Customer Reviews

The Food Lover's Guide to Florence: With Culinary Excursions in Tuscany

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

By Bill Marsano. Frankly I've always wondered why people go crazy about the splendid leather goods available in Florence. Yes, they're stylish, well-priced and well made--but can you eat them? To each his own, however. You want to buy shoes and handbags, or go to museums--help yourself. When I'm in Florence, I'm going to eat. The only things I buy to take away is food I want to smuggle back into the U.S.

I go to Italy three to five times a year (and I'm always hungry), and Florence is one of the best cities forrestaurants, pizzerias, wine bars, specialty shops and gorgeous markets piled with fresh produce. I have lots of scribbled notes and crumpled business cards, but this book does a much better job. If I've succeeded in whetting your appetite, then grab this book before you go on your own trip. Emily Wise Miller is a good writer and an outstanding guide to the gustatory city. She hits the high spots but doesn't neglect the little-known spots that aren't smack downtown; she knows the regional specialties (the unsalted bread, the magnificent lard); she also remembers that some amongst us are vegetarians and health-food devotees. And when she's got you positively salivating, she closes her book with chapters on cooking schools and culinary tours. All you really need to do is check the photo facing the introduction. It shows a newspaper headline that freely translates as "Delicatessen Clerk Condemned! Sold Prosciutto Different from the One the Customer Asked For!" That alone will give you an idea of how seriously Florentines take their food--and how well-tuned-in Emily Wise Miller is. (Bill Marsano is an award-winning writer on travel and wines and spirits.)

We brought this with us, along with several other more general food guides, on a recent 5 day stay in Florence. This was, by far, the most helpful of the guides, since it was devoted exclusively to florence (unlike any others that i am aware of, although there are several tuscan food guides). Because of this, it was far more detailed and afforded many more options than any other guide. As an added perk, it was very up to date, again, unlike several others. There will always be some disgreement when it comes to food recommendations, but I found this guide to be quite reliable. It is by far the most helpful eating guide for florence itself, so if you are traveling to florence for more than a day or two, and eating is at all important to you, I would recommend it very highly, despite the following caveats.

As another reviewer mentioned, the organization in this book leaves a lot to be desired. It is arranged by type of establishment (pizzeria, gelateria, restaurant by expense-category). Since most of one's stopping into gelateria, pastry shops and food markets (if not restaurants) is likely to occur semi-spontaneously as one is walking around, it is crucial to be able to quickly locate stores in your area. This would have been SO easy to address with either a numbered map (preferably) or an index/ list by area. The lack of area-organization combined with the sheer bulk of easily accessible eateries requires one to spend a cumbersome amount of time looking in the guide beforehand and planning stops, not necessarily how one wants to spend one's time. Quite often we realized later that we had walked right near or by a place of interest, which was frustrating. We discovered the last day that there was a highly interesting restaurant right around the corner from our hotel, but we hadn't put that together. So organization is my major complaint.

A few minor complaints: although she does lodge some criticisms, by and large the tone of the entries is a bit glowing. That's probably stylistic as well as a reflection of the quality of establishments that made the bar for inclusion in her list, but more notes on the negatives (not so good for vegetarians; can be very loud; reliable X, but not among the city's top 10, etc.) would have helped narrow down a sometimes undifferentiated list of similar sounding restaurants. She also has a thing for chocolate and seems to recommend almost exclusively chocolate desserts at restaurants. A few times the basic information (e.g., about hours) was wrong, though I think that is unavoidable in this kind of guide.

A final note: the author recommends reservations at restaurants. Although this was not always necessary, it usually was, so take note.

Miller's book was our primary guide for culinary experiences on our recent trip to Florence. It didn't disappoint. While the section on restaurants is reliable, albeit somewhat tilted toward eateries in the Oltrarno, the real value of the book lies in pointing the reader to the better bakeries, markets and gelaterias around town. Too many other guides include the same old listings of places too often living on their past reputations. Look at the others when planning your trip, but take Miller with you.

This is so far the BEST Italian food guide that I've read. The book is organized in different chapters such as Restaurants, Gelaterias, Pizzerias, Pastry Shops..... Each chapter devotes a intimate description of the different establishments and each establishment is traced to a grid on the Florence map provided at the back. The writing style is very intimate and you feel that the author has definitely personally experienced all of these places and took a lot of notes.

The improvements I would suggest are that the index should be better thought out. (1) Reference food dishes to establishments in index. For example, say if you are looking for the dish "Osso Bucco", it is not found in the index and it would be great if the author could trace the dish to the restaurants that it's served. (2) Restaurants by Location Index. The restaurants are currently organized by type and price but not by location. It would be great if there is an index to list the various restaurants by map location,have an food indicative rating system next to it and a reference back to the main writeup. That would make planning the restaurant visits so much easier. (3) Also, the Tuscany culinary excursions section are very short (only 30 pages)and I think could be expanded to be more comprehensive.

Having said that, I still think this is one of the best and most intimate writing I have read on this subject. If only the author would also write for other regions such as Rome, Venice, Amalfi....

This book was the only book we needed in Florence. Emily's reviews were spot on and we never had a bad meal. We were often the only "tourists" in the eating establishment and garnered some looks from locals as in "how did you find this place!" We walked 2 miles outside the city to have the best pizza we've ever tasted and then 4 miles to spend Sunday lunch with Italian families eating "Spaghetti della Casa." I am extremely picky about food (being Italian and a chef for 15 years) so I cannot rave about this book enough...it made our trip!

As a cook/food writer who's lived in Florence for a few years, I was getting frustrated with all of the half-witted, repetitive restaurant reviews that constantly recommended the same 6 places in Florence. I was fed up, and about to set out to write my own guide, talking about the places where the real Florentines go, and describing the way they order their bistecche and fagioli (and where they get their gelato, instead of the touristy, over-priced Vivoli), when a friend showed me Emily Miller's beautiful, all-encompassing, unpretentious book. Well, so much for writing my own book; I'd rather just try all of the places Emily talks about that I haven't been to yet. Whether you are traveling to Firenze, or already live here, this little pocket-gem is all you need to stay well-fed.

This is a great guide to Florentine restaurants - on a 5 day visit it was our bible. Her recommendations are spot on, with only one out of 7 restaurants we ate in being a dud. We wouldn't recommend I 13 Gobbi - they treat the locals differently from tourists so beware! Try instead some of the lovely, unspoilt restaurants in authentic Florence south of the river.

You cannot go to Florence without this book! I was in Florence for five days and I wore this book out; I ate exclusively at places from this book and have never had a better culinary experience in Florence! Emily Wise-Miller takes you to the hidden gems and out-of-the-way places that tourists dream about! Writing this review is making my mouth water and my heart beg to go back, just so I can eat more delicious Florentine steak, pasta, gelato and drink the wine!

If you are planning a trip to Florence/Tuscany or simply want to learn about the culture and history of of Tuscany's culinary roots, BUY THIS BOOK! You will not be disappointed!!

I live in Florence and have used this guide repeatedly for dinner suggestions. In addition to guiding the reader to some of Florence's most satisfying eateries, the author has great tips on local fare and how to get the most out of every experience. This is a book for locals and visitors alike. If you buy only one dining guide for your trip to Florence, this is it.

I liked this book very much it has many affordable restaurants listed with their addresses and hours of operation. I loved the little facts and tips provided throughout. It also has maps in the back, so you can find the places listed. Most helpful are commonly used Italian words and their definitions. I am looking forward to going back to Florence and visiting the recommendations by the author!