The Food Lover’s Guide to Florence: With Culinary Excursions in Tuscany (Paperback)
June 26, 2009 by Traveler
Filed under Travel Italy Guides
From Publishers Weekly
In her culinary guide, Miller, a freelance writer living in Florence, begins with the basics, noting the differences between a ristorante, osteria and trattoria; explaining the layout of the Italian menu (“With few variations, Florentine menus follow a standard order”); and sharing her thoughts on waiters and tipping (“Remember, no one is working toward a tip”). From there, Miller offers an introduction to Tuscan wines, and then organizes her listings in chapters such as “Restaurants and Trattorias,” “International Food,” and “Coffee, Pastries, and Chocolate.” For such Florentine specialties as bistecca fiorentina (a T-bone steak rubbed with olive oil, salt, lemon, and rosemary and served rare) she recommends a handful of restaurants throughout the city. She also notes where vegetarians can eat well and where to find kosher restaurants. This is a smart and useful tool for foodies passing time in Tuscany.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
More than a million English-speaking visitors descend on Florence annually, but few venture beyond the usual circuit of tourist restaurants to experience authentic Tuscan cuisine. This updated guide to the best gourmet restaurants and off-the-beaten-path locales offers in-depth profiles of the spots Florentines themselves treasure. Arranged by neighborhood for easy navigation, THE FOOD LOVER’S GUIDE TO FLORENCE is the single essential companion for travelers, students, and expats.
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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.
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!!
3.0 out of 5 stars
Still looking for the perfect restaunt!
I bought this book for my hubby for Christmas and read it before he did. We have been to Florence several times but have yet to find a restaurant that we love.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Little Addition
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.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect Travel Companion
The reviews in this book were perfectly on point. We found ourselves trying to schedule in more time to eat so we could continue to try the recommended restaurants.
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Food Lover’s Guide to Florence
A very helpful, organized tour of Florence for foodies. As many times as I’ve visited Florence, the abundance of great places to eat is overwhelming.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Five Stars Are Not Enough!!!
I found this wonderful guide while preparing for my return to Florence this past Fall for more research on the sequel to my novel, The Giuliana Legacy The author’s helpful and…
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don’t eat in Florence without it!
This book was the only book we needed in Florence. Emily’s reviews were spot on and we never had a bad meal.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exactly as advertised
This will be simple. My wife and I just returned from 8 days in Forence, and we used this book to guide our restaurant selections. Every recommendation was a winner!
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good guide to Florentine food
Miller’s book was our primary guide for culinary experiences on our recent trip to Florence. It didn’t disappoint.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great book but could improve on organization
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…..
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant foodie guide
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.