The Carriage House

Poor little tourists, always being fooled by the mounds of gelato piled as high as the Duomo. Bright artificially colored gelato fill the windows of Florence. Coming to Italy one can only want the best gelato out there, and my friends and I have found it. We forgo the fake shit and make sure we only have the best of the best. We’ve finally narrowed down our favorite spots for gelato, two of which are across the Arno on the other side of Florence. One is called La Carraia [the carriage house]. La Carraia is a hidden gem being that it is two bridges down from the Ponte Vecchio, it is not as known. People out there just never take the time to venture down that far. 

Although I do love trying new things, I always tend to go for the same flavors. Menta & Cookies are my staple favorites. It’s hard for me to resist the fresh mint flavor and the creamy cookie deliciousness. Cone or cup, doesn’t matter. This gelato would be good on or in anything.

gelato

colorful cones

Ironically, we stopped and got gelato on the way to working out #AbroadGirlProblems

Pranzooo

Staying in Florence on the weekends and not schlepping around through Europe really does have its upside. Now, instead of grabbing sandwiches in between classes, my friends and I have time to sit down and enjoy our lunches. Being that the start of Passover was sundown on Monday, we wanted to get in our last hurray before cutting out our best friends pasta & pizza from our lives. We decided to go to one of our favorite restaurants ZaZa and there was no holding us  back!

rigatoni with tomato sauce & cheese

fettuccini with walnut sauce

truffle carbonara

gnocchi in a rose sauce

We started to realize that keeping Passover wasn’t so much a religious thing, but more then ever a diet. Cutting out pasta, pizza, and sandwiches led us to really only one thing: salads. Surprisingly, we did have an issue with this. Our home away from home, Osteria del Gatto e la Volpe helped satisfy our needs with huge and delicious salads.  

caprese with cherry tomatoes and buffalo mozzerella

piccante vegetable salad

greek salad with grilled chicken

Why is this night different from all others?

Another year, Another Passover... The Jews have all become accustomed to their rituals and then out of nowhere the issues start to arise…One Word: Quinoa

The new every so popular grain that’s been hitting shelves everywhere from Whole Foods to Trader Joes (and now your local kosher butcher) has recently become a topic of kosher debate. Is quinoa kosher for Passover? Well, for all you hippy-esc, health-conscious, gluten free, Jewish quinoa lovers out there, the answer is…. Yes!! Gourmet Magazine gave my throne away and named quinoa the new “belle of the Passover ball.” Get excited Jews, there’s a new trend out there for Passover. #QUINOA

Scrumptious

 I’m starting to find it unbelievable that after being in Italy for 3 months already, I still seem to be fascinated by every single thing I eat. I am please to say I have not become jaded by the insanely delicious food that has come my way. The best part of the cuisine here is the simplicity of it. They use the freshest ingredients without having one overpower the other. Some of my favorite things I have eaten in Florence is the focaccia pizza. This specific one pictured above I got from a fair in Santa Croce Square. The bread, which was a mixture of warm, salty, softness was one of the best pieces of focaccia I’ve ever had. It was topped with insane amounts of garlic, cheese and pesto.   

The pizza wasn’t the only thing attracting me back to that stand; the man working the oven was the cutest little Italian grandpa I have ever met. We basically fell in love at first bite. 

embracing the culture

The one thing everyone told me to do while abroad is embrace the culture. They told me to put myself in uncomfortable situations in order to better emerge myself in the Italian lifestyle. Well… I took everyone’s advice, went out of my comfort zone, and befriended an older Italian man. Yes, I know what you’re thinking. Italian men only have one thing on their mind and I’m not denying this Italian man doesn’t love me, but once I found out this specific Italian man owned restaurants, I knew I had to get an in with him. After exchanging pins one night, I got a bbm from my new friend Pasquale asking if I would like to come eat at his restaurant. I replied OF COURSE! A free meal? Why wouldn’t I go for a free meal? My friends and I headed to his restaurant where we were all treated like royalty. Before we knew it our first course was being brought out to us…

Basically this was a bowl the size of a wok filled with every shellfish imaginable...HEAVEN

Next we were brought linguini with sea bass in a white wine sauce...

And for the grand finale we were presented with a molten chocolate cake! I really would like to thank everyone for their advice. Embracing the Italian culture has never tasted so good.

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well."- Virginia Woolf

Scouts Honor

One thing I don't regret looking back on my childhood is joining the girl scouts. Everyone talks about the brownies and their fucking green vests, but I was too cool for that shit. I will give them one thing, their cookies are insane! When I see those little girls hiking up to my door with their order forms, I go running to my mom's wallet. Well there's some competition in town girlies, a new Girl Scouts Cookies pop-up shop was opened in New York City on 43 West 23rd Street. Whatever genius thought of this I would like to know. Props to you. The pop-up shop runs until May 5th. Better go & get your grasshoppers before they're sold out!

Fraterize

When I saw this, I without a doubt knew it had to be blogged about. A student at the University of Virginia was hospitalized after having to eat "dog food, matzo balls, gefilte fish, and soy sauce." for fraternity hazing. I'm sorry....yes, dog food is gross, but put gefilte fish in front of me [Zabars Only] and I'm about to blow your frat away. I would pull some MVP pledge shit there, take one for the team and eat every one's gefilte fish. Some people can't stomach gefilte fish, but I appreciate the true beauty of this smooshed up fish ball. Wonder which Jew frat thought of this beautiful hazing tradition? 

Give Me A Break

Who the hell needs Fage with a side of fruit anymore now that this has come out on shelves! Walking around the food market today, I came across Nestle’s new invention: Kit Kat Yogurt. This obviously stopped me in my tracks. Whenever I see anything Kit Kat I stop. In this case, I stopped and I stared...

Vanilla yogurt and a side of Kit Kat bites to mix in? Hello breakfast heaven! Again, I wonder why things like this come out in Europe, but not the US....what else is Nestle hiding?? 

Being that I was in a rush to class, I didn't have time to buy anything, but I'm making sure I'm picking this up next time I'm in the supermercato!

Osteria Delle Tre Panche

For those who have ever received a Jap Guide from fellow Jews who have gone abroad in the past, I am confident in saying, one will always find Tre Panche under where to eat in Florence. The mystery of Tre Panche though is its location. All of the guides say that you must cab it there, so I took it upon myself to Google Maps it. Not surprised at all, it turns out that Tre Panche is in my neighborhood. The restaurant is a 5-minute walk from my door, most definitely no cab needed for me! The truth is, unless you're lazy, live over the Ponte Vecchio or are wearing heels, there is really no need to cab it here. Just walk 25 minutes straight up Borgo Pinti [past Giostra and past The Four Seasons] and it's right there!

 What's so unique about this little osteria is not only the food they feed you, but the fact that it is literally only tres panches [three benches]. Get ready to make new friends because you sit and eat with complete strangers, mostly who are all Italian. 

We started off our meal with chicken pate crostinis [my new favorite Florentine speciality]. The stuff tastes like chopped liver, but almost better. From there we got...

tagliatelle with artichokes

artichoke ravioli with walnuts

penne with spicy pomodoro sauce

ravioli with truffles

cheesecake

I think it’s pretty clear through these pictures just how fabulous our meal was, but all pasta aside, the cheesecake, which they are famous for, was out of this world! It was unlike anything I have ever eaten. Besides the fact that it was light and fluffy, it was also heated up, gooey, and fantastic! I dream of it...

Looking back on the meal, I can't decide if my favorite part was my friend falling off the bench and everyone in the entire closet of a restaurant laughing or when the owner asked if we wanted him to call us a cab. It's a toss up.