Me No Speak Italiano

Although I've eaten out 90% of my time here in Florence, I still made time to squeeze some food shopping in. I really never thought something so easy could be so hard! First of all, who the hell knew you had to weigh and print out a price sticker for fruits and veggies BEFORE checking out?! I also got balled out for "cutting," even though I so didn't and out of every single in person in the market I get asked where the tortellini with meat is?! Don't these people know I don't speak Italian? Don't they see American stamped across my forehead? I guess im flattered that even Italians think I'm Italian, but having to answer them in English is just an embarrassment. Good thing I bombed my Italian quiz today ;) 

Golden View

For Katie's birthday we went to Golden View on my friend Colby & Lindsay's recommendation. Not only was the food amazing, but it overlooks the Ponte Vecchio. We also have been having the pleasure of getting hooked-up almost everywhere we go. Golden View gave us free dessert and a free bottle of wine :). I must admit this wasn't due to us batting our eyelashes and flirting with the staff, but rather we dropped Colby and her brother's name to our waiter Vinny, who they are besties with from when they were abroad. We exchanged pins, so now we always can have a table open for us. Everything we ordered was amazing. Our favorite was the buffalo mozzerella pizza with ricotta stuffed crust! The baked ravioli with bechamel was also unreal. Check it out...

lettuce, rocket salad, fresh tomatoes, tuna & avocado

ravioli stuffed with ricotta cheese & spinach baked w/ béchamel & tomato sauce

mozzarella, porcini mushrooms, smoked cheese & truffle cream

raw buffalo mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, basil tomato sauce w/ ricotta cheese bakes inside the edge of the crust

Cello My Name Is Lemon

It's officially now a curse that every time I go out for dinner here in Florence limoncello is offered to me at the end of the meal. They see the fear in my eyes. They know I don't like it and they put it in front of me for pure amusement. I don't know if its karma that I hate the official drink of Florence, or that fact that my friends make it a priority to let the waiters know just how much I "love" it. I'm not into disrespecting the culture here, so I suck it up and take the shot. I immediately chase it with some frizzante or wine, but no matter what it always seems to make my skin crawl. I mean technically it's not my fault I hate it... it's in my blood. My mom despises it as well, so I was born with this. My genes are anti-limoncello and I'm fine with that. My roommate Jamie today informed me that since I am a "foodie" that limoncello should be something I enjoy, but thats why I'm a foodie and not a drinky. No more limoncello for me Italia! I'll stick to house wine & tequila.

CIAO BELLA

So I've been straight up MIA from blogging for some time now. Let's catch up...
I celebrated my one week anniversary with Florence  yesterday and I can officially say I think, I mean I know, that this is the start of a beautiful relationship. I honestly believe that were meant for one other. I never could have ever imagined that I would have had this strong of a connection with this city. I'm already thinking about the state of depression I'm going to enter when I leave this amazing place. I also was not prepared for the food here. It is actually out of this world, unreal amazingness. I  cant even make up words to explain the food in Florence. True Statement: I have yet to eat a meal I haven't liked. I'm apologizing ahead for no pictures from one of my best dinners yet, La Giostra, but our forks went into the food so quickly, there was no stopping for pictures. Whenever I tell someone I'm studying in Florence, they almost always tell me to get the pear ravioli at La Giostra, but let me tell you - yes it was delicious and a must order, but the brie ravioli with artichoke was one of the best things that has ever entered my mouth. In addition, their burrata is  actually out of this world, like I don't think you get it....it's out of this world!!! It's worth every single penny [18 Euros]. The owner is also really sexy in his own bangle wearing kind of way. My friends and I nominated La Giostra as the best date restaurant and as I said, one of our best meals yet! My love for Giostra is also due to their ever so creative slogan, "In Food We Trust." When I saw that on their menu,  I knew it was destiny. 

limoncello is the death of me...

pig in a hat

Right now I am so painfully full, the thought of blogging seems like an impossible task, but I can't hold back my excitement any longer! Torrisi Italian Specialties has been on my "must feast here" list for some time now. Being that they don't take reservations and the wait for dinner can be hours long, I had to settle for lunch. Well, I wouldn't necessarily say settle... We got the chicken parm hero and the house turkey sandwich. I have always loved me some chicken parm, but this house turkey sandwich was oh so tastefully delicious. I know many of you are thinking, 'What's so special about a turkey sandwich? You can get those anywhere and everywhere in Manhattan." Well I'll tell you why, you pessimistic people! Could it be the honey, garlic, and herb roasted turkey that they slice fresh right in front of you? Or is it the perfect amount of mayo mixed with the minced lettuce? While it might be a combination of everything, my personal opinion is that this turkey sandwich is da shit due to the spicy sauce Torrisi puts on it. The mild spice makes that sandwich unlike anything I've ever had before. It's perfectly mastered. Bravo Torrisi, Bravo

Store Front

Chicken Parm Hero

House Roasted Turkey

House Roasted Turkey #2

Inside

FP

Name me one person who doesn't love when their food resembles real life things. Watching Bobby Flay's throwdown with Francois Payard, I was amazed by my desire to munch down on a dessert that resembled the logs my dad uses in our fireplace. Bobby was attempting to recreate Francois's Bûche de Noël, but lost. The french know their shit when it comes to desserts and pastries, did Bobby really think he had a chance?? There's really no point to this story besides the fact that I went to Francois Payard the other day in search of tasting this delectable log look-a-like treat, but was left in disappointment when my dad refused to buy an entire log of Bûche de Noël just so I could have a sliver of it - RUDE. I instead settled for the chocolate treat seen above.  Honestly, I didn't even want it, but I was there, so I got it, but I wish I didn't. The thing was a waste of calories. On the bright side, my coffee was delectable!

And for those who are wondering what a Bûche de Noël is....

And for those who are wondering what Francois Payard's Bûche de Noël is....

Noodle Scadoodle

The other night my family, my friend Katie, and I made our way into Chinatown for a wonderful meal at Great NY Noodle Town. After sitting in traffic for 3 hours and walking in puddles of dirty slush from the snow storm, we finally made it down to Bowery. While NY Noodle Town isn't my favorite place in Chinatown, I will say that potentially being a victim of frostbite on my feet was worth it. They had one of the best Beef Chow Fun I have ever had in my life, well at least the 20 years I've been living. AND their roasted duck was pretty good, a tad fatty, but overall pretty good. 

Store Front

Dead Ducks Chilling

Beer & Menu

Shrimp Dumpling Soup

Beef Spare Ribs

Roasted Pig Over Rice (sorry rabbi)

Beef Chow Fun

Shrimp with Flowering Chives

Ideal Book Shelf

Confession: I'm not entirely faithful to my love of food. I occasionally cheat with my other passion - Art. Those who know me know my love of art came before my love of food. I spent years focusing on my art work before any appreciation of food developed. Luckily for me, both worlds overlap.  I came across this piece by Jane Mount that I'm obsessed with! What I like about Jane's work is that she paints peoples' ideal book shelves. Well... I have found that Jane has painted my ideal bookshelf!! Who needs Catcher in the Rye or the Great Gatsby when you can have Joy of Cooking and Barefoot Contessa?? I also already planned out the perfect spot for it in my house...I thought about putting it over my bed in my room, but then I thought that would creep people out, so I decided over all my Mom's cook books in the kitchen would work perfectly.  This fantastic piece of art can be found at 20x200, which was founded by Jen Bekman. Take the time to browse through their prints, they're amazing & some start at only $20! [Below are a few others that I love]

Another by Jane Mount

Alexander Beeching

Jennifer Sanchez 

Gregory Krum

Mike Monteiro

Jorge Colombo 

Hung Ry

The sneaky people behind Hung Ry probably didn't think anyone would catch on to their name, but I did! Hung Ry is an Asian restaurant known of their bowls of hand-pulled noodle soup, so I automatically thought that the words Hung and Ry meant something in relation to that, but as I sat and thought on the name I came to conclusion that it's literally HUNGRY ripped apart into two separate words. Way creative on their part. The owners probably sat around a table for hours thinking of their name for the restaurant and what do you know... It's just the word hungry. Simple and amazing - I love it! There is also a possibility that I'm totally wrong, but considering that I like to think I'm right most of the time, I'm going to stick with my theory. Now onto the food... My Dad and I shared a bowl of the duck noodle soup and the beef tongue appetizer. Plain and simple: I'm not running back. The duck was super tasty, but I would much rather hit up Ippudo NY for a bowl of hand-pulled noodle soup. If you're on Bond Street and you find yourself hungry for soup and noodles, pit stop there, but no need to taxi across town. Capiche?

Beef tongue, black beans, carrot, pickled aromatic broth

Duck breast, leg. Szechuan, roasted peppers

Buon Compleanno!

So since it's a new year and I've been in a good mood lately, I've decided to be nice and dedicate a birthday post to Ran. While I know I probably shouldn't due to the fact the food pics from Ran have been lacking, I do like to give people the benefit of the doubt. It's vacation time, so I'll give him a break. Here is a compilation of some of Ran's finest work. Happy Birthday kiddo ... here's to 23 more years of cooking!