After a week of absence, Jacqueline and I were reunited Saturday. That evening, a few of us went to a Mexican restaurant called Tijuana. The best way to describe our food was Mexican food, Italian style. The salsa reminded me of tomato sauce, imagine that. The place was called Tijuana, enough said.
The next day we headed to the Boboli gardens on one of the hottest days we’ve had so far. After a few hours of touring, we were starved and of course decided to travel all the way across Florence for what the travel guide said was one of the best pizzas here. Jacqueline and I are very willing to go great lengths for deliciousness. The ingredients came from the Naples region and it was a local favorite, how could anyone go wrong? The walked seemed like it went on forever, but it was definitely worth it. The indoor seating of the restaurant was decorated to look like a quaint, southern Italian town. The decorations were complete with brick walls, street signs, hanging laundry and iron gates. The pizza was amazing, and most definitely worth the long walk back. Jacqueline had a vegetarian pizza and I had a traditional Margherita pizza. (FYI: If the pizza doesn’t have basil, it’s not a true Margherita pizza. Would an Italian flag be Italian without the green? Didn’t think so.) The crust was airy and crispy and the sauce was light and tomato-y. The pizza was cooked in a huge flaming oven by a man who “looked like he enjoyed his pizzas” (Jacqueline’s words).
On our way home we stopped at the 2nd best gelateria in Florence called Perche no? (why not?...exactly our thought process). Jacqueline got blackberry and lemon and I got a watermelon granita (a kind of Italian slushee, which I know how to make!). These gelaterias only use the best ingredients, which is why they are so popular. The fruit gelatos truly taste like you are eating the actual fruit and are incredibly refreshing after a hot day. One of the reasons gelato tastes better than ice cream is because it is served at a slightly warmer temperature, allowing you to enjoy the flavor of the ice cream as opposed to suffering from frost bite.
For dinner we went to a restaurant that we’ve been waiting to go to for a week. Quattro Leoni had been written up in every book and was highly recommended by my teacher. Jacqueline, Alyssa and I had tried going there before but we were turned away because we didn’t have reservations. We left in awe after previewing the most gorgeous tomatoes I have ever seen. They were such a bright red and looked too perfect to be eaten. Back to our dinner. We started with tomato bruschetta with those amazing tomatoes. This appetizer is one of the reasons why I love Italy so much. Everything is so fresh and produce is only eaten when it’s in season. That is one of the reasons Italian cooking is so simple; there is no reason to cover up something that already tastes good straight from the market. Jacqueline and Colleen both got gazpacho, a cold, tomato-based soup. With a hint of bell pepper and carrot, the soup was definitely something you want to eat on a hot day. Alyssa got panzanella, a traditional summer salad made with tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and day old bread soaked in water and then crumbled and tossed with the vegetables. This recipe added some celery for an extra refreshing bite. I attempted to order grilled chicken and spinach but only ever got the spinach, which was very sad since I’ve been looking forward to this restaurant. [editor's note: Jac did ask multipule times if Elizabeth would like her to inquire after the polo...] The meal was redeemed by the pear and chocolate tart I had for dessert.
That’s it for now, but I’ll leave you with a simple recipe for panzanella. Toss diced tomatoes, onion and cucumber in a bowl with chopped basil. Add some oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Soak day old bread for a few minutes in cold water and then squeeze out the excess water. Crumble the bread into the bowl, mix everything together and enjoy!
-Elizabeth
editor's note: Tell Elizabeth she is a good writer because we want more food bits in the blog. I mean it only took three weeks of nagging to get her to write this one. Below is a photo of our risoto (Chicken, green bean and parmezan by Elizabeth) and a dish I had at the castle in Chianti (however, it was so disappointing I rather not bring it up again....) dinner last night. I'll try to upload more pictures from the Mexican resturant and 4 Leoni, however they are on liz's camera.
1 comment:
DELICIOUS! I'm hungry now.
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