Cheap Eats for College Student in Florence
 

My son is a college student in Florence this year, and is on his own for meals Thursday through Sunday. He is already complaining about the cost of the restaurants and that he really hasn't found anything too great yet. I'm sure you all can help him. He loves pizza, pasta, meat, fish, really anything! His school is near the Academia, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind going out of his way for a good, cheap meal. Thanks so much, from Mom and Dad who are sending the money!

Hello Mercers, imagine your son like most young men has a big appetite.

Does your son know that when he goes to a bar for espresso or some kind of coffee or drink plus a snack that if he stands at the bar versus sitting at a table the cost is about 50% less?

San Lorenzo Market (and there are other markets) is a place he can buy various foods such as cheese, meat, produce etc.

Pizza can be purchased by the slice usually.

Bakeries of course sell breads and rolls etc. With his purchase of meats, cheese etc. he can make himself a nice sandwich. Although I have never looked for one in Florence most places in Italy have deli's where he can buy various prepared foods which would be less expensive then eating in restaurants.

Also, I am not familar with it personally but there is a book called Cheap Eats in Florence. Imagine you could order that through Amazon. That might give him some ideas. Best wishes.

Hi Mercers, just returned from Florence and have 2 suggestions for your son, 1) Da Nerbone in the San Lorenzo market has boiled meat sandwiches with pesto which are delicious and only about 2-3 euro and really large and filling. Also I found an olive oil store across from Leonardo Da Vinci school (abt. 1/2 block down) on Via Bufalini (del Pucci) which is a sandwich store in the back and alot of students were in there. The sandwiches they were making looked amazing and under 5 euro. Hope this helps.
JenV

My thoughts are along the same lines but since I have not been specifically to Florence I was being shy. Shop grocery stores and/or open air markets for picnic type lunch or dinner foods. Also for snacks and between meal treats to keep at his room. Bakeries and delis that have pre-made sandwiches another good option, maybe not quite as cheap as the store but less than in a restaurant. How about having your bigger hot meal at lunch (if you are eating in a restaurant) instead of dinner? And look for any workers cafes or fixed-price menus.

Check for Pizza shops selling: PIZZA AL TAGLIO (pizza by the slice).

Also, some NORCINERIA or ALIMENTARI or SALUMERIA sell lots of good products like salami, prosciutto, bologna, cheese and bread. HE can ask for a PANINO with the stuff that he wants (I remember when I was at high school we would always go to such places and ask for a panino col salame (salami sandwich), panino col prosciutto cotto (cured ham sandwich), panino col prosciutto crudo (prosciutto sandwich), panino con la mortadella (bologna sandwich), panino con prosciutto e formaggio (ham and cheese sandwich), etc... The shop keeper would take a panino (in ROme area there are the rosette, but other parts of Italy you can find other kinds of breads), cut it in half, and then slice whatever you wanted in the panino. The cost was very convenient and the food good. And surely better than going to a restaurant.

It might be worth your son's time to follow the custom of some of the workers in the area and check out the "tavalo calda" or hot table restaurants-they are very simple, hidden in back alleys, often and there are several nr the bus side of the train station-just follow the uniformed workers at lunch time...

Yes, tavalo calda, another good idea for your son Mercers. With some investigation and all these good thoughts he should be able to eat well and healthy.

yes, TAVOLA CALDA is also pretty good and inexpensive, as well as the PANINOTECA (place where they sell sandwiches).

I can tell him what NOT to do: Last summer my wife and I stopped for gelato in the main square. When the ice cream scoopist asked what size dish we wanted, we pointed at the second biggest (of 5 sizes). When we take our purchases to the register, we flipped when we were told 10 euros............each!!! The most expensive ice cream I ever had. $25.00 for about a pint of gelato.

But I have to admit, it just might've been the best I ever had. And with temperatures hovering near 100 degrees, it didn't last long.

Thanks to all. I will pass along all of your suggestions. And to Zeus, I talked to my son yesterday and he said he has been eating gelato every day--hope he hasn't been spending 10 euros each time! He has already figured out that some are better than others. A refined palate, for sure!

I don't know if its every night but on one friday in Florence we went for a drink in Cafe Aromo at around five and they started putting these mountians of bowls perched on top of eachother every thrisd person around the bar and then started handing out small dishes of pasta to everyone in the cafe. This was a type of Happy hour and we were so full we could not eat dinner. Mostly sausages, salami, veg finger type food in the bowls and the hot pasta on small plates was a penne cream with bacon. I am assuming there are other stuidents studying there with him so they will find their way around as a group.

I was going to recommend what siobhanp suggested. While I am not a student, I am a resident of Italy, and therefore on an Italian salary (which is quite low). And so...when I was poor and living in Genoa for 2 years, my colleagues and I learned which bars offered the best "aperitivo" buffets/snacks. You kind of need to buy one drink (in Genoa they were about 5 EURO per drink) but then you had access to all the yummy snacks (pasta, pizza, sausages, french fries, focaccia, frittata, little sandwiches, etc) on the buffet! Some bars do not have a buffet, but will bring all the snacks to your table. We found that many times, the aperitivo snacks would be plenty enough for dinner! All for 5 EURO!

Now, I live just outside of Florence in Pistoia, and I am really not sure of the "aperitivo scene" in Florence. I'm not sure if it was a Genoa thing, or if this is done all over italy. But if your son can find some bars in Florence that have good aperitivo buffets, they are cheap, yummy, and usually fun atmospheres!