather since we have the finest Tuscany factories of 300 years that stitch and tailor the leather pieces, yet it is about trust and they must learn to know us?" says Alex, a cousin of the owner Jimmy who comes from that wonderland of Kashmir... "you know the land of the Kashmir sweaters? Yep that one and he is used to the finest in the world. He comes from a famous family of Kashmir and when he came to Florence the utmost importance of his is the quality. When I ask if he is born in Kashmir, Alex says, "Nope! New York!" he laughs. "My family is from Oklahoma and I am a American." That could be why he feels a affinity to Americans who always come into the store because of the beauty of the leathers and once they come into the store and feel the leathers, they are hooked. They are so soft! I couldn't stop feeling them! "It takes awhile for people to realize that when they come to Florence they want leather made from the finest families and generations of tanneries. The quality is important." he says. When I meet the real Jimmy he says that he has been here "22 years."

The nicest thing is that they really try to help you find that perfect fit. If you love something yet it doesn't fit just right, they will tailor it to custom fit you. Alex says, "Jimmy designs his own line of leather jackets. They are all his designs. You can not find them anywhere else. That is important to know. Buying a high quality jacket that is totally one of a kind is important. We give the best customer care. We know our products where each jacket comes from. Where each piece comes from since we work with the real Tuscany tanneries that have been dealing with the finest leather in the world their entire life. Jimmy has the best relationships with each of these factories because he expects the best. That quality of fabric he passes on to each client."

he The one thing that I loved about the lovely leather store is that he has from Euro 20,000.00 Mink and Leather Coats to his 300.00 leather handmade custom made leather stadium jackets, and they are all the highest Tuscany leather handcrafted that you will find in the world. GORGEOUS! "I want a customer for life and one that respects and trusts me. I don't really care about the ones that come in one time to my store and leave." says Jimmy. "The students from America and around the world come in here everyday. Some of the other leather stores ignore the students and the young 18 to 35 year olds, but we love em. They come here for 3 months or 6 months or 1 year and they really look to find the perfect leather for themselves. They ALWAYS buy the leathers here. We love to talk and make friends with these students. The students are smarter than anybody. They are educated and they research the best. When their parents and friends come they bring them here. We treat the students with respect and they treat us with respect." he says. L'immagine può contenere: 4 persone, persone che sorridono, persone in piedi

"JIMMY" KIND OF LOOKS LIKE he should be a Milan Runway or at least one of the designers doing the show! HE is all real and Exotic and talks about "I am all business...I come from Kashmir where we are business business business," yet when you talk about Kashmir and Leather of Florence the business happens to be the "Best Tanneries in the World...do you know that there is at least 18,000 factories in Florence that produce the finest in the world. You have two fashion worlds. One is Milan which is the height of fashion and one is Florence where the real fashion of leather is. That is reality. In the fashion world they know that. Yet with the leather markets lining the street people don't know where to look. People yell at you that they can give you 20.00 euros off 25 euros off as you walk down the street. Tourists and buyers come here and are overwhelmed with too many places and not knowing what is real and what is trustworthy. I am trying to provide a private sanctuary that is high quality. I do not show my best leathers on Facebook or in my window. You must come into the store to see these...yes I have minks and leather worth euros of 20,000.00 but I don't show these or my original designs of colors and patterns in the window, on facebook, or let tourists take pictures of these. Why? Because these are my designs and I don't like people copying my designs. Yes sometimes I do lose business if a tourists passes by my window, yet the real leather hunters can find me. They know that the best is always hidden!" he says.

The Asians that come here are mostly Chinese and Korean and honestly, besides the Americans, who are always nice, the Koreans are the kindest and funniest people. The last 5 years there has been a change in the Chinese people. They are much more friendly and independent. They used to just follow the leader and go wherever the tour guide in China would tell them to go. Now I see that the Chinese talk more to me and are interested in the real substance of the product. They don't just take the tour guides word for it. They see the independent newspapers and they're curious about the culture and world and they real try hard to learn." says Jimmy. I tell him that the Chinese people that I have met are one of the kindest cultures and it is true. "Yes and the Americans are always fun. They come to Florence to buy leather and to visit some of the finest historic museums of art in the world. They appreciate and know high quality and they're always nice." he says. "My leather's are unique designs. I do each jacket in a variety of colors. If you love a jacket, which this year is blue the favorite, you can have it in a couple different colors. Only one style of jacket yet it is of course in black which is the staple of the leathers, and browns, yellow, blue, green, red. The style is important and that is totally mine. I am the designer of each unique item," says Jimmy.

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Alright and here is the owner of "Jimmys" in Florence...(the photo below is Kashmir) appropriately named from American standards as "Jimmy". In Italy they always name the stores from the street where they are located. Yet here it is Jimmys. The store has the finest leather you will ever find. I took videos and pictures which they all said is , "Unheard of. Jimmy doesn't even let us post the finest leathers on facebook since he doesn't want them copied!" I guess he likes me. Which is a good thing. Ha ha ha. L'immagine può contenere: 2 persone, persone in piedi

L'immagine può contenere: 2 persone, persone in piedi

L'immagine può contenere: 2 persone, persone che sorridono, persone in piedi e spazio al chiuso

Here is some facts of the leather industry in Florence which of course is known world wide for it s leather, the finest available in the world, that is true.

At Jimmys they totally pride themselves on the best quality of the leather, such as the leather itself, the technique in the coloring of the leathers, the thread used to sew the leather, the way it is sewn whether by hand, which is the best and only at Jimmys can you always find hand sewn leathers, as opposed to machine sewn, the lining of the leathers, the tanning of the leathers, all of that is something that should be in consideration when purchasing a high priced leather that lasts for years. The one rare thing about Jimmys is that they custom tailor to fit you. Yes it takes a couple of days, yet it is rare nowadays to find a place that offers that service. They do. It is from the ancient art of making leathers. Jimmy says that he worked in the industry for years before opening his own stores and he saw what is important to him. The quality is important. And the styles. They're all his designs. Yes he can tan and color these to a variety of choices if that is what you want yet each one is unique and special. Come visit. From my point of view, which he didn't want me to write..."only the facts about my exclusive high quality leathers write about, " he says. Yet from my point of view the funnest thing about buying leathers at Florence is Jimmy's team, who are honest, passionate, delightful and help in all ways to fit you with that perfect leather. They take pride in it. L'immagine può contenere: 5 persone, persone che sorridono, persone in piedi e scarpe

L'immagine può contenere: 5 persone, persone che sorridono, persone in piedi

The Tartan Jock Scottish Pub, although the chinese guy who owns it is not my favorite person, I love Scotland Accents, Scottish kilts, and yes about anything Scottish here it is ... the Scottish Pub at Florence, which is pretty cool except for the enforcers stealing my interview today it has real Tartan namesake crests everywhere and my absolute favorite bagpipes which were played near my sistes's wedding. Once upon a time, my sister Gina married Matthew (two t's) at Jumer's Castle in Peoria and in the same castle yet a different wedding bagpipes played...they became intriqued at the wedding we were having and in they crashed to play at my sister's wedding instead! Truly Lovely...such a lovely time that my little brother, named Mathew, with one t, danced all night alone on the dance floor, only 3 years old. As I stayed watching him my little heart broke since all the "BIG FOLKS" not just ignored the little tyke of 3 trying very hard to dance and fit in, but were downright rude to a little child! Therefore I do what I normally do not do in Public and went on the dance floor and danced with him and took him to the room where I promptly kicked out the babysitter and babysat all the little ones including Mathew and we had story time all night. Don't you hate mean people? Anyeay from that day on I always associated bagpipes with that wedding, the good and the bad and the let's go to bed early while everybody else is dancing and my little Mathew can have a lovely night. http://www.scottishpub.it/

http://www.beerhouseclub.eu/

Okay anyday around the world from Florence to Switzerland to Regensburg to Los Angelos to Hungary to London to....we have specialty beers and the people that love to have fun and try all of em...here at the

Beer House Club I met Eggley and Herman, both of who partnered 4 years at a Duomo Osteria and now about 1 year and 3 months have bought the Craft Beer "Garden Osteria". It reminds me of the Beer Gardens in my hometown of Langley Virginia growing up with the laptop usable student tables inside and outside and the casual yet serious beer-drinking atmosphere.

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Eggley, "We have our own brewery now, it is little, yet we are in the production of 2 more beers within a month or so. Now we have the Ruby Kiss and the Green Sativa on the beer kegs. The Green Sativa is made with a touch of hemp and you can taste the grassy texture in it. Here try it." And I try a little taste and love it. Both of the beers from the name BHC are lovely and I would drink both of these if I came to the brewhouse. As usual for Foreign beers they are a little stronger than American ones. "The strongest we have now on draft is 10% and yes all the crazy American Erasmus students come in here and immediately order the 10% since they feel like kids in candy stores!" Says Eggley and I finish the sentence for him!

"you know the funniest thing about us is

that it is about 70% girls in here at night and

30% guys!

Every night a lot of people come and

it is always girls!"

Image may contain: one or more people, people sitting, drink and indoor

Beer House Club
A Corso Tintori 34/R - Firenze 50122
T 055 247 6763...

O my favorites love these beers!

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"Hmm Johnnie Walker and Ginger Ale..."

The Tuesday nights are especially funny since it is 5Euros 5 which means that all drinks are 5Euros, every beer, every cocktail and 5 shots for 5Euros.

The students love Tuesday nights!

In the day we have many outlets for their computers and they can come and have a Burger and a Beer and write a thesis, you know.

Or one important item is that they have 1 kilos of Florentine steak and everybody in Florence insists that you must buy the 1 kilo, yet here since we have that many girls, we know a little girl can not eat an entire kilo...hmm alright here and only here in Florence we have the Florentine Steak that is 1/2 kilo...and yes a girl can eat 1/2 kilo. A kilo is very big. " says Eggley. I am very happy since I always wanted to eat the Florentine Steak and now i can (because I am a girl.)

and ultimately, as one Pub owner told me in Dublin, "it's a Pub, Emme, it's just a Pub.

here...it is a place where you can drink beer!

       OFFICINA FIORENTINA
                                                          Borgo De Greci 39 red, 003 905 527 4 1590
                                                            Florence Italy    Risultati immagini per missoni

"Silk scarfs, real ITALIAN SILK SCARFS are very rare," says SASHA, WHO OWNS THE BRAND NEW ITALIAN BOUTIQUE on Borgo De Greci 39 red, in Florence, Italy. "We're only here a couple of months,, yet I thought a long while about my represtentation of my idea of fun and young Italy combined with tradition. We have Missoni, which is world known and Just'O" he says and I say WAIT!. Just'O? I LOVE JUST'O. ROME HAS A HUGE BOUTIQUE OF JUST'O. "Yes I chose 5 of the Special items and have these here." he says. Risultati immagini per just o bags

www.officinafiorentina.it Risultati immagini per franco pugi

www.officinafiorentina.it
"Franco Pugi is a VERY FAMOUS FLORENTINE ARTIST IN THE DESIGN OF HANDBAGS, yet he never lets people keep his items. He is exclusive for 30 some years and I am honored that he chose me. We display his very expensive one of a kind in the world handbags here." says Sasha. I say that I KNOW FRANCO PUGI! is more famous than LOUIS VUITTON!

IL TOCCO DI BACCO , firenze

(a French Provincial style from the Capo's French wife

with real authentic Tuscany food...charming...)

Image result for il tocco di bacco firenze

°My husband cooks in the restaurant and I cook at home. He knows nothing about the kitchen at home!° laughs the very beautiful, Lea, who is 100% French. °We met about 7 years ago when I came to University in Florence. Was it love at first sight?° she glances at Arber, her Albanian husband who is 31, °No, ° they both agree. °The 2nd date is 2 weeks later at the same nightclub named SPACE. We leave together and it is love at second sight!° they say laughing. They are both refreshingly playful, funny and alive. °The people that come here are about 90% tourists and that is the reason that we do not change the menu. Why should we change the menu when every time the people it is their very first time in our restaurant. It is all new to them.° says the very honest Lea. The young couple are delightful, Lea is only 28 and has been here in Florence only 7 years, from France. Her husband is Albanian and has been here about 20 years and is only 31. "My mother and father from France and my brother are visiting for Easter and it is a huge help since we have 3 baby boys." "3! Already I say. "Yes one is 3 years old and two 6 month old twins. And everyday they come to work with us...here they are." she says and in walks Mom and Dad with the twins. Um...how do you do that? "My facebook on the restaurant has pictures from 2 years ago. I really must take a couple of pictures and post these yet we are too busy!" she says laughing.

Via Dei Leoni 6 red firenze

"The Americans love the Wild Boar," says Lea who introduces me to the, again, young kitchen staff and the waiter named Aldo who is gorgeous. "They are all either cousins of my husband or friends!" she giggles.

Image result for french cartoons of wild boar

The restaurant is charming and has a open glass kitchen with a very French Provincial look to it. "That is odd since we bought the restaurant and it is the way still that we bought it. Image may contain: 5 people, people smiling, people sitting and baby

Image may contain: 5 people, people smiling, people sitting and baby

However, we hope the year of 2017 to redecorate it and yes I want to do a French elegant look to the restaurant. Of course it is a Italian restaurant and all real homemade Tuscany food, yet I am French and I know how to decorate!" Lea is laughing, trying to help her little boy eat chocolate Easter eggs, and smiling at the twins all at the same time as the interview. Do they ever go out for elegant romantic dinners? I ask. "Um....no!" they both laugh. "We are too busy doing the restaurant, the babies, and when we go home we only do family time with each other." I guess at the moment they had enough romantic nights.! Related image

055 284863

"Aldo is the waiter and he and I am always with the people. My husband helps his cousin in the kitchen and they are the big cooks. Me and Aldo have real fun with the guests who are almost always tourists and it keeps us busy talking to that many people of different languages. I speak Italian and French and English and my husband speaks Italian and English and Albanian." She says. When I ask if they always ask for the Wild Boar?

"The special is the Florentine Steak and honestly people come here since it is only 1 kilo for 35.00euros for two people. That is why they come and we of course have the pasta with wild boar. The Americans love that. No I do not have Trippe since we do not eat Trippe why should the people that come here try it." she says. Um....YUM

Image result for il tocco di bacco firenze

"Basically we have Just'o, which you say you have in ROME Italy, and you can make your own bags, MISSONI, and Franco Pugi. The most important item is that the people know that we have EXCLUSIVE SILK SCARFS THAT IS REAL ITALIAN SILK. VERY IMPORTANT TO SAY THAT." he says.

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Is the food good? I ask Soldano. "I hope so," he says quietly. His voice is very quiet and he is one of the most sincere and humble people you will ever have the pleasure of meeting, love going to each table personally and saying hi to the guests, taking the orders and having fun every night. "That is my joy honestly. Everyday I meet people from all around the world. I talk to the backpackers from America and the movie stars, and the music stars from America. The young people come in here and they love the music and they love that they can feel 100% comfortable in my restaurants. The music is my love and I dress that way with my taste every night. The restaurant is for the daily person who works and the Prince. It is a everybody restaurant and that is what my father taught me. He said, "Remember Soldano, the guest is the guest of your party that you are giving. Every night at the restaurant you have invited friends to come to a party. And that is why the music that I like I play and the food that I add to the table is the food I love." he says.

Image may contain: 1 person, sitting and indoor

Alright,on the Sunday I sit to talk to Soldano, who is a real Prince from the lineage of Imperial Russia and the Grand Duke of Austria, and the very famous family of the Chianti Ruffino region. "Yes when we were young we had parties at the Palace which had maybe 1,200 people coming and the parties would last 3 days with my father cooking for his guests. He loved to give parties. Since we were a famous wine maker for 60 years we of course gave the real original Ruffino to the guests. I mean we owned the vineyards and it is easy to do that." he says. I became interested in opening a restaurant after my father approached my brother to be his partner. My brother was not interested and my father had to convince me to be his partner. He was my partner and my best friend. And he kept saying to me, Soldano why do you think a restaurant will be a success? And I had to convince him. I think it was his reputation for hospitality that drew the 100's of friends everyday from the first day to the restaurant. And since we do a great job with the food they kept coming back. Everyday I am busy the last 20 years and we opened the La Giostra 2 and we're busy everyday! Now it is the friends, the Italians, the tourists, the famous people, the politicians, and no not just my friends. If it is only my friends I would have to have a lot of friends to keep open every night!" he says laughing.

055 241341 Borgo Pinti 10/18 Rosso https://www.facebook.com/ristorantelagiostra/

"The guests vary from the 3 American girls that you met on the bus who said that they loved my restaurant, which is why you came here, to the Egyptian Prince who invited me 3 days to Egypt and flew me around in his helicopter. Which is amazing and I still wonder why he invited me!" he says. I say that it is his lovely person, his coolness and his great and lovely food that the Egyptian Prince probably wanted to steal recipes from! Ha ha ha. Yet totally a treat. Image may contain: 1 person, smiling

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One of the reasons I loved the La Giostra 2 the minute I walked in is the sheepskins covering the chairs. It was all viking feeling and like a huge romantic cave. "Yes um need to talk about the sheepskins, and yes everybody loves these. However, it is for practical reasons since when we first opened in the winter we didn't know the opening of the doors in the front would make it such a cold place to sit and we had to buy sheepskins for the guests when they sat here in the winter. In the summer we put away the sheepskins!" Says Soldano and I say O I am so disappointed since I thought they were part of the decor! Ha ha ha... Below, you know Steve Vai, the one who plays with Whitesnake, Frank Zappa, David Lee Roth, and now with Soldano! Great Guitar player and great entreprenuer meet. Image may contain: 2 people, people sitting and indoor

The real star of the very famously studded,

no pun intended yet then again..., La Giostra is the owner Soldano. Soldano can be seen everywhere

on the walls of his famously visited restaurant

yet honestly it is his mere presence at night

that attracts the people. When I first walked

into La Giostra 2 which is right next door

almost to the La Giostra 1, the Rock and Roll

music was blaring. BLARING and the team

\was setting the tables at 18:00pm. I giggled

since the decor is stunningly beautiful and the

walls covered with everybody you see on the

telly. And again, the decor is stunningly beautiful. The team said, "O yes that is the

music of Soldano. He loves Rock and Roll."

Yet one and 1/2 hr. later when I came to say hi

the entire restaurant on a Saturday night was

totally full and the Rock and Roll music just as

loud as before. If you venture to the right to the

"a little more formal" (with the Michelin guide

logos on the front door) La Giostra 1, you will

find the loud Rock and Roll music again! Hmm

have to meet the Soldano who does that, I said.

The experience is as unlike any you can ever imagine.

Talking to Francesco, my friend of 3 years, we have a lot of fun. It is always good to see how he sees the world, his role in it, and how he proceeds running the flagship showroom restaurant of Frescobaldi here in Tuscany, the homeland of the vineyard dynasty. "They are a 52 generaton winery with many more than 1,000,000 bottles of wine production every year, yet it is never enough...we always run out of wine!" he says, "They are in 70 countries around the world, yet you would be surprised at how many people come in here to eat and haven't associated the MIchelin restaurant with the vineyard. When I say that we only serve Frescobaldi Wine they get the idea!"

"The restaurant must reflect the sophistication and heritage of a great family. A cultured and long respected dynasty and yet make the guests feel comfortable in the restaurant. My team is a great team. We have fun with the guests and a Michelin Star of 1 is very different than a Michelin Star of 3. The Michelin of 1 means that you have a great chef. But a 3 means you have to hover over the table with one-on-one personal service. If that is what you want you go to a Michelin 3, but if you want a private and intimate romantic dinner, you probably come here!" he says.

Image may contain: people sitting, table, drink and indoor

"I've been here almost 12 years and the only reason I can say is that they hired me and they must respect me and accept my style of managing the restauarant since I am still here," he laughs when I ask if he feels if he represents the famous family. "Next time you come to Florence, give me a notice and I will arrange a trip to the vineyards and a interview perhaps with one of the family." he says. O okay!

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"You know my team, if they want a glass of wine with dinner before they start the service, that is alright. I let them drink the wine. Afterall we are a Frescobaldi wine restaurant. However, one glass is alright and makes you feel good and happy. At home I have 100s of bottles of wine that I have purchased the last 11 years. I love to drink wine. Ya sure why not. That is my business. But a good wine is meant to be savored. You don't guzzle Frescobaldi. You taste it. You enjoy it. The rich quality of it. I can only tell you what I represent here. I can't tell you about the marketing team or how they advertise the wine. In terms of sponsoring if one of the Frescobaldi sons loves car racing, they might sponsor a car, but mostly they aren't big on sponsoring events. When you ask how many bottles of Frescobaldi is produced every year? Not enough!" he says.

He introduces me to Allessandro, the head chef. "You know I am never nervous, when you ask. I am excited and I am experienced enough to be confident that when I present my plate to the guests that it is the best that I can do. My top chef in the world is Lucas from France. I would love to work with him. It is about creativity, yet the Tuscan food is simple and you must keep it simple. It is in fact harder to prepare a simple dish than a fois gras which is quite difficult, yet the simpler the more difficult." he says. "A top chef uses his tastes and his way with spices and herbs and preparations and his sense of smell and taste. That is all I can say as to why one chef is much better than the other." Image may contain: 1 person, standing

TRATTORIA BBQ BARBECUE

http://www.trattoriabbq.com/cosa-facciamo

Image may contain: outdoor

I am a in shape fit person and walking the quaint 1 kilometer tour from the Ponte Vecchio to the Typical real Italian shabby chic trattoria is no problem for me. What you find is a nice family of two brothers and great grill cooks. The Florentine steak is only 1 kilogram or more and is grilled, of course, right in front of you. FAMOUS for the Grill and for the traditional Florentine cuisine...click on the website link to see the map or google it! https://www.facebook.com/trattoriabbq/?fref=ts You will also find tons of locals and people speaking only Italian, if you would love a real cultural experience...o and right next door is the

"BEST GELATO in ITALY", named LA SORBETTIERA

Says one of the brothers, Simone,"I went to Greece about 20 years it has been now. When I went to Greece I see BBQs everywhere! AT Greece! And I say how come all of these people cook on the Grills. That is unusual in Italy. When I came back to Italy I lived my life owning a bar with my brother. It is crazier owning the bar. Party Party Party all the time. Every night," admits Simone laughing. "Now we barbeque for the last 7 years here! All of the meat such as the steak and filet and the chicken is grilled. You know chicken is stupid. Chickens are stupid. That is why I grill them. And the way mama cooks BBQ , not McDonalds." he says. I say, "Chicken is stupid? That is a odd thing to say?" "A chicken is not stupid...they behave stupidly. I take out their bones and put them on the grill." That is the owner of BBQ! And he loves loves loves BBQ the restaurant. Think Bubba Shrimp from Forest Gump and you will have the loyalty and dedication to the art of BBQ that Simone has!

"When we bought the BBQ place it is all white and the whiteness of Greece immediately reminded me of that country. Everywhere it is the white mountains of Greece." Simone says as he puts on a red and white apron ready to grill? I ask if he is the cook. "Nope ,that is the cook here, since April of 2015, his name is Riccardo" he says as he points to the big cook! I say that if you are lazy you will never find the BBQ place, it is a must only for fit people that want to eat healthy grilled only steaks and chicken. "Tell people that we don't put heavy sauce on the meat, only pure grilled that allows the true Tuscany taste to be enjoyed," says Simone.

"It is funny to see all the tourists come and ask about the BBQ." Says Simone and I say that Americans Love BBQ and especially the Australians which are known for their famous phrase, "Put another shrimp on the Barbie!" "What does that mean?" asks Simone and I say that the Australians throw shrimp on the barbeque and drink tons of beers at their BBQS. "Ya I know the Australians love to drink!" he says. I personally love the funky cool southwestern decorations and when I say it looks American, Simone is quick to tell me that it is a Florentine Grill BBQ, not a American one! Image may contain: outdoor

Image may contain: food Piazza Torquato Tasso 9/10 055 512 0376

"The above way that we cook the chicken is to put bricks on top of the chicken as it is being grilled, since it is thin, it is better to cook it that way and the heat is equal in all parts of the chicken.." says Simone as he tells me the Florentine way to do it.

https://www.facebook.com/trattoriabbq/?fref=ts Walk (or taxis ride) take the ponte amerigo vespucci bridge cross it and go onto via sant'Onofrio continue straight turns to via di camaldoli and continue Piazza Torquato Tasso. Ciao fun! TRATTORIA BBQ, HAMBURGHER, GRIGLIATE, BISTECCA LALLA FIORENTINA, POSTI ALL'APERTO, These are called lo svizzerone, "mama when she doesn't want to cook asks us as children, want a svizza? That is what Americans call Hamburgers...here on the Grill." Risultati immagini per bbq trattoria florence Cristian along with his brother Simone have a good sense of humor and loyalty to all symbols of BBQ!

"We have too, typical Tuscany food...you know honestly it is a Tuscany kitchen and we have a special section that is the grill for BBQs..."

La Pentola Dell'Oro is a Medici establishment from the 1,200s and totally funky, fun, and friendly...it serves a simple authentic menu that has special items at dinner and a happy experienced team of Florentine origins, plus the "BEST COFFEE ever made!" says one of the capos, Guido, who happens to have started the coffee company in 1969 named CASA del MOKA, http://www.casadelmoka.it/azienda.htm. "I met the other ones who own the restaurant when they bought coffee from my company for their other restaurants. We said let's start our own restaurant and that is the result of La Pentola Dell'Oro... and it is the best coffee in Florence!" says Guido who says that "yes, I love my new company of a restaurant which is my first. It is fun." and you can tell that he really does love it. "Can you tell the people that when they come to our restaurant and say they come from EMMEANESBOOK that we give everybody a FREE ESPRESSO!" says Guido.

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"The wine cellar is downstairs and is about 1,200 years old. When we opened the room up we found bottles of wine from Brunello for example that come from the 1960's. The well is only one of 4 wells that are original from the 1300s and it is about 10 meters deep." says Guido who is one of the 4 capos of the La Pentola Dell'Oro in Florence just a couple 100 meters from the Sante Croce piazza. "4 of us own the restaurant and it is me, Valentina, and Aldo, and Antonio. We have a nice lunch menu that is typically for the bankers and the workers who come in and grab lunch yet tourists find us too. However, the dinner menu is special and gives typical Florentine steak and rabbit for instance." says Guido who is a ball of energy walking up and down little hidden crevices in the Stone Medicia Palazzo.

Via di mezzo 24

https://www.facebook.com/La-Pentola-DellOro-651563468283468/

The entire team seems happy and I ask if it is a Antonori restaurant since the minute you walk in you are greeted with the young chef wearing the apron with that famous wine family on it. "The vineyard Antonori gives us these little gifts when we buy wine from the vineyard.," says the young shy cook as he proudly shows off his apron. The kitchen is completely open and immediate as you walk in the front door and you can check out the culinary skills of the team. Nice and honest and friendly.

As you can see down at the bottom of the stairway is the 1,300 year old well. "Downstairs we open for dinner and the restaurant has about 125 people that we can fit." says Guido and I start laughing because it seems like he is saying they open the well up at night! "No, the well is closed for a long time; however it is only one of four such in the city of Florence. The Medici family had some beautiful places. The curved brick ceiling and the wine cellar is available for special parties that we have or intimate dining and all you have to do is ask. We have a special waiter that is here for you and of course the dinner menu." says Guido.

The food is lovely and the team is real nice. I hope you enjoy their sincerity in giving you a taste of Florence. 055 241808

Please visit lovely Valentina's restaurants in Florence: http://www.fontebuona.com/ located at via Piano 4 - Favale di Malvaro GE - tel. 0185 975024

Lunedi Jazz al Vecchio Mercato Florency Italy...

http://www.vecchiomercato.it/

for reservations call 055 211978

http://www.ristorantelamaremma.com/

Via Giuseppe Verdi 16/R

+39 055 240972 +39 055 244615

Unfortunately, the boar didn't make it...

055 293376 Via Porta Rossa 58/R

http://www.labussolafirenze.it/

The cuisine at the famous think Jack Nicholson The Shining Estate decor...? The bar reminds you of the bar scene in that famous movie...I keep waiting for the 1920s stars to arrive and shine.

Check out the Italian marble bar that runs the entire length of the restaurant, and the cool 1920s feel of the modern yet art deco seats! The newest addition has an

upstairs winding black granite staircase to the view of

the entire elegant restaurant. Intimate yet mischievious!

Image may contain: people sitting and indoor

"We are a elegant restaurant with high standards and we intend to keep it that way here. Now since the middle of December, we added the adjacent room with a tiny wine bar and a loft with windows and a view to see the diners downstairs. It adds another style and touch of class and I especially am happy with our outside terrace that shall open in two weeks." says Stefano. When I ask how come he seems younger looking now than two years since he says that he drinks only the finest of wines. "The wines at the La Bussola are expensive yet exquistive. They are the finest wines we can find." he says and as I peruse his "vineyard!" of wines I check out the barrels. Coolness when the owner of a Italian elegant restaurant visits the wineries himself and chooses only the highest level. His favorite is "Ornellaia which is expensive yet worth it," he says showing me a 2012 bottle he has in the long elegant all Italian marble bar. I tell him that I went to the Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine Florida a couple of months since and drank water from the natural springs that the famous explorer Ponce de Leon founded! The original fountain of youth keeps me young!

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"One lady comes here from San Francisco every year with her son. She used to come with her husband. It is nice to meet with her and say hi and have her try new dishes from me. We meet new tourists all the time and especially for dinner as the lunch is mostly Florentine guests. Of course it is beautiful for us since it is a treat to learn about the different sections of the world from my kitchen. It is a typical Florentine kitchen with hare and Florentine steak and truffles. And yes the Americans, honestly, are always friendly and laughing and asking questions about the food and the culture." says Cristian. https://www.facebook.com/trattoriaginone/ 055 218758

When I ask why his father doesn't cook? "It is dangerous if my father is the cook, let's say, he is a wonderful sommelier!" laughs Leticia and Cristian. Via dei Serragli 35/r

The coolest item about the restaurant named Ginone and Cristian, the cook, is the unusual people that make up the family. "My father collects art, his name is Giuseppe and my mom is Guisy and my Grandfather is Gordan and my GreatGrandfather of 4 generations of which the family is named is Gino!" says Cristian. I ask how in the world he got such a name beginning with a "C" when all the other relatives are a "G". "I don't know, I guess it is because they ran out of names!" he says laughing. He is a happy funny person and his girlfriend, Letitia is a nurse. "We want to go to Mexico on vacation, " she says, "we love adventure and relaxation and want to travel around the country." I ask Cristian if on Sunday night when they go out to dinner where they go? "The one night off we do Sushi or Italian or Pizza, it depends. She always says, Cristian stop wondering about the food and enjoy the dinner, yet I am curious always to see the recipes of everybody. The restaurant of mine has been here since 1949 and the original recipes, which my mother taught me and continues to teach me everyday in the kitchen. Yet I am curious of the modern world. That is why I tell them that it is important to do facebook and internet and of course the new Instagram.!" says the young Cristian.

"My dad is a sommelier and the wines that we have here are mostly red wines since we do meat and pasta dishes. The red wines are from 15Euros to 600Euros. The Americans appreciate my father to the table knowing about the wines and only my mom and I cook. The most expensive wine that we have in the restaurant is named Masseto." says Cristian. His father says that the wine is lovely and yes you can tell the difference between a very expensive wine and a cheap wine. "It is the way of champagne such as Crystal and cheap champagne. Yes there is a difference." Guiseppe says. "We work with each other to the food and wine and since we have about 80 good Italian wines that is alright," says Cristian. "More would be too much. I came to the kitchen since age 5 learning to cook and I am pretty good at it!" he laughs. "When am young I don't want to be a cook, I want to escape from that world. Now I love to cook. It is such fun to have the international tourists come to the open kitchen to talk to me!" he says. www.ginone.it/

The funny thing about the family is that everyone of these people say, "it is slow at lunch and it is packed at dinner." Which I guess isn't too funny and then, "That is the way I like it, " says Rolando, Francesco's father, "I come here to lunch everyday and I come here to dinner everyday since he opened 25 years ago. It is nice at lunch it is like eating at home. Sometimes you have other guests come, but not too much. I think they think we are only open at dinner!"

Image may contain: 5 people, people smiling, people sitting and indoor

Francesco says, "Yes as you can see we have a couple of guests. At night we have two sittings at 7:30pm and 9:30pm and dinner is busy. It is 25 years of reputation and the famous people and the politicians come. Reservations is recommended and the food is excellent, the team is attentive yet friendly and we hope you have a nice time. At lunch it is usually the family joking, including the dog, yet sometimes people somehow find us for lunch and they join in." And about 15 minutes later, here comes the brother, Lorenzo and his wife, and Lorenzo says, "Yes I don't have a job so we come here every lunch and dinner to eat." His wife says, "He is joking he is joking, I mean yes he does come here everyday since his brother owns the famous restaurant and Francesco is very generous and we all eat here everyday, yet he does have a job!" the famous Ferragamo wife says!

"It is funny the name is meaning Chaos and the first year we opened it is nothing but chaos with my chef of 6 months breaking his arm and leaving me, untrained, to cook alone in the kitchen. The menu got real short since I could only cook a couple of things. My mother is a wonderful cook, but she isn't a "cook", and I found a Japanese chef that could cook great Italian and he has been with us 20 years now." says Francesco. I say that the name jinxed him! They should of named it Tranquility and they would of had smooth sailing from day one!

"Here sit with my family," says Francesco and when I sit with the family it is the entire family of brother is walking in with his wife, who used to be a buyer with Ferragamo in Florence, and the dog named Attila, and the young 19 year old son named Piere, and the father who is a famous Gucci Designer and owns, Madani,his designer store, https://www.facebook.com/madani.firenze.3?ref=br_rs and his beautiful aritstocratic mother, and the team and Francesco personally making the carbonara in the kitchen! I have a wonderful chance to chat with an original designer of Gucci and it is totally cool. He of course wants to know about "Trump" and says "I hope that he is joking. He is very smart and a true international businessman! Yet I hope that he is joking in his speeches." I say that I hope that too! And he says that Mr. Trump needs to go to finishing school on Political Protocol and I eat my carbonara.

It is a 25 year old restaurant that has that real "old-school" feel to it. Lovely, homey and charming, and the family talks...a lot!

While I eat the very fattening food, I ask the young wife of Francesco's brother, Lorenzo, if she has many Ferragamo shoes! She blushes shyly and admits, "An entire closet full!" and I ask if she has about 125 shoes or more and she nods yes! "Yet most are dressy and high heels and it is impossible to walk on Florence's cobblestones with high heels." she says. Wow I would love to see her closet! http://www.trattoriapandemonio.it/ Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling

Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling

http://www.trattoriapandemonio.it/

The funny and famous family of Trattoria Pandemonio in Florence gave me a family lovely lunch

and the sponsorings of Florence Italy today. The owner is the son named Francesco along with

his best friend, Stefano, and his family, including his father and mother, made Roman Carbonara...

the first I ever tried. Lovely. And the Father is a handbag designer that used to work for Gucci, headquartered in Florence,

his grandmother used to stitch for the Gucci handbags and his grandfather was the original designer of Gucci. Talk about famous! Find the lovely people and if you want a

real treat come for lunch where it is quiet and you can talk to the family: Via Del Leone 50/ Call 055 224002

Gosh ...elegant bar of florence

Via Santo Spirito 46Red 055 0469048

"The Bar is something that I did with all my heart and it is a personal project that we wanted to do...something really different and we found the ristorante cafe in here and we thought, alright it is on one of most important streets in florence and I want to show my appreciation and respect for that importance and do something elegant here. Something that people can be proud of and in January we opened after 6 months, since we started in June. I did the work myself and since honestly I am very pampered at home in Lebanon, I am very proud that I did it all myself.

Honestly, again, I couldn't call my dad and say, "Can you come here and fix things?" You know, I had to figure it all out myself and I am very proud of all that I have done, from the colors to the physical transformation of the place. I am 1/2 German and 1/2 Lebanon. I have lived in Florence 5 years. My father has worked for a Italian company the last 20 years and we came to Florence all the time. I love the Italian people and I love the Italian people and I would only go back to Lebanon to visit since now Italy is my home.

I am 24 and my partner is 20. He is my brother, Matteo. I am very humble, trust me when I say that. The first day I didn't know how to make a cafe espresso yet I learned very quick." He says 1/2 joking and yet at the same time totally honest! Okay, we have to talk about the flamingos, Image may contain: indoor which by the way are everywhere in the cafe. "In Lebanon it is sophisticated and elegant and the people spend millions of euros on the kitchens and the decor of the restaurants. I love the flamingos and I love that style. It is very personal to me. And the name Gosh came from one of me and my brother, Matteo's, favorite songs. That is why we named it Gosh. The lawyer kept calling for months and finally he said " okay today I don't care what name you are naming it yet you have to name it something." And I said okay as I am looking at my MP3 play list...let's name it GOSH! And we named it Gosh and now everybody comes in here, especially the Americans and the Chinese and the Americans say, " O My Gosh!" and start laughing and making inside jokes with each other, and the Chinese say quietly," o my gosh!".

When I first entered the bar, I met Matteo! The younger brother. "I am real shy and my brother is the social one. I was in college yet since working here, I don't have time to go to college and since I would probably of ended up working in a place like Gosh, it is better that now I am a partner in Gosh and didn't finish college." he says. He is real quiet and nice and meticously and silently makes your drinks. It is difficult to make conversation with him since he is so shy. When I say to Alexander later that his mom and dad must be very exceptional people to have raised such nice sons he says,"That is because you don't know Matteo very well. He isn't so quiet all the time, trust me. He has his moments." A the lovely world of siblings!

"We had a Creative Aperitivo Group come here and ask to do a privato party. We made food for 60 people and expected that many.
That Saturday night about 250 people came since they promoted it on social media and the internet and they were standing outside and inside and at about midnight we ran out of all of our alcohol! People were yelling at me "WHERE'S THE FOOD!" And I kept saying that we thought only about 60 people would show up! Seriously. Yet 1/2 of the people didn't even pay since it is only me and my brother behind the bar and a girl helping and we just couldn't make it to everyone. And I was just learning how to make drinks. IT WAS INSANE! Trust me. Fun yes yet at the time JUST INSANE! Next time, I shall hire more people to help out with all the guests that come!"

The gorgeous cobblestoned Via Santo Spirito... Image result for gosh the elegant bar in florence at via santo spirito 46

"When I go to the table I am very honest with the guests. I say that I am still learning. Trust me you can't fake my inexperience, yet at the same time in the last 2 months I have become quite a good bartender!" says Alexander. "I come from a family that sets very high standards and I expect to set the same high standards. I didn't drink alcohol til now. Okay now I must taste the drinks to make sure that I am making the drinks right!" he says laughing. "Hmm...am I happy? Let's say that I am never satisfied. I am always trying to make better, yet I believe that I have a high quality place where friends can come and chill and spend a couple of hours drinking and socializing and having a good time. They come here and drink one drink and go to dinner and come back. In one week we shall have a entire new menu. Right now it is food from Beirut Lebanon, and France and Italy...let's say International. Yet now the last 4 days I have learned to cook since I just hired a new cook. I am learning new skills everyday!" he says laughing. "Mostly and honestly since I went back to Lebanon after 1 month and asked my friend who is one of the most sophisticated and experienced bartenders in the Beirut culture to teach me. And he had to teach me everything about bartending. And I learned silly things such as how to shake a shaker! Seriously. I had to learn it all. I jumped right in. I had to. I didn't have a choice. And now I am successful. I am happy and proud of what I have created." says the charming Alexander! No automatic alt text available.

You must come to chill and check out the fun and natural ambience of GOSH!

IL Gatto le Volpe "The Cat and the Fox"
"The Americans always come in and they try new things when I sneak in the intestines one time to see if they would love it or the Trippe or the Oxtail into the menu I always wait to see if they say yes. They say, "O I love that food, what is it." They admit that they would be a little hesitant to try it if they knew what it was. Yet when they do they love it. The Asians try it all. Now I have more American friends than the Italians! When I travel I rarely stay in hotels always with friends. " says Michele the 33 year old capo of the Pinocchio named Il Gatto le Volpe. https://www.facebook.com/ilovegatto/ Via Ghibellina 151\r Image may contain: 7 people, people smiling, people sitting, table and indoor

Image may contain: 7 people, people smiling, people sitting, table and indoor

"Florence and Italy is and should be known for the culture, the affection and sincerity of the people, and the food of course. In 2009, the Italian law is lifted to let anybody who wants to open a restaurant business to do that. Before it was limited to the population per establishment. Now you can do anything that you want to do! It is both a blessing and it is bad of the competition around. The tourists are scared that they try the food and it is bad. We have to educate the people that if they come to here they love the experience and the quality of the real fresh food. I want the people to come here and have a good time and tell everybody that they loved it. My serious vision is to satisfy the guests, and to make the homemade food the best. To allow the guests that they must understand what they have in front of the plate. They ask all the time to explain the food and that is a pleasure to me. I used to be the chef and I know all there is to know about the cooking of Tuscany. It is sad if the guests eat and they don't like the Florence culture because the food was awful. I truly believe that money is not a object to the people. If it is a wonderful experience and they love the food they don't care how much they have to spend." says Michele. "If buying a sandwich is a Florence experience it is a sad day for Florence. Eating a good home cooked Italian dinner is a real cultural experience." he says.

Alright when in Paris and around the world my first years I really wanted an American Breakfast...welcome to Florence, Italy where you too can eat to the heart's content the lovely Italian food of Il ristorante Pizzeria Il Gatto le Volpe all day and night and in the morning venture to the little Boboli Gardens to see the beauty, have a French Toast and a American Scrambled Eggs and Fresh Fruit before the gardens and spend the day as a aristocrat...only to trek back across the Ponte Vecchio Bridge to have another dinner at the "The Cat and the Fox" aka Il Gatto le Volpe for Pinocchio fans! Image may contain: people sitting, table, food and indoor

Image may contain: people sitting, table, food and indoor

"Say hi to Mario 83 years old." says Michele who is the young 33 year old capo of Il Gatto le Volpe in Florence Italy. "He has been here the last 27 years and is like a family to me. I started waiting tables at the age of 11 years old since my mother became ill and grew up here. The first day that I waited tables all alone is the Easter Monday, typically the busiest day of the year in Italy and it was fun and funny to do it all myself since I am that young. Now I would go crazy!" he says laughing. Pictured is Mario and Carlos the culinary genius's of "The Cat and the Fox". Image may contain: 2 people, people standing, food and indoor

Image may contain: 2 people, people standing, food and indoor

They definitely wouldn't be voted the worst thing to wear in Walmart! Here the cute couple choosing only the freshest food around! Anybody that has that much fun

you know is in love!

Outside the Boboli Gardens celebrating music

the Italian way! With love and laughter and music! As Shakespeare says, "If music be the food of love play

on." https://www.facebook.com/trattoria.boboli/ 055 233 6401

Via Romana, 45/R

There is a lot of reason that I love the culture of

Florence and to show you is a couple of these pictures. After all most people do the same things in different

ways around the world! "When Carlos came to the

restaurant after 2 years he says to me, "I know good

friends of mine that have a restaurant near Boboli

Gardens." And I say, "I have a big happy restaurant,

I don't want to buy another one! And he convinces

me to come and to see it. What a great story the

couple had to tell." says Michele.

"The couple were in their 70s and in bad health. When me and Carlos entered the restaurant it was dark and the outside terraces were packed with storage and needed tender loving care. Which the couple gave yet they needed energy too! I entered the home with the mother and the father was in a chair. I told him that I only wanted to reopen his restaurant to carry on the tradition of his life. To continue his story. He agreed. It took my entire team 15 hours to clean the restaurant and we opened the next day! Of course we redecorated and cleared the gardens, which now have 3 terraces. It has 2 seats high up, 4 seats in middle and 8 seats on the low terrace. It is a very beautiful and romantic gardens now. The guests of the Boboli Gardens all come to eat at the restaurant before and after the visit to the Gardens and my wife is the care-taker of that restaurant. She is 1/2 Cuban and she is very warm and friendly. The guests love her." says Michele. I say that I love Cubans too!

http://www.ilcaminettofirenze.it/it/

"I am the dessert maker. I had the first opportunity to do my own desserts and the first ones that I try we all eat. Hmm...that is alright yet it needs a little something more. We try and it is on the menu if we all love it. My favorite that I totally made up myself is the chocolate with the 1986 liquor on top." she laughs when she says that she is the dessert maker. "My mom is the accountant and she seems happy to do that which is wonderful that we found one person. My father creates with the chefs and asks to try new items. He only finds the freshest items available and if say for instance that the fish isn't fresh that day we don't have it. We would rather have the better fish and meat and fruits and vegetables that are in season than just put something we don't like on the menu. I guess the reason we are that respected and people love the restaurant is that every item is the best we can find." she says. No automatic alt text available.

""When my family came here in 2002 we went to the famous Mercato and my father found the best products for the restaurant. It had been a traditional and respected restaurant before we came and we changed a lot of items on the menu. We drove around Tuscany one day lost for about 1 and 1/2 hrs. trying to find a sheep farmer that had the best cheese. It was fun and funny, yet the important thing to remember that we only carry the finest products. The pig that we love to give to the guests is the top quality of black and white. cinta senese " says Allessandra. (I would buy the black and white pig to keep as a pet. )

"The Americans love " to eat artichokes, truffles, and Wild Boar," says me. Allessandra tells her father and mother who laugh and say that yes they shall invite me to eat the Wild Boar! The reason is that in America we haven't had the wild boar and it is very tasty and that is why. "Americans rarely if ever try Tripe" they say. Yes sometimes that is too adventurous for me too.

Via dello Studio, 34, 50122 Firenze, Italia

When you meet the charming trio of daughter Allessandra, Patrizio and Maurizio, as you wonder to the right of the Duomo, you will first notice that they all look very young. The skin is perfect and unwrinkled and smooth and pure. They are a charming trio of casualness and grace and beauty. I ask how they seem that young. Is it expensive beauty products? "It is natural. Italians do 3 things, they live in the air of freshness and they don't drink Coke or Fanta, they drink water and red wine and they eat fresh foods. Lots of fruits and vegetables and fish a little meat. Of course we eat pasta only a few times a week. IT is the air and hte mediterean diet. At 16 we taste the wine. A typical Italian maybe has one glass of red wine a day. It is normal. Me? I have one glass of red wine a week. I drink still water everyday and I never drink soda. I use lotion on my face. Normal lotion. No thick makeup. And since my mother's skin is beautiful mine is beautiful." says Allessandra. The mother and father say, "It is the olive oil. The freshness of the products. Or the Quality of the food. It is the fresh food. We only serve that quality of food. That is why it tasts that lovely." True the food is exquistive and the company adorable.

Call 055 211131

Piazza del mercato centrale 17

https://www.facebook.com/Mamma-Napoli- 290927067720035/

"HERE HERE HERE," says the Boss as he tells us to follow him everywhere and starts making desserts. We are very happy to try the desserts, too. "And the pizza you must see how it only takes 1 and 1/2 minute to make the pizzas!" Yep that is how long it is! Quickly and ready to eat now!

...and the beauty and simpicity of a real Italian restaurant. Image may contain: 1 person, indoor

Which one is the Boss... the Mama and Papa from Calabria and the team from Naples make up the hilariously funny yet O MY GOSH that food is to die for!

Below is Mr. and Mrs. Nicola who speak only Italian! and they're totally gracious and kind and real Italian Grandmothers and Grandfathers in the sense they keep feeding and feeding and feeding you food that is Ravioli Cellini(Nicola's recipe) and Star Pizza filled with Salami surprises and lovely Naples dessert...Yum! http://www.mammanapolibycellini.com/ Image may contain: dessert, food and indoor

A young Asian kid is making desserts and Nicola starts taking over. The young Asian starts giggling. "He likes to make these." he says. When I ask Marcus the funniest thing about working with Nicola now? "Um...he is funny. He is everywhere at once and we love him. He is very affectionate and he has great recipes that he is always talking to the kitchen about. The funniest, though, is when he goes tot he pizza oven. He loves to watch Raffeale make pizzas. He is very proud of him." says Marcus touching his head as if in thought and laughing. "There video the pizza man. Raffeale!" shouts Nicola as Raffeale walks to us. "Video him making the pizza!" says Nicola with the help of Marcus who just grins and follows him everywhere shrugging his shoulders with a big smile on his face. How long has he worked with Nicola? "About 6 months now." Image may contain: 3 people, people standing, outdoor and indoor

Image may contain: 3 people, people standing, outdoor and indoor

"Mamma Napoli is 24 years old," says the big Boss from Naples, "and we have the best pizza in Italy since my chef, Raeffele won the 1st award in the center of Italy and the 2nd in the entire Italy in the contest of Pizza. Now we have the festival of Florence for 3 days and he is invited to enter. Of all the people we support the youngest chef. 24 years is young compared to people that have chefs doing the pizza for 50 years. That is something that makes us very proud." says Nicola. "If you come at lunch come early since it is full everyday," says Marcus who is running back and forth as happy as he can be with the entire team showing me the pizza oven, the kitchen, the desserts of which Nicola carefully and lovingly make in front of us, drawing little smiley and happy faces on the plates... FUNNY yet YUMMY! As I follow him around the gorgeous Machiavelli decorated restaurant I see that it is soon filled up outside and inside with business people, politicians and of course excited tourists to try the best pizza in Italy. NOW THAT IS COOL...THEY WON THE AWARD FOR BEST PIZZA IN ITALY!

The Lovely Private and Exquisite Restaurant in Florence named Trattoria Armando is Amazing for its Discreet hidden location and it's 60 years of traditional family recipes. However, wait before you say O another Florentine restaurant, it has the most special adornment of famous photos of musicians, opera stars and ballet performers that you will ever find except in the original Teatro Houses which of course no longer exist. Located at: Borgognissanti 140, 0039.055.217263

Above in the video is the surprisingly young and funny team with the Matriarch Cook Giovanna Pieralli, one of the only very rare Women Cooks that head the kitchens of Italy, her daughter, Alessandra Pieralli, and again one of the rare Women Capos of the restaurants of Italy, and Pietro who is the nephew, Alona the young girl in the kitchen, Mika who takes care of the guests, Michael who is a young cook, Takumi who is from Japan and you see in his chef's hat, and Willem the Holland intern who is here from the cooking school of Florence's intern program. "I have had interns the last 10 years and I have these young talented people here about 1 month to 6 months. I take care of the housing for each. My mother loves to teach these young people since they have tons of energy and they absolutely love her." When I ask how her mother deals with the long hours of the kitchen, "Everyday my mother says, can I please come to work! and I say mama you can come at lunch or dinner because it is a long day. Yet she loves to come here all the time. It is amazing and it truly is a unique situation that we have in terms of women culinary owners and chefs." Since the Teatro House has moved 1 kilometer away, "We have less of the opera stars and the ballet house is gone. It is usual for the people to visit one day to do dinner, yet in the old times they came for one month to prepare for the opera and concerts and ballet. It would be nice to see the young stars of today come to visit to meet in the photos, the mentors of their youth." says Alessandra. You seriously have to see these people...it took me 15 minutes to calm down.

It is as if I expect Sophia Loren and Carlo Ponti to walk in the door!

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"When I am 8 years old I took the picture of my hero Georges Pretre, the famous French Conductor and I went to his concerts since the Teatro House of Florence at that time is only 200 meters from the restaurant." says Alessandra. Image may contain: 1 person, sitting and indoor

"I think the walls show the story of the Restaurant. It is 3 family generations and it is today to work in a family traditional restaurant one must know the history. We usually do a lot of work and to know that it is his. That in many ways it is a lot of sacrifice in a certain way. I was the Economic history at university. When my father got ill, I was 35 years old. He was going to give up the restaurant and I said let me come in and keep the tradition." The atmosphere at the restaurant is gracious and traditional. A must treat of Florence. Il passato e il presente - Trattoria Armando

Il passato e il presente - Trattoria Armando

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On the walls we have such stars as Russian Ballet Dancer Rudolf Nureyev... to which Alessandra says, "Yes he came here to eat many times yet when the restaurant is closed he came to eat at my house." And that is only one of 100's of photos that adorn the famous restaurant's hallways...it is a look back in time and as of today the only actor is "Dustin Hoffman who came with his parents!" says Alessandra's mother, Giovanna Pieralli, the famous matriarch cook who brought her culinary talents to join the family when she at the age of 17 met Alessandra's father. "My grandfather, Armando, started the restaurant only in the front with meats and cheeses and wine. They only had a couple of tables..,and he bought the rest of the trattoria later and they made the restaurant."

http://www.trattoria-armando.com/trattoria.htm - Trattoria Armando the elegance of the hidden restaurant is a safe landing place for the international stars of Teatro...

"My father didn't help me because he didn't want me to do the job but my mother always in the kitchen had mixed feelings. To keep the restaurant yet how could a young woman do the job? Usually with the Italian restaurant it is a couple and my husband has another job and it is only me. I didn't think about it. It was a passion for me. It is the field of my life and I try hard and I have success at the end. I have grown up here." she says.

Although Alessandra's mother, Giovanna, speaks only Italian, as does the entire kitchen team, she and I had a funny non-verbal and verbal conversation. She said that when the famous ballet dancer came to the restaurant that he wanted to marry her. And I believe her...at least that is what I think she said! She is such a beautiful lady inside and outside as is her daughter. It is a elegant restaurant where you have a hidden sanctuary to enjoy a relaxed and private lunch and a intimate romantic dinner, unseen from passerbys. Or if you like to people-watch there is still two tables in the front reminiscent of the early days where you can do just that!

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Okay Students and Tourists Guess what I found?

That is right APERITIVOS at 6:00pm to 9:00pm only 7EUROS!

Via dei Servi, 97/r - Firenze Italia http://www.okbarfirenze.it/

The Ok Bar at Florence used to be a tiny bar and Osteria about 14 years ago, and the family grew, Alberto is the son and he joined the team when he is 12 he says, and they opened up next door to include a BEAUTIFUL ADDITION and bigger restaurant. The mother is long blonde hair and all glamourous and young and I tell her she should be out in the front greeting the guests not hidden in the kitchen! Beauty shouldn't be hidden in the kitchen...life is out front as Liza Minnelli says, What good is sitting alone in your room? Come here the music play...life is a Cabaret Old Chum only a Cabaret old Chum come to the Cabaret... No automatic alt text available.

Alberto says, "Follow me and I can show you the Osteria. It is quite cool. Come on follow me." he says and I follow him around the family hilariously fun Osteria. "Here is the wine cellar and it is the 14th Century. It is too dangerous for us to have people eating in the wine cellar because the stairs are dangerous, yet maybe in the future. We lease the building and when we first got it we had to dig and dig to uncover what is underneath. Full of dirt and now it is a beautiful brick and tiled wine cellar." It has that other worldly beauty of old time architecture which is surprising in the new home since, "Two young architects that I know from Florence helped us build the new addition. I am 26, the architects, Christiano is 26, and Jacobo is 26." It is a interview that mixes the real feeling of the family with tourists from Britain coming in and Italian Florentine residents coming in saying "Ciao Alberto" and him leaving me to walk outside and talk to the guests under the umbrellas and back to the interview and back behind the bar and asking his mom to talk to me and asking a guest to talk to me...everywhere. Lively conversation of a real day in a traditional Osteria of Florence! The mom, Cristina shows me pictures of the June 24, 2016 games that traditionally recreate the San Giovanni games of the 4 colors of teams competing. It's a little too brutal for me, but the Florentines say it is all in good fun of a time that the teams protected Florence form outside invaders!

The Beautiful Cristina Trambusti who, along with her husband Paolo, and her son Alberto own the OK Bar of Florence...she is the beautiful cook and trust me they have a great time in the 14th century Palace turned Bar and Osteria Kitchen. "Yes we're always laughing in here and we hire the interns from the Culinary School of Florence. They're great fun and they're great cooks!" she says and one of the interns is all smiles and laughing, "Yes she is very funny. My master Teacher at the cooking school is Allessandro. Here it is always fun to work when Cristina is working!" he says.

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Alberto says that the people that built the Duomo used to sleep in the 14th Century Wine Cellar, the history of the Duomo's contractors were asleep under your feet that you can imagine! Now everytime you drink a glass of wine you can imagine them!

Cristina tells me that the 4 colors of the teams that play on June 24, which is a totally lovely day, are green, San Giovanni Piazza, blue, Sante Croce, white is Santo Spirito and Red is Santa Maria Novella!

Me personally I shall do a little bit of the tamer things such as eating the food and maybe watching the people row the little boats in the yachting club in the river, eat some aperitivos and drink some wine.

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The Empire of Massimo!

"Yes I own Baldovino since 1996 and il Francescano trattoria since 2015; however, Francescano is a famous historical restaurant that is steeped in culture and has been around since 1956...the famous stars such as Roberto Begnini and Giorgio Armani came here and many stars on the wall," says Massimo the young cool one who owns both.

The restaurant seems very elegant to me I say to Massimo. "Yes it is formal and elegant and yet we try to make people appreciate the friendliness too. It is about having a good night. A lovely dinner. It is the experience that we remember. And of course we have the highest quality of fish that we can possibly find." he says. http://www.baldovinobistrot.com/filosofia/

"The very first one in Florence that is named as a Bistro is mine. We open all day long. At lunch it is a fast lunch, and at night it is a formal restaurant that is famous for fish. Yes a fish restaurant is expensive yet it is because we must buy the fish and that is expensive." says Massimo. You will instantly want to sit and talk to him. Knowledgeable about many things of the romantic life of eating at one of his famous restaurants. "Yes Romantic. It is important dinner. We renew two kinds of menu here typical of Florence that we serve the lunch and a more formal night of the freshest fish possible. We receive that everyday from the Mercato and we are proud to give a new type of service to the food." he says. The Trattoria Baldovino is located near Sante Croce at 22 Via San Giuseppe, and for reservations which is a must during high season call 055.241.773. staff-filosofia-baldovino

"You must tell people to come and try the Antipasto Baldomare which is a mixture of the freshest seafood of cold and hot on the plate." he says. "We have octopus on the fire. Which is Octopus on the Grill which makes it a little bit crispy. We have a new way to serve the seafood and we are happy to serve it Salmon Tartar, Tuna Tartar, Steak Tartar and that is the specialty that only we can do. I must emphasize that mine is a high quality fish and meat restaurant at night. Baldovino is becoming famous for that." says Massimo.

Um Yum Yum Yum my favorite!

Have you ever entered a restaurant and instantly adjusted the bow tie and stood up straight? It is a formal authentic Italian restaurant in Florence that gives attentive special service in a formal atmosphere yet the people are happy and talking and normal. "The quality of service is the best and it is a formal nice dining restaurant yet at the same time we have to live good and be happy." says Massimo

You can immediately see the difference between the two restaurants of Baldovino and il Francescano, yet they're both filled with love. "The Francescano is a old restaurant that people around the world knew. When the owner wanted to retire two years ago, we thought that such a important restaurant we can not let go. We must preserve the institution and we bought it." says Massimo. "Francescano has only typical real traditional Florentine food such as the famous steak florentine from cows that you can only find here in the Tuscany region. Like Houston Black Angus only in Houston Texas. Florentine Steak only in Florence. In 1956 the il francescano started as a little Trattoria of two small rooms for the workers of Florence to come and have wine and lunch. And it grew to be bigger and famous."

"Since 2015 I have owned the il Francescano and I keep the tradition of the real 25 years of Florentine authentic food that the restaurant is known for since it expanded into the restaurant you see today." says Massimo. I ask if I can go to the restaurant and take pictures. "Yes please do and see the many faces of the people that come to eat. They come because they appreciate high quality and finest ingredients and because although they can go to any restaurant in the world because they are famous, they choose us." he is laughing. "Why? That is a good question. I guess they can just throw down 1,000.00 euros here and that is true. They love the il Francescano since it gives the people a respected feeling and yet a feeling as if one is at home." he says.

"We try to show love. It isn't just about o it is expensive. The reason that we are maybe a little bit higher expensive is that we buy more expensive ingredients and we make the pasta ourselves. I would rather spend money every morning at the Mercato buying the best ingredients than cheaper options. You know? The kitchen at il Francescano is friendly and Italian and real and when you take the pictures at the restaurant please feel free to go into the kitchen and say hi. You would love it." says Massimo.

I dohttps://www.facebook.com/Trattoria-Il-francescano.../

Teatro di Rifredi (@TeatrodiRifredi) posted a photo on Twitter

r photos from Teatro di Rifredi

PIC.TWITTER.COM

Via s. agostino 11r Florence, Italy @italiantapasristobar Call +39 055 098 2738

https://www.facebook.com/italiantapasristobar/

Italian Tapas - ristorante, bar, locale a Firenze

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Okay all of us know San Spirito Square with the great apertivos and happy hour drinks for only £6.00 euros, maybe £8.00 yet I found a little glossy high upscale yuppie ristorante about 50 steps from the San Spirito Square. I met the owner as he is at the ristorante and asked about his cool idea. The name of the ristorante? IT Italiantapas! Cucina dalle 19 alle 24:00 That is open for dining from 7:00pm to midnight for you touristy types!

Marcos invites me to sit and try the little tapas and we perform a rehearsal of a real dinner with Roberta and team waiting on us. Let's see what to try? Okay I ask to try the wild boar Italian style tapa(as they're all in the traditional Spanish style, yet all Italian recipes) and the asparagus. Why the asparagus? Funny you should ask. "Try that it is in season. All of the food we serve is always in season. Okay, we've only been open 2 weeks, yet that is the plan. We took one month and invited people to dinner to try the recipes and we would all sit and judge the food after. Each one is prepared when you order the food and each one is fresh. Since December is Asparagus season that is the speciality here. We have TONS of Asparagus available." They all say. The Italians love to show off the fresh seasonal delicacies that they're famous for. Okay we try the Asparagus. Yum. And fresh vegatables tapas with wild green apple sauce. Pretty darn good to. Marcos and the team tell me how they hired a architect who converted these great heavy wooden chairs into tables into benches into chairs. They're super modern super efficient and super cool looking.

The entire team laughs while they all wait eagerly to show me the "BEST Room in the Ristorante" and I say, let me guess...the bathroom? Why is it that the real Italians always spend the most money on the bathrooms? "I don't know. We always have the most fun in decorating them!" says Marcos. "We think this the funniest room!" and they put fishes on the wall. The sous chef, Roberta, laughs when I say that the fish must be for her.

" It is a little more upscale maybe the cocktails a couple of euros per glass high yet they are highest quality. The food is fresh and made when you ask for it and the tapas the best. My brother and me partnered and he has a advertising agency in Florence, Milan and Barcelona and we try to see the different ethnicities from around the region. I want to give the Forentine people a chance to experience the tapa style yet with the great Italian food.° he says. You have a great kitchen I say and he laughs, "Yes I know. It is my entire design. I convinced my brother to apply for a project grant from Florence. They had a amazing historical building near the center and we applied to do the ristorante there yet it was way too expensive for me. So, we wait and find the place here near San Spirito Square and it ends up being more expensive! in the long way. Since it is historical we have to wait 8 months to receive permits to do the reconstruction and we sit and wait while the papers finally come and finally we can make the ristorante. 4 months later we show the beauty of the original building." he says. Image may contain: 1 person, standing, beard and indoor

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Marcos in his kitchen and below with his team that try to give a friendly and professional service to the guests.

The entire place is mixture of old and new. 14th Century walls and stone arches and modern new edgy furniture and designs. And the greatest cooks you will ever try. "We want the people to feel comfortable and if they order a drink they can come and sit in the bar area and drink it and walk back to their table. And you receive one of these plunket pieces to tell you when your table is ready." he says. I say that he should put a plunket game the wall and name one of the tapas "plunket" and that way which ever tapa it lands on is the tapa they receive. "Hmm...that is a funny idea. Let's do it." he says.

http://www.illatini.com/

+39 055 210916

Is any item in the restaurant totally Emilia? "Yes follow me," she says and we head down to the wine cellar."About 6 months since me and my boyfriend came down to the wine cave and he said, you know it would be cool to do special dinners and service here. And I said, yes, why not? We should have a modern romantic intimate touch to the traditional restaurant. Now if we make reservations of too many people, they come here and receive a more pricey menu, since it is one-on-one service and a special dinner. That is totally me." she laughs and is very cool about it. Loves the fact that she can add her little personality to the place.

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reservations: 055 287178

"Yes about as Old-School as you can get," says my mirror, Emilia, the daughter of Sonya and Torello Latini. "I am the only child. I am 40 now and my Great Grandfather and Great Grandmother started a winery store in 1911. In 1955, my grandmother and grandfather opened the restaurant here and for the last 125 years were one of the two oldest families in Florence with a restaurant in the same family. That is important. In addition is the fact that after 12 years in the office, here I come to the restaurant and my father says, O dear, as I say O let's move this and let's do that. Old Old School!" she says.

Via dei Palchetti, 6, Image may contain: 2 people, people standing and indoor

Above, Emilia's mother, Sonya, and father, Torello. "For me I am very shy and the first days that I had to come to the tables I was like, O sorry for intruding can I help with anything. Most of the times people are nice and when they're not I just say sorry. I am becoming better about talking to people." Below, Emilia.

I am MOST PROUD TODAY to add two totally Traditional Old School families of Florence.

One is Torello Latini's Il Latini of which Johnny, the cook, is at the helm serving great

Wild Boar Stew while the team eats and to which I am finally after bugging the staff the last 3 hours allowed in the kitchen and to film the other "Godfather Scene" at the table. I ask if it is okay to film the lunch and they all say yes and ask if it is a good film! The 25 seconds of the real italian team sitting down before they give you that great italian service!

"Upstairs is a real Trattoria which is more of a family setting," says Emilia, "and downstairs is a more intimate ristorante setting." Speaking of families...? "Yes it is more difficult working with my family yet at the same time easy too since we instantly can understand each other's problems. We are all here to make the restaurant carry on the tradition that is it's original intent." she says.

Tommaso and Francesco are the sons and cousins of Stephano and Fabio respectively at a restaurant named Lo Stracotto in Florence. The papa of Tommaso, Stephano, owns the very famous Antico Ristoro Di Cambi at Via S. Onofrio 1, right over the bridge Ponte Alle Grazie,in case that you don't know which one it is the one to the left of Ponte Vecchio.

http://www.anticoristorodicambi.it/ cambi_ristoro

O yes they might look like innocents but believe me these characters

are all about jokes. Take for instance when Stephano says that "only

intelligent tourists can find us." When I ask how can you tell if it is a intelligent

tourist or not? He says, "Andrea, my nephew put a sign on the door as a test. If

they try to open the side door they're not intelligent, if they come in the front door

they're intelligent." he says. Okay toward the end of the interview guess what door

they lock for my exit? That is right...the front door which makes me go out the side

door which translates to? If you can solve that riddle you can go eat here! Image may contain: food

I must also say that they are very smart as when I keep hinting after Stephano says,

"we are most famous for the Florentine Steak. We've been right here since 1967

and everybody in Florence comes here since we have real home cooked food. The

first years my father owned the restaurant and it is only a sandwich and wine store.

In the 1980s me and my cousin, Fabio, opened the restuarant. Of course we could

make sandwiches, yet the real cook is me." says Stephano laughing. "I am the best cook."

He and his nephew Andrea laugh hysterically and Stephano keeps laughing saying,

"I am the best and people come from everywhere in the world to see the crazy team

I have and to have fun. If you are a joker you can work for me. You must be crazy."

Stephano says and Andrea starts laughing again, "Yes we are crazy but professional." No automatic alt text available.

When I ask if Stephano has good Ribollita? He shows me a picture

of him winning number one in Florence making Ribollita soup! "Yes of course

we're number one. That is why people come to eat here. And yes I do like the

tourists and I am only joking when I say that only intelligent ones find us.

The Americans are nice and the Europeans and the Canadians are too. The

South Americans find us from Brazil and the South Koreans too. Very nice."

In walks his brother, Fabio, who is serious. I say that he doesn't look too funny.

"O he is the crazy brother and the funniest." Fabio smiles, walks behind the counter

gives me a glass of wine and some wonderful meat to try. I say to tell Fabio he is

my favorite member of the family. They start laughing and Stephano translates

"She says you are the favorite since you gave her food and wine." That's right :)

Ps. real and authentic kitchen of Tuscany plus crazy lovely fun

T. 055 217134

http://www.trattorialoriuolo.it/booking

The elegance and charm of the casual and fun L'oriuolo near the Duomo is instant. Walk inside and you feel happy amidst the busy lunch and dinner guests. "Usually we have 3 sittings in from April to December, and now it is a little quiet. You should make reservations yet you can find a table. Oops I shouldn't say that since I tell my friends to come at 7:30pm and it is full and they have to stand and drink wine and wait!" says Francesco. Um something you should know about Francesco is the fact that he is so casual you can hardly ever veer him to talk about his restaurant...he likes "too much to talk about Americans and going to America. I went to Martha's Vineyard and Cape cod and my girlfriend's parents home sits on a golf course and when I am outside the balls keep flying over my heard. Many big homes on Martha's Vineyard and I prefered the other cities. I serve the Americans here since we have 25,000 students and tourists and when they buy a glass of wine I give a second as I pass to the table and pour more wine. They say, "why do you do that?" and I say that it is my pleasure. Yet they look suspicious as if they have to pay more! I do it from my heart. I love to give added surprises and it gives me happiness to come to the tables and have everybody laugh and talk good about my restaurant. It is mine and I try to improve everyday. The walls I made, the tables I chose, the barrels that hold the wine bottles I went to Frescobaldi and bought these huge wine barrels for 50.00euros and added these here. It is a nice touch." he says. It is true that the people love him. I heard laughter and talking and giggles while I waited!

"O and say that the food is very good too!" he says.

"I have 3 chefs. My uncle is the famous owner of the cooking school in Florence that everybody receives interns from for the kitchens of the city. My uncle's name is Francesco and his school is RIACI. He does something a little different in terms of cooking. He said that he didn't like to do a stupid lesson like pasta so he starts to teach the students how to grow vegetables and how to use the vegetables and how to find the best meat from the butcher and Francesco takes them where they kill the animal and butcher it and how to cut it so that it isn't hard and it is tender. It is a art to butcher a animal and to prepare it and to cook it. He of course teaches pasta yet that is after they learn the main items first. He has a wonderful reputation and he comes from Calabria too where I come from." Francesco says. "And let's see for fun I take everybody out on Tuesdays. Most of the time I yell and yell at everybody and they can't wait to leave on Tuesdays to have fun!" he says.

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"I heard from a friend in Venecia that they had these real cool lamps in a square and that they would give to sell and I went and bought all 5 lights and came and put them up! It is incredible, really, how I do it. I just see something and I make it myself. I make it happen myself." says the happy as can be capo, Francesco, who has owned the Trattoria near the Duomo the last 2 years. www.trattorialoriuolo.it Image may contain: sky, plant, table, tree and outdoor

Image may contain: sky, plant, table, tree and outdoor

Via dell'Oriuolo 58r Call 055 226 025

"I go to each table and to talk with each person but after awhile I get bored talking about food and I start to play with them." says Francesco. "It is humble to own a place such as L'oriuolo, and if you google us you see we are number one on Trip Advisor...I added a app on my place settings and know that they have been here since it tells where the reviews came from!" Impressive...

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To Book Directly at the most Romantic Candlelight Only Restaurant:

http://www.ristoranteilpaiolo.it/prenotazione/

Ristorante Il Paiolo...via del Corso 42red

"I think that people should come here not because it is me but because of the way that I live and the way that I envision my restaurant. I want people to read that maybe I am 50 years old or 20 years old. Let the people guess. In the last year that I owned the restaurant I raised the Trip Advisor from 1,600 place to now about 160 ish place. That is important to me." Guilian says. He offer me the Ravioli di patate al tartufo nero which I am going to try and of course to take a picture of as the Japanese in the past often do! However being modern and having heard that it is more Chic today to hide and discover I am going to tell you of my lovely experience! Located at : Via del Corso 42, 055 215019 it is the "only restaurant on the street, only cafes or etc fashion is allowed here, I am the only restaurant which helps!" says the young owner Guilian. "And we do it all in a quiet way. We don't attack the people and even when you are sitting at the table we take care of you and we offer you very formal attentive service yet in a very friendly happy way and a family way."

https://www.facebook.com/robertodelchianti/?hc_ref=SEARCH Image may contain: indoor

"Yes of course I love wine," says Roberto who even names his own personal facebook ala Chianti! Does he know every bottle in the store? "ha ha ha yes of course I do. For sure. It is my store. I have 950 to 1,000 bottles in the store and have been in the business 17 years. 17 years and I have tasted 90% of the wines and have visited every vineyard. It is a must to visit the vineyards. Soon I go to Bolgheri." He has vineyards in Bolgheri? " Ha ha ha not Bulgaria, it is a region in Tuscany named Bolgheri in Super Tuscany. 65% of my wine is from Tuscany. And I am the one who owns the wine store so of course I know every wine vineyard. I talk to each one and I buy from each one. That is the way we do it. Personal. You know I love the Americans and I am not saying this just because you are American. They come in and they smile and say Buon Giorno and they buy the wine. They come in to buy a special Italian wine and I appreciate that." he says. "I love Prosecco and the Americans love that too; however, the Italians come in and buy the Champagne from France that I have here. Why? Because tourists come to Italy to buy Italian products and the Italians buy international products!" he says. "American people come here and they spend they don't "no look!" you can look in a grocery store." He is funny!

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https://www.facebook.com/AMRSA2016/

Rita is Roberto's wife who runs the Icy Wine Store. "Why do I love the store...hmm it is very important to me I know that...I don't know I just love it." she says smiling and she makes two orange spritz's for guests upstairs at the elegant and classy cafe that has about 125 of Roberto's wine in it too..."People can buy glasses of wine or the bottles. All the bottles they can buy glasses of wine." she says... Oh oh...that could be dangerous! since we all love wine and we could all just come into the cafe and drink different wines all day and night!

"With the three of us, me , Francesco and Paolo, we do the bar. It the first year is only a beer bar with as many craft beers as we could and 10 on tap. Now we have about 25 and we try to find new ones all the time. We started with spirits last year and live bands on Tuesdays and Fridays. Paolo designed the bar and my girlfriend designed the logo of °off the hook which simply means from the Netherlands a word of here I am. And since my girlfriend is from the Netherlands I wanted something to remind me of her!" says Guilio. http://www.offthehook.it/#prettyPhoto

" A couple of University of the Arts students designed the murals on the walls and we did all the rest!" says Guilio. "Of course it is fun to own a bar. We have a great time and I love the fact that in the touristy region of Sante Croce all the tourists come in for a beer and burger. We have great big Cheeseburgers and everyday at 3:00pm and at night we have the Soccer games on. It is a sports bar and a live music bar. The students love to come and have three beers and a burger and it costs around 25.00 euros and that is important to the students." says Guilio.

When I say hi to Paolo today he laughs and tries to talk to me in about 13 words of English and the rest Italian! I think that he said that "I made the bar. I designed it with my hands." and he shows me his hands that look like carpenter hands instead of manicured accountant hands!

If you are heading to Sante Croce stop at the Off the Hook and grab some cool Craft Beers and a Great Burger and at 3:00pm today watch a soccer match...football in Europe.

Via G. Verdi, 47R/49R
50122 Firenze
Tel. +(39) 055 199 913 33
Orario: dom.-sab. ore 12-03

Risultati immagini per golden view florence

Yes that is a real photos, taken from a guest Luca Manni , at Golden View...they have a out of the world buffet aperitivos every night in the elegant bar, one of 4 rooms Matisse inspired rooms on the River right at the foot of the Ponte Vecchio Bridge...only $10.00 euros and wonderful cocktails included...elegance and sophistication from Golden View. No automatic alt text available.

They have a Jazz room with a elegant piano, a room with a View of the Ponte Vecchio, a Bar room and the little outdoor seating room. Each room is white elegance and modern with Tomasso's art hanging on the way! His own personal collection that the guests can purchase if they fall in love with one of his paintings.
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Picturered below is Antonio, Tomasso's partner totally cute:)

"Since it is the 15th anniversary we are doing a new idea for the Golden View and need logos and branding. Now we offer 1,000.00 euros contest and thus far I have received 24,000 requests to do the new idea. I am waiting for that perfect one. The contest is til the end of March and when I find the one I will know. Honestly if at the end of the contest I haven't found the one we will use I am awarding the top 5 $200.00 each just for the effort!" says Tomasso. How long have I known him? "8 years!" he says laughing! Risultati immagini per golden view florence

"Artists from everywhere in the world come here since they know I am a collector and they want a place to show their art. I give new and old artists a chance to showcase here in the ristorante that has International visitors from around the world everyday. They become known in my ristorante. Right now a exhibit from a 75 year old man from Florence named, Paolo Staccioli with his sculptures is being shown. A must come to see him." says Tomasso. http://www.paolostaccioli.it/

http://www.industriafirenze.eu/ Image may contain: 1 person, sitting and indoor

VIA BORGO OGNISSANTI 45 ROSSO - 50123 FIRENZE - ITALY - PHONE +39 055 283714

The Capo of the Palazzo inspired ristorante Industria, is pictured number 3 on the right. "For 30 years I own the San Carlos cafe and bar. I cooked lunch of course and met with many friends and tourists around the world. About 1 year now I owned and opened Industria, which is a elegant and high quality ristorante and pizzeria. With the help of a architect we turned the magnificent palace into Industria." he says

Nicola says that "it is important to say the difference of us. We are a exotic ristorante that gives special dishes of meat and fish. The fish is fresh everyday. We have unique dishes such as carbonara with seafood, tagliolini pasta black truffle, grilled salmon that is famous here, sliced sirloin and porcini and grilled filet and rosemary. Special dishes of exotic flavor. Even the pasta is different here." he says. "The Americans try the tagliolini and the seafood carbonara. They are into the pasta usually. They are very friendly and nice. And of course the pizza is specialty pizza such as Donald Duck for Donald Trump and Jackson Pollack pizza. We have a elegant and beautiful ristorante with elegant pizzas!" says Francesco. Image may contain: food

"I love the Americans and Brazil and Spain and Portugal and South Americans and everybody. The Chinese come and they love the ristorante's beauty. They try to speak English. It is funny for me to have the people try to speak Italian. Before many years ago the Americans wouldn't speak Italian and now they all try. I try English too." says Nicola. Alright and now let's talk about the wine! "Yes let's see. I have specialty wine from Tuscany and Italy only. We have a high quality selection instead of quantity. The best." he says. And of course we try the wine I say!

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Pictured with the team is Nicola who says that "Yes it is a big risk since here it is huge beautiful ristorante instead of just a little cafe, yet the one here is my baby. I come in the morning and I see all that me and the architect created and I say I am very proud to be the capo of such a place." The translator, Francesco, says, " He says that he loves Industria and that he helped to make it. He is happy when it is full and the people are laughing and having fun and it is full of laughter. Now he is the important boss and he checks the chef and how the plate is when it comes to the people. Before he was the chef. Now he loves to go in the kitchen to see the food and to bring the food to the people." Image may contain: food

Nicola has won many awards as a chef and has fun creating the new menu. "Everyday the Florentine people come to say O let's see what new things Nicola has on his menu. And the tourists are just happy to be eating Italian food!" says Francesco. Just then two Americans sit down and order the pizzas. "Yum delicious!" they yell as Nicola yells across the room, "How is the pizza?" I guess they're happy!

a simple elegant dining experience in a old Palazzo with the most elegant and exotic dishes including the pizzza!
!

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Okay I always love the new guys; however, La Spada and Augustino is special. He is such a baby doll since August 2015 has been my friend. Since they have been on EmmeAnesBook almost 3 years, I kept trying to interview again and finally 10 days of persistence here I am! They are the funniest people which you can see from the pictures. Giuseppe says, "I change the menu everyday. Everyday and when you say what do I do to make the life interesting everyday is I change it everyday. I change everything." he says. If I would of had wine in my mouth, the way I do now after the interview, I would of spit it out...I couldn't stop laughing. Usually when I ask Capos the question they say a funny thing which makes each one unique. However, Giuseppe takes the cake. LAUGHING HILARIOUSLY, "I CHANGE EVERYTHING EVERYDAY!" okay! Augustino laughs. "Everything he changes!" he says. When I say okay I am afraid to ask what does everything mean? "Everyday I meet with the staff in the morning and the 4 cooks make new menus everyday!" he says. I can't stop laughing. I guess to make life interesting you must do something but changing the menu EVERYDAY is hilarious. How long have they been here? "22 years!" he says. Wow that is a long time. And honestly since I have been writing the website 8 years I am at times bored if people don't share their thoughts and successes. So I understand if a person says they must change everything everyday. But it is the first time someone actually said that they do it!

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Here is Augustino the owner capo ...HI

The Gnocchis at the Restaurant La Spada is the BEST EVER...yum when Augustino asks if I want the Gnocchis with Fish or with Meat I say Meat. However, Augustino has me eat the Fish Gnocchis with shrimp which is yum yum o my God...lovely.

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Here is Giuseppe...Ciao

Giuseppe walks with me to the second restaurant which is named Cento Povero which means, "100 poverty." they say. Giuseppe says, "When we had many people everyday here and too many we say we should open another restaurant and we found the one down the alley. It is a small restaurant and it is very expensive and we didn't want it to be so expensive. We wanted it to be that good and that special yet not this expensive. So, we built it big and now they both have 130 people that can sit in each. After 10 years when the people come here we send them there. Here it is specialty meat and at the Centro Povero it is specialty fish." http://www.centopoveri.it/ +39 055 218846

http://www.laspadaitalia.com/it/

To the right is Giuseppe, Claudio and Roberto's son, who said that he can get in the picture since he is skinny and can show off his sixpack belly compared to the two older Capos who say that they obviously eat too much of their own food..."See my belly is fat," says Giuseppe who is a very wild and funny person. Augustino laughs and has a more dry sense of humor. When I ask why in Florence do all the kitchens have only men? In America the man sits on the couch and watches NFL football and the woman cooks in the kitchen about 88% of the time. "It is real hard work for the person in a Italian kitchen. For instance sometimes at 8:00am the cook comes in and prepares and is here til Midnight. They have to carry huge pots of vegetables and meats and fish all day long. It is way too hard of work for a woman. We have 130 people for lunch. Sometimes a woman waits on the tables. That is alright. But the kitchen is long hours, and a person has to be very strong. A man is very strong in the kitchen." says Giuseppe and Augustino laughs. When I ask who cooks at the homes of the men? Giuseppe jumps in and says, "I cook. I cook the fish because I know how to cook it the best and I cook the meat. The Italian men know how to cook." he says.

FINALLY I HAVE FOUND THE

GODFATHER MEN COOKING IN THE KITCHEN!

Augustino says, "The woman is good for taking care of the children and the house..that kind of thing; however, the man is usually the cook. We know how to cook from a early child." he says. Wow would Gloria have a lovely time with these guys!

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"When you make the house of life,

is balancing your personal life with business..."

"I hope for people to come into the restaurant for a nice long romantic experience." says Tommaso Vezzani, who loves Olive Oil. "After all the reason for the name of OLIO is for Olive Oil in all of its presentations." he says. While talking to Tommaso, a couple sat quietly enjoying the olive oil and gave me the card of the ownership of the business of the wine they own, http://www.poggiolanoce.com/en/philosophy. How cool to meet such people while chatting with my friend! "Yes they come to appreciate the quality." he says. "We worked with the architect Barthel. It is a blend of the new and the old tradition and look. Here you can sit and see the chef making gnocchis and preparing the plate, or walk browsing the gourment store and to the library room of wine, or to the tiny alcove of where a specialty old-fashioned bar is to sit and sip a glass of wine while selecting each olive oil to compliment the segment of dinner. A light olive oil to use with the flavor of the fish, yet a spicey olive oil that won't compete with the meat. Each one is special for its use. In November when the new ones come we have a special tastings to introduce the new crops, and I invite people to come. It is special in the entire world to try. Every year we choose the best ones." he says. Reservations: 055 2 65 8198

http://www.oliorestaurant.it/video.php

"For us the cooking classes is to learn the fine art of Tuscany cooking with Olive Oil. It is a 2 and1/2 hr. class from 4:00pm to 6:30pm and they choose to eat the dinner at 7:00pm or go to freshen up at the hotel and come to dinner at 9:00pm. It is a professional sit-down dinner." he says. For me, I teach it in French, English and of course Italian. They receive the recipes and they are to have fun and pay attention." he says. "Sometimes during the day, my 12 year old and my 7 year old come to help me with the cutting of the zucchini and the washing of the salad. They love to do that. Me? I love the process of educating people, I suggest with the meal. In my fun time I go to the sea of south of Tuscany. I try to catch fish and of course at times I am successful and at times not! " he says:

"It is important for people to know that they can come in and purchase from a Highest Quality Specialty Gourmet Boutique Store within the Elegant Restaurant the most exclusive products without having to sit down for dinner. Yet they can. Or they can come to the wooden cabinets and pull out a hidden draw and have a glass of wine standing and try the products. It is a elegant home. A elegant private sanctuary of the highest quality." says. "We have such tastings for the yearly Olive Oil, yet everyday they can come to try."

Claire and Enzo's Vineyard... http://www.poggiolanoce.com/en/philosophy.

Straight to the Ponte Vecchio Bridge admiring the many beautiful jewels and to the right on the first Cobblestoned street about 200 meters you will find a lovely 14th Century Palace of the Corsini Family which now houses the restaurant Osteria Del Cinghiale Bianco...of which I have eaten 2 times as the guest of the owners...

the specialty being the wild boar stew which the children love!

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"The table at the top is of course special. Everybody comes and that is the one that they ask to do... and we allow to stay the entire night! The view from the top! Now we make a special another restaurant that will be connected only throught the kitchen. It is still a section of the Corsini Palace and it has huge ornamated ceilings with paintings that is of a historical nature and such we need a long permit to restore these for the restaurant. Now finally it has been one year and the permits come. The outside used to be a alley and the huge rocks that make the road will remain as the bar area. Very beautiful and very in keeping with the original structure. The menu a little different and the entrances different. We are very excited to see the new restaurant and happy the guests come here everyday. You know when people in Florence say that their restaurant is empty in the low season we are lucky that we are full every night...during high seasons 3 seatings a night and low seasons full. I hope it is the food and I know it is the service." Says Markus, the son. While we sit and chat his daughter comes in and there is a lively discussion over going to Africa in one week. I say how refreshing to see a normal family! His father, Massimo, started the restaurant in 1984 and is mischievious saying, "I am the trouble maker!"

The first night that I met Markus and his long-time girlfriend Martina, who is a dance instructor and a wonderful Florentine dancer, it is about 3 years now. They invited me to dinner at 8:00pm and at almost midnight we still laughed and drank wine and chatted. I love the family and the restaurant and they have a special attention to detail. They talk to every guest and make sure the dinner is perfect. "I see every dish coming from the kitchen and if it doesn't seem right I send it back. It is as if I invite you to my home for dinner. I have great belief in my chefs in the kitchen so I am not nervous when the food comes, I am excited to see if you love the dinner. We have a lovely time here. It is family and fun. It doesn't seem like work. It seems like family dinner parties every night!"

http://www.cinghialebianco.com/en

INDIRIZZO: Borgo San Iacopo, 43R 50125 Firenze (FI)

TELEFONO: 055 215706

https://www.facebook.com/Jimmys-Leather-Collection.../

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Alright and here is the owner of "Jimmys" in Florence...(the photo below is Kashmir) appropriately named from American standards as "Jimmy". In Italy they always name the stores from the street where they are located. Yet here it is Jimmys. The store has the finest leather you will ever find. I took videos and pictures which they all said is , "Unheard of. Jimmy doesn't even let us post the finest leathers on facebook since he doesn't want them copied!" I guess he likes me. Which is a good thing. Ha ha ha.

Santa Croce Square especially now is such a cool place in Florence. I would say about 70% of the tourists know it exists since they generally only see the Duomo and the Ponte Vecchio Bridge and o ya that naked statue...what's his name? David! O that is right, David Medici Palace at that square. However, if you find Santa Croce Square you are in for treats in many ways. Especially now with the Kriskindle Mercatos filling the squares and the famous Peruzzi Leathers have the HUGE Showroom here. And the Peruzzi family is famous in Florence. One of the brothers I interviewied is Guilio in Peruzzi Leathers, one is Matteo in the side alley in the HUGE elegant Palazzo redecorated to the ristorante Cucina Torcicoda, and the young one is the "beautiful one" says Eduordo! aperitivo

http://www.oibofirenze.com/

When I ask if he is the capo of OIBO, which means, "WOW" in Italian says Eduardo, I must say that in all fairness to Eduardo he always gives credit to his famous family, Peruzzi, "It is a family. That is true. Matteo, who is now owner of Cucina Torcicoda, used to work here many years, and now the last 2 years it is mine. My father and brother Guilio run the Peruzzi leathers and we are honestly all involved with that, yet my baby is here. Okay the baby of the companies is Peruzzi, yet here is mine. If my friends come here they say O it is beautiful since that is the way that I see it. That is me. We have many things happening here. In the morning it is a breakfast cafe ristorante and the lunch and dinner. People see the outside and they say O it must be a cafe. Yet it is famous for its pasta and pizza. We have a great lunch of 1st course and 2nd course at lunch and we have dinner and aperitivos. It is famous for its aperitivos at night. The biggest in Florence since they start at 6:30 every night to 10:30-11:00pm Every night. "Except Monday nights we close at 16:00pm" says Eduardo. Otherwise come and eat a huge buffet and get to know many cool and beautiful Italians who say that the 10.00euros for any cocktail plus the buffet is a great deal.

Borgo de’ Greci 1 Firenze Tel: +39 0552638611

When I ask if my friends and I come in here at 22:00pm is it true that we can eat at the buffet? " Yes, I promise, " he says and I say that we shall all come in tonight. I laugh when I see that he too is dressed in green and yellow and I show him my lovely outfit of the colors. Why is everybody in Italy dressed in these colors today? I ask. "Because I am beautiful." he says!

When I am introduced to Matteo he is in one of the 10 rooms of what I am now dubbing the Palazzo Restaurant due to its look and feel of being in different salons and rooms of a true Florentine Palace as you try to navigate each connected to each other as in a home. Matteo is eating with his wife and says hi and a conversation starts, "You know my father and I had a leather factory a famous one in Florence since the 1950s and 3 years ago then we said alright lets try something different. It is my passion here. The leather factory was my father's passion. Different. We, my father, wife and me, and the architect designed the rooms. They are three sections. They blend into each other since you can walk from one to the other without noticing you are in different rooms yet one is the Osteria which is casual dining, the other the restaurant which is the fine dining and the last is the pizza restaurant. You can't order from one menu and eat in a different room. They are unique. And the menus everyone is leather. That is something that we wanted to keep from the old days. You can order a leather menu for 120Euros or one of the cool leather aprons that the waiters wear for 150Euros. We love to blend the tradition with each other." he says. The aprons are TOTALLY COOL:

Cucina Torcicoda, Via Torta 5r Firenze

05 52 65 4 32 9

"The coolness aboutthe restaurant is that people can come here and feel they're in one of the traditional historical Palazzos of Florence from 500 years ago but in reality they feel at home. They can be different people here. You feel warm and comfortable. We understand the guests. Maybe they come here and they're fighting with each other and they want to be crazy and keep the confusion and stay in the PIzza side or they want a candlelight dinner and romance in the fine dining or for me I prefer the Osteria where I can have a great dinner and laugh casually with my friends. It is whatever atmospher you want to make it." she says.

http://www.cucinatorcicoda.com/osteria-firenze/

Even the pizza side of the Palazzo is elegant Risultati immagini per cucina torcicoda !

http://www.illatini.com/

+39 055 210916

reservations: 055 287178

I am MOST PROUD TODAY to add two totally Traditional Old School families of Florence.

One is Torello Latini's Il Latini of which Johnny, the cook, is at the helm serving great

Here you see the most beautiful restaurant in the world with its Naples recreation of the real city of Naples. You feel as if you are sitting inside the real city and the father of Pietro, with the help of his friends who are interior designers and a architect made it that way. "My father always had a dream to make a restaurant such as the one here and now it is," says Pietro.

Now it is one year since I interviewed the fun son, Pietro, and as I bop in to say Hi I am met with his cousin, Paolo. "Hi"says Paolo who is a young accomplished chef and has been the capo of the beautiful Vico Del Carmine since "september, 4 months." he says.

"The menu, which I designed all myself, is changed. It is south Italy cuisine now. Of Campagna and Puglia and Naples and Abruzzi. A little Sicily although I have not worked as a chef in Sicily, I have worked as a chef in the other cities. I came from Prato which has almost only Italians. Here at Florence it is a mixture of many tourists and 1/2 italians. I like talking to the tourists. The first time they come into the restaurant they take pictures everywhere. Of all the walls and the restaurant. Then they start taking pictures of how to make the pizza since the restaurant is famous for its napoleonitano pizza and dream like city of Naples. And the second time they come back they come because they love the food!" says Paolo.

"When I cook for my family at home they love my food and when I cook for the tourists here they love my food too. It is the same. They both love it. It makes me proud to cook for the tourists." he says. "My brother, IVO, is the administrator. We both speak a little English." he admits when Ivo gives us the Ipod to do a conversation with google translate! It is funny!

At VICO DEL CARMINE, in Florence, Italy, the reason that you feel in such a beautiful place could be that the Naples born father said that his dream is to design a restaurant with a city within a city." That is exactly what you will find at Vico Del Carmine...the beautiful soft walls of Naples the city inside the restaurant complete with street signs and mini houses all from Naples. And they each have little names attached to it. 055 2 33 68 62 Immagine correlata

https://www.facebook.com/pizzeria.napulita/

The reason I loved the restaurant the first time I saw it is the friendliness of Pietro and the family. All Smiles and real affection, not fake. And the other reason is the beauty of it. It could take you all day to see each and every detail that the restaurant shows about the authentic city of Naples. The food is the best...especially the pizza, it is a meal. When I entered today Paolo greeted me and let me know that the cousins moved to their city that they love, Naples, where they own a restaurant. Here he has decided, "To do a little addition such as the seafood salad appetizers from the region of Campagna. For instance we have mussels with pepper and spice and wine, and we have octopus, baby octopus in tomato sauce, salmon that is marinated 2 days with orange and salt,and 5 specialty fish from that region. That is my addition to the restaurant." says Paolo.

Risultati immagini per vico del carmine florence restaurant

Vico del Carmine Via Pisane 40 Red
0552 33 6862

"I like the boss who works with us to the tables. He tells me if the people say that the food is good here or not. " Paolo says and laughs and I say O yes they better say the food is good,I guess!

Paolo along with his brother, Ivo, plan on doing a couple of little things to the restaurant, yet, "keeping the city of Naples the way it is. It is a beautiful design, a dream." he says.

The Father and Son enjoying a well deserved glass of wine at Trattoria Enzo e Piero... I say that Massimo should rename the trattoria for his son and daughter. His son is Aldo and the cook! His daughter is Francesca who has a little 9 month old baby and one day came with the baby on the back working tables! Does he think about passing the legacy to his children? "Maybe," he says. http://www.trattoriaenzoepiero.it/

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"Since 1931 we have been serving the best...I want to continue with that. I have fun in life, yet the quality of my trattoria is important to me and my family." says Massimo. "And that the guests have fun." Image may contain: 7 people

"We have the new addition which is the winery and the students and tourists can come into here and have a sandwich from all fresh products for say 4Euros and a glass of wine for as little as 2Euros. If they want a sit down trattoria they can come in here. I am Vegatarian and my daughter is Vegan although she has a little baby now and soon back to Vegan." he laughs. It is located across the way from the Ostello Archie which has tons of international tourists everyday. AT : Via Faenza, 105/107r which is about 125 meters from the Train Station.

At the trattoria they have wild boar sausage, truffles in pasta!, Florentine style tripe , real yummy olive oil...um...

"Okay the one thing you must know about Americans is that they come in and they POUR real EXPENSIVE OLIVE OIL on their bread! I come to the table and try to educate these youngsters on the reality of using olive oil. Please just a little dab to enjoy it and don't use vinegar! I say!" FUNNY! and lovely.

Alright let's hear about Massimo..."I love doing yoga. I enjoy the vacations that I take to the Asian countries such as Cambodia, Laos, and the Phillipines. I took 3 months and went to a master yoga class. I used to teach and now I am too busy. But I have fun with life. I am out of the house at 7:00am and some people only work work work. Me? A typical day is Tuesday. I went and played 2 hrs. of tennis and now came to the restaurant for the lunch hour. I had fun with my son and the guests and now I take the night for myself. Me and friends are going out to dinner at a Vegetarian Restaurant. You know, I am Vegetarian the last 11 years and I have to work at the restaurant everyday. That is why it has the highest quality of Vegetarian plates and Vegan. Of course it has traditional Meat dishes too; however, it is important for people to know that they can come here and have lovely truffles and artichokes on the plates and it is the best. That is important." he laughs when I say that I didn't know dogs found truffles. "Yes the truffles are buried beneath the earth and the dogs sniff them out. I mean unless you have a wonderful nose I guess you could find truffles!" Very funny! I just like to eat truffles.

How CHARMING

The sculpture of On ofrio Pepe at the cool wine bar VinCanto...

http://www.ristorantevincanto.com/

Santa Maria Novella Square hosts the young, swanky bar and restaurant named VinCanto. I met one of the owners, Antonio at his restaurant earlier where he is partners with 3 cousins, one of which is the architect that lovingly designed the restaurants. Giavanni runs VinCanto and is here everyday. He is nice and sincere and happy to talk to everybody laughing and joking in the restaurant. "I love Florence yet I love where I come from my city in the south of Italy. It is all about tradition. I love the cultures and the Italian cities that have the 2,000 people dinners for their citizens and they care about the history and meaning of these dinners. I love tradition for me that is very important." he says.

"Yes it is fun here, yet I am at heart a beach person. I love the beach. Here we serve the traditional meat and food of my city and of Italy. The tourists love it, especially the little pig...they love that...." says Giavanni.

"You have to try the suckling pig...and yes some of the recipes I do. When I am at home I cook. I love to cook for my friends the traditional way. It is odd since it is all about tradition, my life, yet I lived in Miami 8 months and another time for 6 months. I worked for my friends from Sardegna there. And I love the beach. I would love to live on the beach somewhere and the original way that I became a bartender honestly is because I saw the movie, Cocktail, with Tom Cruise, about bartending!" he says. And I say that I LOVE THAT movie! "That is why I spent such a long time finding the right marble. I want it to be beautiful." he says.

"Elegant and yuppie" is the way I would describe the wine bar. "My partners are Zack, sitting at that table, his brother the architect, Antonio, who you met, Paul their younger brother, and me. I am the only Italian! Fabio is the other Italian who runs the Drogheria. I met the partners at the night club which is famous in Florence while I worked there 1 year and 1-2. And we said alright let's open the one here at the famous square. The tourists find us right away since it is near the train station and the famous historical square and the other half of the people come from Italy, Florence and surround such as Prato. I love it." says Giavanni.

BELOW, THE famous owner of the traditional restaurant who's older brother said, "What do I love about my restaurant while I am giving cheese and salami sandwiches to the guests everyday? My family, that is my love!" Um okay! They're a real nice family and they love the food that they give you. A sweet treat of genuine kindness.

A very funny family run restaurant where the guests are as happy as the owners, Lucca, Edoardo, and Daniela! plus the wifes:)

"Every morning we walk across the alley to the famous Mercato and buy the pasta home-made of course...and we're famous for the Florentine Steak that we marinate in Chianti for 3 hrs." says the young owner when I ask okay why do the people from everywhere in the world come here?

http://www.trattoriapalledorofirenze.com/

located down the alley from the leather mercatos and the Big Famous Food Mercato in florence Italy.

TRATTORIA PALLE D'ORO DAL 1860 | 43/45/R, Via S. Antonino - 50123 Firenze (FI) - Italia | P.I. 01133520484 | Tel. +39 055 288383 |

Ristorante Antico Barile

Risultati immagini per Via Dei Cerchi 40.Florence italy ristorante

Old World Charm and Service

Ristorante Antico Barile is a couple of quirky things about it. One is that it is famous in Florence since about 100 years and used to be a Amory in the 1300s for the Duke of Florence. The original Brick Ceilings are still there. The other is that the director and team speak mostly Italian and interviewing the team is pretty funny. They loved the website and I thought that kind of cool. They love the restaurant and for Mauro, who is the director, his favorite is the Florentine Steak that he says comes from the best region in Italy, Chianina! "That is the real steak. The Mercato has real good Fish which we sometimes buy from such as the Lobster and the Salmon and Sole and Sea Bass. The restaurant here is not a pizza restaurant. Pizza is Pizza. We're a little formal and friendly. It is a high quality restaurant. You know we have the traditional Florence dishes since we are in Florence, yet it is really the best service of Black jackets and friendly team. We love the Americans since they always come in and say "HI". They love to talk and they ask all kinds of questions. The tourists are great. They love the wine, too. Between the two families?" Asks Mauro and his team Iber when I ask which family of important wine do they love the most? Antonori or Frescobaldi? "We love Frescobaldi. We have Both here yet Frescobaldi is the favorite of us personally."

"I started the restaurant with my cousin when he is 20 and me 21. I know that I look young since I am young." the very sweet owner of Trattoria Lo Stracotto in Florence, Italy says when I say wow you look really young..."now I am 28. We've been here almost 7 years. When we first opened the restaurant I said to my cousin hey do you want to open a Tuscany restaurant with real traditional food that you can only find here? And he said yes. After looking everywhere in Florence we found the perfect location near the Duomo and the Central train station. From the 1st day when my grandmother came in the kitchen to teach us to cook, we've been giving our guests traditional Florentine cooking. It is all handmade. The first thing she taught us to cook is Florentine Steak and Florentine beef stew with pepper. Sometimes she comes in and tastes the food and she says O that needs a little less of that, or this add pepper. She is funny and we always do whatever she says to do!" Francesco says.

Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini, 17, reservations 055 2 30 2062

http://www.trattorialostracotto.it Immagine correlata

Here is the beauty of the Restaurant named Trattoria lo Stracotto..."that is a traditional restaurant that people know is homemade cooking. All done with the hand." Francesco says..."When we want to try a new dish we call my Grandmother and she comes and teaches us still today. We're all young here except for Mario he is Executive Chef in the kitchen...he is 50 okay he is old!"

The owner of Trattoria Lo Stracotto, Francesco with his friends.

As you can see the restaurant has that world charm of tradition and elegance..."we added every year it has been here. I am happy with it now and we keep trying to improve it. My partner is Tomaso," says Francesco, "and since we're both young we just jump into things. When I go on a trip I just say O I would like to go to Spain. Then I go to Spain. When I am landing I say O I need a place to sleep and fun things to do and that is how I do it.The advice that I would give to young people is just to do it. Do whatever your dream is. And learn as you do. When we opened the restaurnant we didn't know how to cook and now it is a famous restaurant. We learned from my Grandmother and her recipes from a little town named Impruneta near Florence."

"every time the tourists come in and after they eat they say"o it is our last day here and we finally found a great restaurant. We wish we would of found you the first day and we would of come in and ate everyday here. I hope that people read your articles and come in the first day! And every day at Florence!" he says.

Here the real owner and at work with his team, all of who lovingly hand-stitch each and every shoe. "The actual measurement when you come into my store is about 15 minutes, and the shoe takes about 3 days to make. I ship it to you within 15 days. For years people come back again and again or they order from me on the internet saying...remember that shoe I bought can you make it in brown?" he says.

"See that leather and the details that go into each and every one?" the owner, Anan asks me. And I say yes and smell the newly handcrafted shoes. I love the smell of leather and the minute you enter the artisan's store you smell the beauty of it.

And below, another famous Leonardo puzzled about which shoe to buy...he should of came to

Via Dei Cerchi , 9R 05 5294 965

Here "the real hand-made stitching and care that is put into each and every custom made shoe from Leonardos," says Anan, the owner who is originally from Jordan and has owned Leonardo shoes the last 30 years. "I work with 20 individual families from all around Italy and each of these people I hand picked to handcraft my shoes. Some were retiring etc., but I found these very talented people and only the artisans make my custom made shoes. That is the way it has been the last 30 years." And I ask if I wanted the shoes made personally from Leonardo from Anan would they be much more expensive? He smiles, "Of course." he says. He is the master!

I admire a totally cool pair of snakeskin boots that I said I saw Donald Trump's wife wearing...her were grey from Greece. "O yes these are snakeskin and about 5,000.00 euros. You like these?" he asks and I look at him a little wierd. LIKE! I love em. "WE have these and we have for what I call the normal people. The 100.00euros boots and the 5,000.00 euros boots. We started making leather bedroom slippers that used to be famous in Florence about many years ago and now coming back. People love these. And I love the internationals from around the world. I love the people The Americans from the Jersey shore came in and but boots and shoes. They were really nice." he says. Trust me Anan cares about his shoes. He loves his shoes and you will love em too.

From the Jersey Shore television...happy as can be to be buying the best leather handcrafted shoes in the world.! Risultati immagini per leonardo shoes florence

The Jersey Shore buying at Leonardo Shoes...now that is cool. We as Americans LOVE the MTV reality show JERSEY SHORE...

The sweetest boys on earth and a darling Actress who Steven Spielberg and me would fall in love with, Michele, at the Pizzeria Toto, one of three which Leonardo,standing on the left side, owns.

Via Dante Alighieri, 28, 50122, Firenze, Italia 0039 055 2 904 0

It is always good to see the owner's eating the pizza!

Pizzeria Toto Elizabetta 16, Florence...tel. 055 285595

See even Steven Spielberg eats pizza on Ellen! How does somebody run 3 Pizzerias in Florence?(And he is very keen on the word, Pizzeria...) "it is a Pizzeria, not restaurant. We have the best Pizza in Florence!)" says Leonardo. "My favorite is spending my life with my 4year old! I love my Bambino. I love my bella. She is special and I balance my baby and work."

emme ane's book

emme ane's book

Benvenuti all' OSTERIA DEL PORCELLINO

Via Val di Lamona, 7r - Firenze Italia - Telefono: +39.055.264148

A TOUR BY CARRIAGE WITH THE WONDERS OF CHIANTI