OK, OK, OK – I get it. Florence is awesome.
This is the overwhelming response to my recent post, in which I had to recruit an honorary member of the Gay Mafia to school my readers on the joys of Florence – in particular, the cuisine – to stave off the legions of readers asking for information about this (apparently) charming city.
Who knew this would garner even more chastising emails? Jeez, people; I get it: FLORENCE IS AWESOME.
I’d like to add to the previously given Florentine advice with one of the few printable responses to that post – and you gotta take this one seriously, as it was submitted by a family friend with the following surname: Maccaroni. I mean, come on. You know she’s got the good information. Anyway, here it is:
We highly recommend a place called Il Latini on the Via del Palchetti. Being our first time in Florence, we were novices when it came to finding good places to eat. It was recommended to us by the bartender in our hotel. It was rather crowded and it took a while to get a table, but they served wine and cheese while we waited outside [Ed.: Yes please! Also, check out that site – they’ve posted recipes!] – food was fab, the wait staff were very funny and extremely capable – we chose the fixed menu (they frown on using the menus) – they kept bringing food, food and more food – one of the most delicious meals we ever had. Maybe you can pass this along to your readers – or check it out yourself!
I’ll be in Rome again in April – oh, how your Miss Expatria suffers to bring her readers the best! – and this time, I believe a mini trip to Florence is in order to sample these choice gastronomic tidbits. I’ll be sure to issue a full report upon waking from what will no doubt be a heavenly food coma.
If anyone else has excellent Florence advice – WITHOUT THE YELLING AT ME FOR HATING FLORENCE PLEASE – feel free to send them in. I’ll post them, lest we further disrespect this lovely town on the Arno.
Miss Expatria 
Il Latini is definitely my favorite restaurant in all of Florence, except it might tie with La Taverna in Via Arnolfo. It’s a really small restaurant that’s always jam packed with Italians (except for the occasional tourists that get directed there from the around-the-corner Hotel Mediterraneo). The menu changes daily, but there are some amazing things that stay on there, like their Tagliata. It’s run by Davide, the most amazing Italian I have ever met, who also owns other restaurants (including La Taverna degli Assi on the viale that goes up to Piazzale Michelangelo.) In a very Italian way, the menu changes correspond with whatever foods and vegetables are fresh and in style at that time, and Davide travels to get fresh ingredients from all over the world. And it’s cheap! Il Latini is fantastic and super fun, but you pay for it. Davide is really the best part about the restaurant, one time when I called to make reservations I made a special menu request and he happily made it for me!
Another of your guest posters mentioned gelato… a subject VERY close to my heart. Without trying to offend gelato fans, I would like to point out that many (or all, if you’re me) of the Gelato places you find on the main streets and piazzas in Florence are overpriced and sub-par. Yes this includes Festival of Gelato, Perche No?, and all the others you see with the heaping and colorful piles of gelato. According to me (a self-proclaimed gelato connoisseur) these places rely on gimmicks (like a wide variety of flavors, having full coconuts in the cocco or chunks of chocolate in the cioccolato, etc) to hide the low quality of the product.
So where does this gelato snob go? One place and one place only… GROM. Grom is a chain all over the north of Italy and its Florence location is one small alleyway from the Duomo that uses only natural ingredients. I could go on for hours extolling the virtues of Grom, but anyone who cares should just try it. It’s fantastic. (And check out the site too, it explains what makes them so different than everyone else http://www.grom.it/eng/index.htm) Other good gelaterias are the same ones you’ll hear about in the guidebooks, Vivoli of course (although I heard that the owner died a year or two ago and that the quality isn’t what it used to be… Vivoli’s never been my style anyway because I like my gelato decadent, not fruity, and their specialty is really the fruit flavors) Dei Neri, which is in Via Dei Neri and has a wide variety of flavors, and Dei Medici, which I think is in Via del Statuto (again with the flavors.) There’s one by the stadium that is very exciting (and also has a lot of room to sit down, which is downright shocking) but I have no idea what it’s called! It’s also a Pasticcieria too, I believe, and it’s huge.