Ciao Firenze!

    Having spent the last few weeks in Italy on a last minute decision to abandon all my US responsibilities, there was much experienced, learned, tolerated, and enjoyed.  It was not the romantic last minute vacation that everyone seems to expect of us young, single, thirty-somethings...although we ate great food, we walked what seemed like10 miles a day, we ate more great food, and we walked some more.  While I am happy to feel the clean fluffy carpet once again beneath my toes in my quiet apartment here in downtown Cleveland, I miss some of the grittiness and the humanity that Italy imparts.  

    There is no way to ignore the expressions of human life which reverberate throughout Italy, those which are so cleansed, starched and even looked down upon here in America.  While there is the corner baker, and butcher that in Italy you grow to know quiet well (even in the biggest cities)... here in America, we shop at Costco, and Safeway- and we stick to ourselves.  In Italy there is the evening passeggiata, when the streets fill with people, shopping, walking, and enjoying the evening after their day of work.  Here in America, after work people are rushing home to have those last few hours of the day to themselves, before they have to start all over again so early the next day.  On a 95 degree day in Rome, Italy, business men show small sweat marks through in their designer dress shirts as they glide along the sidewalks at high noon to the nearest bar for a bite to eat.  After all, energy is expensive and it is just a little sweat...while in America, we blast our air conditioners so that we need to wear sweaters to the office...being hot is gross.  This same Italian embrace of human life is of course reflected in Italian food and cooking. It is simple, but yet overwhelmingly fresh and flavorful.

   At the amazing Artevita B&B on the Oltrarno side of Florence, Italy, with the help of our BnB owner, Leonardo, we were able to sample many of the neighborhood's very authentic (non-touristy) trattorias, rotisseries, and of course pizzerias.  Two of our all time favorite dishes across the trip were the pollo arrosto con patate (roasted chicken with potatoes), 

(which we had a few times) 

and the fiore di zucca fritte (fried squash blossoms). These were also stuffed with warm ricotta cheese and anchovies, so that you get that rich salty filling with every crispy bite.

While over our many 95 degree days, I became very attached to the Caprese salad with my absolute favorite, Buffalo-milk mozzarella, and fresh super flavorful tomatoes,

I am actually most missing the perfectly foamy morning espresso 

and biscotti.

Brian actually attempted filling his morning cornetto with prosciutto and Nutella...He may actually have an idea there.

After a long day climbing to the top of the Piazzale Michelangelo, and vising the Boboli Gardens ( still 95 degrees and no shade).  It was time for a little taste of Napoli in Florence.  We stopped at the recommended Gusta Pizza, just outside the Pitti Palace.  I once again had to order the buffala mozzarella with arugula, while we also shared the margherita.  It was even better than it looks.  

  

While Florence was only just one stop on our Italian adventure, it always seems to leave an impression on me, as much as I never think that it will.  I am not sure if it is the quaint streets, or the Florentine fashion or just the amazing food (stay tuned for a post on Il Latini) and friendly people..or perhaps a little of it all.  For many more recommendations in Florence, feel free to comment. 

Buona notte Firenze, A Presto.      

        

Pickle Love

I have to thank my dad for passing on the love of pickles.  He was always the one to be sure we had a good supply of olives, pickles, pickled beets, and other such Italian antipasti.  Before dinner was ready, we would pull out the olives, etc and enjoy a few of the briny, salty, crunchy delicacies while we finished cooking.  

One of my favorite unassuming spots in New York city is The Pickle Guys.  They are at the corner of Essex and Grand on the Lower East side. We go out of the way to stop here every time we are in the city. That would include asking the cab to drop us off here, on our way in from the airport.  At the time this tiny pickle shop happened to also be filled with a field trip of third-graders, backpacks and all. But knowing that it was going to be our only chance for a visit, we squeezed in with all of our luggage too.

You may not think that you are a pickle fan until you get here.  Just in terms of pickles, there are a few different types from big to small, and almost anywhere on the scale from hot to sweet...but there is so much more than pickles. There are many different olives, including stuffed olives, 

pickled peppers, okra, garlic, tomatillos, Giardinera, 

and the list goes on.  

In this small hole in the wall shop, there are barrels and barrels lined up.  You tell the pickle guy what you want and he will scoop if up, not to mention offer you a taste of whatever you like.  The special of the day, when I was there, was pickled pineapple!

 Since we rarely make it out to The Pickle Guys we picked up some reserves to last us for the trip home.  We left with two pints of olives: Kalamata, 

and jalapeno stuffed green olives.  

A1/2 pint of pepperoncini (that were nearly gone by the end of the day),and one pint of the sweet gherkins. Crunchy, sweet, and addicting. 

They do a fantastic job of packing the containers for you to take home, near or far...and no matter how far you go, you will definitely be back.
  

Pleasure at Prune

   After reading the incredible novel/autobiography, Blood, Bones and Butter, written by the now quite well known chef, Gabrielle Hamilton, I had the greatest opportunity to actually visit her tiny East Village eatery, Prune.  Blood, Bones, and Butter is a fantastic memoir about Gabrielle's life as a "reluctant" chef as she calls it.  Her tough but passionate personality comes out in her book, like no other, especially one written by a chef.  There is no dragging on with recipes, and droning on about the hard kitchen life.  She talks about its difficulty, but shows how she loves it and how she hates it, while making you do the same.  Her honesty and her straight-forwardness shines through in her writing and makes you want to know her, work with her, and be her friend all at once.  After reading the last page of her novel a few weeks ago, I immediately called Prune and reserved a spot for lunch.  If you haven't read her book, you need to.
 It was a beautiful but nonetheless sweltering late spring morning as we jumped out of the cab at the end of 2nd Ave and East 1st St..  As I began walking down the long block, passing through the neighborhood, I was slightly wondering if I had the address wrong.  A few homeless men were sitting in the corner of the alley patting the sweat from their foreheads.  A 1/2 of a block more, and there it was.  The small, humble Prune.

 It was light, airy and quaint inside, with hardwood flooring and antique mirrors lined along the wall. There were two waitresses, each with their hair gently pulled back looking neat and trim. There were few more than 25 seats in the place, but not packed full... as it was when we left.

  

Gabrielle flashed a smile at us, and ran out the door with a clipboard and a bag on her shoulder, as we were seated in a corner window and handed the small pink menu.  The menu is simple, fresh, and unintimidating.  We chose the Avocado Sandwich and the Hamburger.  The avocado was so deliciously displayed open face on a long slice of thick fresh French bread, covered in lots of chopped avocado, halved cherry tomatoes, olive oil, ricotta cheese, lemon, sesame and poppy seeds... providing a hearty yet dainty lunch.  "Just your style", Brian said.

 The juicy hamburger was 20% lamb, and placed delicately on a crispy toasted English muffin spread lightly with parsley and shallot butter. The fries were thin, hot, crispy and salty... as fries should be.  For both plates we were also provided with a very nice (and bright) serrated knife, which made slicing through the French bread and burger fun and easy.

As the hot sun shined through the front window, the air-conditioner hummed, easily holding off the heat from the fireball in the sky outside and the kitchen stove inside.  By the time we finished the last of our ice water and signed the check, there were people waiting for our table. After having experienced Gabrielle's life so beautifully through her words, it was so satisfying to finally have experienced it again through her food. 

              

Humble, Heavenly, Floriole

    Sometime you come across a diamond in the rough.  While Chicago is not exactly what I would refer to as the rough, well not all of it, that is, Floriole is definitely a gem.  It is a small, simply decorated, and perfectly clean bakery very near to DePaul University, and not far from the beautiful Lincoln Park. 

 The white marble counter tops and dark wood flooring, accent the tall ceilings and large front windows looking out on to the quaint Webster street.  Floriole started out with only a tented stand at the famous Green City market, and grew into their beautiful space in spring of 2010.  

  As we arrived in the late afternoon, I was expecting the place to be rather quiet, and rather out of their daily baked goods.  However, the bakery was actually quiet busy, and they thankfully still had plenty for me to eat!  After a 6 hour drive in the cloudy drizzle, my cappuccino never tasted so delicious.

  

The steamed milk was perfectly thick and creamy, while the coffee was rich and smooth.  I sliced into a vanilla cake which was slightly sweet (but not too), with a caramel hint.  It was a bit crispy on the outside, while fluffy and moist inside. I could have easily eaten three.

I also got a small Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookie, that was the most amazing cookie I have ever tasted.  It was two incredibly moist small peanut better cookies held together with a slather of fresh berry jam.  I was planning to save it for later, but I ended up sneaking a bite, and then buying another... 

    While it is a bakery, they do more than just sweets.  Brian went for the savory side of things with a fresh baguette sandwich, and a freshly brewed pomegranate-green tea.  

  

We tried a few other things and left the bakery with a few snacks for later.  The rhubarb crisp was so fresh, but yet rich and buttery with a shadow of nutty brown sugar.  We ended up snacking on this slowly...for the next two days.

While their special of the day was Madelines,

 I could not pass up the brioche loaf, as I have become a brioche fanatic in the past year or so.  This was no let down.  It was soft, fluffy and perfect to eat with sweet jam, savory avocado, or just on its own.

Thanks Floriole, for welcoming us so warmly into the Windy City....and the pouring/cold/thundering Memorial Day weekend.  If only the rest of our weekend has gone as lovely, I would not right now have to be so concerned about paying this City of Chicago parking ticket. 

Toronto Travels

Although it still feels (and looks) like winter, this weekend, we took a last minute ride out of town with our two friends (Raji and Dilshire) to visit our lovely neighbor to the north, Canada.  About an hour and a half after an 11pm boarder crossing and a few jokes from the boarder agent about Brian's model-like passport picture, we finally arrived in Toronto.  This was my first trip to the city, and what a fantastic place, especially if you take an interest in great restaurants, fabulous food markets and artisan specialty products.  Not to mention some beautiful scenery, great shopping, and museums.  

Even after a late night/early morning arrival, we slept a few hours and got up to start out on our day of sightseeing.  First stop was the St. Lawrence Market, which is a huge indoor market selling all types of food, and related items of all sorts.

There were many different freshly picked vegetables, and warm breads just out of the oven.

The pasta shop was making spinach and ricotta ravioli.

After lots of shopping and a little tasting. We grabbed a fruit smoothie and headed towards our next stop, about 1/2 a mile away...the historic Distillery District. 

After hearing some amazing recommendations from my fellow bloggers, we were headed to SOMA chocolates for some really amazing treats (perfect, just in time for lunch).  SOMA is one of the few chocolate makers in North America that makes chocolate in small batches, directly from the cacao bean (Bean to Bar).  You can watch some of their production through the glass right in the shop.  

They make an incredible assortment of chocolates, Italian cookies, hot cocoa and even some cocoa covered corn nuts! 

  

We continued the day meandering through the streets, stopping to eat and shop, and take in Toronto life for this very short trip.

Before we knew it, the sun was setting, and our legs were worn out. 

We made a last stop at Reposado tequila bar, before calling it a day.  

I am not even a big fan of tequila, but the bar was very eclectic and the drinks were fantastic. A perfect way to end the day.  If you have any favorites in Toronto, please share.  I have a feeling I will be back soon.