For mia sorrella...hot chocolate at Cafe places?
Mar 3rd, 2010, 10:46 AM
#2
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 165
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Yes! Cioccolata Calda - it's like a melted chocolate bar (with whipped cream). They make an inredible Cioccolata Caldo at Rivoire in the Piazza signoria in Florence.
Also Bicerìn - a drink you can find in coffee bars in the north is made up of dense hot cocoa, espresso and cream all i a small glass. (Sometimes they might skip the cocoa and just put a dollop of gelato cioccolata in it!)
Also Bicerìn - a drink you can find in coffee bars in the north is made up of dense hot cocoa, espresso and cream all i a small glass. (Sometimes they might skip the cocoa and just put a dollop of gelato cioccolata in it!)
Mar 3rd, 2010, 10:51 AM
#3
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,453
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Specialty drinks like the cioccolata calda and the bicerin described above are not available at your run-of-the-mill coffee bar, but your average bar can rustle up an average hot chocolate with a powdered mix.
Mar 3rd, 2010, 11:03 AM
#4
hi kasialouise,
on our recent trip to Rome [sigh!] we tested out a lot of cioccolata calda because DS won't drink coffee. as Zerlina says, it is widely available, but is variable in quality.
DS expressed himself as satisfied with what he got wherever we went, but some places were better than others - some offered a choice of difference types, of whipped cream to add to it, or were just very thick - his favourite.
none approached the one he had in Venice, though!
on our recent trip to Rome [sigh!] we tested out a lot of cioccolata calda because DS won't drink coffee. as Zerlina says, it is widely available, but is variable in quality.
DS expressed himself as satisfied with what he got wherever we went, but some places were better than others - some offered a choice of difference types, of whipped cream to add to it, or were just very thick - his favourite.
none approached the one he had in Venice, though!
Mar 3rd, 2010, 11:20 AM
#5
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 2,063
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Mar 3rd, 2010, 11:56 AM
#7
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,422
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The best bars serving Italian hot chocolate are (unsurprisingly) in Italy's best centers of chocolate making -- like Torino and Perugia -- or in closer cultural contact with Switzerland (Milano and Genova).
Many bars in Central and Northern Italy have special machines and menus for a thick, hot chocolate made with all kinds of flavors (rum, hazlenut, raspberry, etc.) These are brand name drinks, stocked by the cafe, not original creations.
Lastly, a number of bars will make hot chocolate from ground chocolate and sugar plus steamed milk, or a powdered mix. The quality of the chocolate used and the skill of the barista makes the difference.
The further south you are, and the warmer the weather, you get less and less likely to find hot chocolate except in the famous places in the north and Perugia where tourists go to taste it.
Many bars in Central and Northern Italy have special machines and menus for a thick, hot chocolate made with all kinds of flavors (rum, hazlenut, raspberry, etc.) These are brand name drinks, stocked by the cafe, not original creations.
Lastly, a number of bars will make hot chocolate from ground chocolate and sugar plus steamed milk, or a powdered mix. The quality of the chocolate used and the skill of the barista makes the difference.
The further south you are, and the warmer the weather, you get less and less likely to find hot chocolate except in the famous places in the north and Perugia where tourists go to taste it.
Mar 3rd, 2010, 01:25 PM
#8
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 2,063
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Tiggy22
Our Italian friends moved back to Turin from the UK, we visited them in October. It's another example of why Italy is made up of 34 different countries. Try doing as we did and drive from Milan then get out of the car in Turin. You would not believe you were in the same country.
Turin is most conservative place I have ever encoutered. It is highly structured and very gentile. I don't think D & G do much business here, this is Zegna country.
The long avenues and the grid system with large palaces give it a totally different feel than other Italian cities. It is Florence with well planned space but feels more Germanic.
I loved it.
We then took the full Italian cultural grand tour and flew on to Catania which was like another continent rather than a different country.
Our Italian friends moved back to Turin from the UK, we visited them in October. It's another example of why Italy is made up of 34 different countries. Try doing as we did and drive from Milan then get out of the car in Turin. You would not believe you were in the same country.
Turin is most conservative place I have ever encoutered. It is highly structured and very gentile. I don't think D & G do much business here, this is Zegna country.
The long avenues and the grid system with large palaces give it a totally different feel than other Italian cities. It is Florence with well planned space but feels more Germanic.
I loved it.
We then took the full Italian cultural grand tour and flew on to Catania which was like another continent rather than a different country.
Mar 3rd, 2010, 01:33 PM
#9
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 14,748
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My favorite cioccolata calda in Florence is at Dolci & Dolcezze
Piazza Beccaria Cesare, 8r. Kind of out of the way for the normal visitor, but if you find yourself in the area, this is a gorgeous bijou pastry shop with wondrous cappucino and hot chocolate.
A big disappointment to me was the hot chocolate at Rivoire. Mine wasn't even warm when it got to me, and I thought had a powdery taste. Tiggy, I'm glad you had a better cup than I did!
Piazza Beccaria Cesare, 8r. Kind of out of the way for the normal visitor, but if you find yourself in the area, this is a gorgeous bijou pastry shop with wondrous cappucino and hot chocolate.
A big disappointment to me was the hot chocolate at Rivoire. Mine wasn't even warm when it got to me, and I thought had a powdery taste. Tiggy, I'm glad you had a better cup than I did!
Mar 3rd, 2010, 06:45 PM
#11
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 14,748
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
kasialouise: I hate to be the one to say this, because the internet is full of praise for Trattoria da Rocca in the Sant Ambrogio market, but all I can say is, meh.
Most of the food is pre-made, although it is homemade. Meatballs that were mostly missing meat, decent sauce on the pasta but the pasta was par boiled before being served.
Lots of people waiting to eat there, and lots of them are old. It seems like a Florence tradition for locals. Kind of like here in my home city, everyone says "go to Primanti's" but if you go to Primanti's you're getting a local, kind of average, old fashioned favorite, that isn't really all that delicious.
If you've frequented the Mercato Centrale, you won't find as much or as colorful displays of foods and merchants at Sant Ambrogio. You won't find any tourists either, but again, it's like saying "go to the A&P if you want to see authentic whatever-city-in-America." It's pretty authentic, but so is the electric company office, if you get my meaning.
There is an interesting little flea market, permanent, in that direction. I'll look up the name if you'd like. It's small and a bit tatty on non-market days, but worth a duck-in if your in the neighborhood.
What about Trattoria Cibreo? I've never been there, but I've walked by a few times.
IMO, the cioccolata calda at Dolci & Dolecezze is the best reason to stray in that direction.
However, if you haven't been in Florence multiple times, and spent a good amount of time there, I might suggest that visiting certain churches and museums, or going up to Fiesole, or to the San Frediano district, or up into the hills in the direction of San Miniato al Monte/Piazza Michelangelo would be a better use of your time.
I'm not sorry that I strayed toward the main post office, or Sant Ambrogio market, or any of these places, but at the time, I was spending a lot of time in Florence, going every winter, and enjoyed getting out into the more workaday city.
I hope this isn't too much information. And it really is just my opinions and experience. I know that I've read a lot about Sant Ambrogio and the trat there, and folks do rave about this "authentic" slice of Florence.
Most of the food is pre-made, although it is homemade. Meatballs that were mostly missing meat, decent sauce on the pasta but the pasta was par boiled before being served.
Lots of people waiting to eat there, and lots of them are old. It seems like a Florence tradition for locals. Kind of like here in my home city, everyone says "go to Primanti's" but if you go to Primanti's you're getting a local, kind of average, old fashioned favorite, that isn't really all that delicious.
If you've frequented the Mercato Centrale, you won't find as much or as colorful displays of foods and merchants at Sant Ambrogio. You won't find any tourists either, but again, it's like saying "go to the A&P if you want to see authentic whatever-city-in-America." It's pretty authentic, but so is the electric company office, if you get my meaning.
There is an interesting little flea market, permanent, in that direction. I'll look up the name if you'd like. It's small and a bit tatty on non-market days, but worth a duck-in if your in the neighborhood.
What about Trattoria Cibreo? I've never been there, but I've walked by a few times.
IMO, the cioccolata calda at Dolci & Dolecezze is the best reason to stray in that direction.
However, if you haven't been in Florence multiple times, and spent a good amount of time there, I might suggest that visiting certain churches and museums, or going up to Fiesole, or to the San Frediano district, or up into the hills in the direction of San Miniato al Monte/Piazza Michelangelo would be a better use of your time.
I'm not sorry that I strayed toward the main post office, or Sant Ambrogio market, or any of these places, but at the time, I was spending a lot of time in Florence, going every winter, and enjoyed getting out into the more workaday city.
I hope this isn't too much information. And it really is just my opinions and experience. I know that I've read a lot about Sant Ambrogio and the trat there, and folks do rave about this "authentic" slice of Florence.
Mar 4th, 2010, 01:17 PM
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 129
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
tuscanlifeedit,
Not too much information. Thank you. I'm dragging my 4 travel companions all over Florence even though I've never been there, so your review is most helpful. We are in an apartment in Oltrarno for 5 nights and only booked to see David. We would love to just wander.
Not too much information. Thank you. I'm dragging my 4 travel companions all over Florence even though I've never been there, so your review is most helpful. We are in an apartment in Oltrarno for 5 nights and only booked to see David. We would love to just wander.
Mar 4th, 2010, 06:15 PM
#13
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 14,748
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Oh, then make sure you wander toward the Bracacci Chapel, Piazza Tasso, and then Vecchia Bettola. This is a very nice wander in a very authentic part of Florence that is also more atmospheric and fun for visitors.
Mar 5th, 2010, 10:38 AM
#14
hi kasialouise,
if you like wandering, then do wander up to Fiesole...great views over florence, the roman amphitheatre, the basilica, the monastery with its weird museum in the basement...
you can catch the bus from the piazza san marco [see the frescos first in the monastery, open only in the mornings] and it takes about 30 mins to get up there. there is a great cafe on the corner of the square where it meets via cavour, and another that does a very cheap cafe corretto just by the bus stop.
have a great trip
regards, ann
if you like wandering, then do wander up to Fiesole...great views over florence, the roman amphitheatre, the basilica, the monastery with its weird museum in the basement...
you can catch the bus from the piazza san marco [see the frescos first in the monastery, open only in the mornings] and it takes about 30 mins to get up there. there is a great cafe on the corner of the square where it meets via cavour, and another that does a very cheap cafe corretto just by the bus stop.
have a great trip
regards, ann
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
LOTRHP
Europe
10
Oct 2nd, 2007 05:33 PM
