When you ask a Florentine where to go to eat great food, usually like with chef, they say their mom’s. If you aren’t lucky enough to have a mamma in Florence, don’t worry, there are still some places you can eat just like at a Florentines mom’s kitchen, with mom’s rules. My husband Andrea,…
Happy New Year- Another Trip Around the Sun
Happy New Year? I think we all love to celebrate and as an expat, I discovered new holidays to celebrate in Italy. We all have December31/January 1st as New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. My mom was raised in Shanghai, we although we are not Chinese, Chinese New Year’s was always big in our…
Divine Days- Livorno
There is nothing I love more than a food festival except perhaps being by the sea. When the two worlds collide, I am ecstatic! I saw that one of my favorite towns on the Tuscan Coast was having a 3 day celebration for the local specialty, Caccuccio, the fish soup. In San Francisco, we have…
Trattoria Mario’s Ribollita
Trattoria Mario’s is a home away from home for almost all the students that come to the study abroad programs in Florence. This tiny family trattoria began as a fiaschetteria 4 generations ago. These small family trattorias, passed from one generation to another, are national treasures.In 2013, they celebrated 60 years of their opening. I…
Simply Divina- Sicilian Swordfish
Swordfish is a beginner’s fish. One of the least fishy and more meaty fishes. There are some recipes which just grab you the first time you eat them and remain in your memory. This is one of them. When we go to Cantina Siciliana for our cooking class, Pino is more than generous to share…
Edible Florence- Sabatino’s {san frediano}
When I first arrived in Florence, in October of 1984, there was no internet. No way of instantly sharing information on my new life here. One kept a diary. When I finally had access to internet, I opened my website and put together a dining guide for Florence by neighborhoods and also one for Chianti….
Edible Tuscany- Certaldo
I am truly blessed. I live on a tiny hill in the middle of an olive orchard ( ok next to a creepy neighbor building the largest pizza oven of life which is becoming my new “view) in the heart of Tuscany. I don’t live in a huge house, but rather 1/3 of a old…
Edible Florence: Obica’ Mozzarella Bar
I had a student say to me that all they had been warned that all places downtown Florence are touristy and to stay away. It is not true, many trattoria’s, restaurants and wine bars are in the same place they have been for generations and happen to be visted by tourists as well as locals….