Divina Cucina's Florence for Food-Lovers

Florence was the capital of Italy when the country was united in the 1800's. The first capital was Torino, where the King lived, in 1865, it moved to Florence. To prepare, they tore down most of the walls of the city and built large boulevards and the markets. One in San Lorenzo, a second San Ambrogio and a third was planned in San Frediano, but not built. The Capital was moved to Rome in 1871.

Eating in Florene

Although Tuscans are called Mangiafagioli, bean-eaters, when you go out to eat in Florence you will be overwhelmed by seeing steaks everywhere. Locals normally go out to eat things they don't eat at home or is better eaten out, like a grilled 2 pound T-bone steak, the Fiorentina, or fried foods and pizza.  The steak is ordered and meant to be share and is priced by weight, like 4,00 hg( a 3 oz measure, un etto) which means 40 euro a kilo (kg). Fresh fish is also usually priced by weight as well. 

The steak here is different, it's not filled with marblized fat, so it will always be cooked rare. Very Rare. If cooked more it gets tough. If that bothers you, order something else.

If you want meat, but not that much, order the tagliata, It's a smaller boneless entrecote grilled and sliced, often served with arugula salad.

Menu's can be pretty much all the same, as that's what the locals want. Roast pork- Arista, The T-bone steak- Fiorentina, Fritto Misto- mixed fried foods, can be meats or fish or vegetables. It's not common to see lasagna on the menu and when you do, it's not the Italian-American version which came from Naples with ricotta and mozzeral, but rather a creamy version made with Ragu and bechamel sauce.

Since I have been living here, the restaurants have adapted to tourism in that you can order a single plate of pasta and call it a meal. When I moved here many restaurants had signs outside saying "We only serve full meals".