Pollypvt

I know Florence abounds with fantastic restaurants who pride themselves in cooking every element of what they serve from scratch, using only the freshest ingredients. The question is, how do I find them? To enjoy my time in Florence (four days), I absolutely need to make sure I eat all my meals in these types of restaurants! I tried to search various terms in this forum, but didn't see one that specifically addressed this question. If I missed a thread, please post. I dug up a couple of options on Google and I've been laboring through Trip Advisor recommendations. A friend recommended Fuor d'acqua. I'm leaving the 4th week of September and I'd like to have a list of potential good restaurants in hand when I leave. I don't feel well when I eat certain processed foods. If restaurants cook from scratch, I'll be fine.

I would love any and all tips for these types of restaurants in Florence. Any price point is fine. We're staying in the center near the river, but an out-of-the way place is okay. The only important thing is that the restaurants appear to value cooking delicious meals from scratch with whole foods.

Jean

Research the Slow Food movement.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g1...staurants.html

tuscanlifeedit

Try chowhound.com and search the Italy forum.

I have not eaten in Firenze recently, but did so regularly for several years. I can not recall eating any food that tasted as though it was made from processed ingredients.

Pollypvt

Thanks Jean. Good idea. I'll make my way through that list and check closer at slow food on Google. I had never heard of the Slow Food Movement until a couple of weeks ago when I started planning this trip. Funny, since I'm deep into slow-food here in VT, getting my organic vegetables from a local farm share and so on.

And thanks tuscanlifeedit. chowhound - completely new resource for me.

I ate my way through Greece with no problems 5 years ago, but I’m thinking Florence is a big city and perhaps not always farm-to-table. I don't want a second of my time in Italy dampened by a poor restaurant selection.

kybourbon

You look for this green symbol.
http://www.firenzeturismo.it/en/rist...na-fiorentina/

They have a list of the restaurants on the link, but there used to be a map with them marked before the redid the tourism website. I'll see if I can find it.

Pollypvt

Thanks kybourbon. On the site you posed I also found this article about organic Florence restaurants.

http://www.firenzeturismo.it/en/i-ri...ic-dishes.html

Very helpful. I went to the old site to look for a map and didn't find one either.

JBX

Perhaps a cooking class?? Then you'd know for sure what are ingredients. Have seen threads on this forum about 'Divina Cucina'
http://www.divinacucina.com/

JBX

Okay .... ran a search and this is a good thread. I know .... you're seeking restaurants, but thought this may be interesting activity, and likely the people who do this know the restaurants who are picking the fresh produce 'du jour' at marketplace.

One Day Cooking Class in Tuscany Region
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ion-please.cfm

Marija

We enjoyed this casual "biological" restaurant/wine bar in Florence:

http://www.vivandafirenze.it/

Pollypvt

Thanks JBX. I think this idea holds promise. For instance, I found a Florence restaurant list (and a Chianti list also) on Divina Cucina's site

http://www.divinacucina.com/galleria.html

I love to cook but we chose Italy, in part, so I can eat out! Eating out in the processed-food laden U.S. is more work than it's usually worth. I think Europeans pay more attention to how their foods are processed and are less tolerant of chemicals in/on foods. For instance, nearly anything which contains canned tomatoes in the U.S. contains Citric Acid (labelled as such or not). Italian brand Pomi tomatoes is the only commercial tomato I have found which does not contain (or process with) citric acid. European cheeses are often made with raw milk, rennet, salt (good!). The U.S. generally uses pasteurized milk, necessitating added "enzymes" to replace those lost during pasteurization. I'm miserable for hours after I eat citric acid or U.S. cheese. But - not after I eat Italian traditional cheeses!
: )

These ideas are very helpful!

Pollypvt

And, thanks Marija! Happy Cow and http://www.firenzeturismo.it and now you have Vivanda Gastronomia and it's in a good location.

ekscrunchy

Although most high-quality restaurants in Italy will offer food that you are seeking, there will never be a guarantee that they are serving house-made pasta, or not using cans of tomatoes in sauces (how else to make tomato sauce out of season, unless they have put up a store of their own canned and jarred produce). The San Marzano canned tomatoes that I use at home are very high quality and imported from Italy; they do contain citric acid. So I expect this will be true in Italian restaurant kitchens as well.

Perhaps you should make a list of specific ingredients that do not agree with you and we can advise here, and you can take this list with you in translation. And above, all, confer with the wait person before ordering.

One tip for receiving fresh food is to know what is in season--fruits, vegetables, fish, etc etc--and which products are from the immediate region, and order accordingly. Do not order artichokes in September, for example. From my reading here, it appears that many visitors do not heed that advice. I think that in general, menus in Italy are a guideline. I rarely place an actual order without asking about the day's specials, or what is best on that day.

aimeekm

I don't mean to take this thread off track, but you do realize that citric acid is not "processed" or a "chemical." It is the natural acid found in tomatoes off the vine, as well as citrus fruit. So when you add lime to a cerviche, you are adding citric acid, lime in guacamole, citric acid, lemon to freshly cut apples from my backyard to keep them from turning brown, citric acid. So you can't eat an orange, lemonade, chicken picatta, lemon meringue pie, squeeze of lemon over your fish?

>>canned tomatoes in the U.S. contains Citric Acid (labelled as such or not).<<
This is simply not true. All ingredients must be listed by law. Unless you are referring to naturally occurring citric acid. If so do you think Pomi tomatoes are different, special Italian tomatoes without naturally occurring citric acid?

I admire your desire to eat non-processed foods, like Twinkies & TV dinners, but to throw canned tomatoes into the same category is over reaching IMO.

Pollypvt

NATURAL citric acid squeezed from whole fruit or otherwise consumed from fruit/tomatoes is delightful! I can eat every bit of whole food on this earth except crabs.

I should have clarified what I meant by Citric Acid. Citric Acid, used by the American food industry, is a derivative of corn. It's a white powdered substance with the sneaky natural-looking name "citric acid". Commercial corn-derived Citric Acid is a low-cost alternative to pasteurizing, balances acidity in foods and is widely used as a preservative in the U.S. It's actually not exactly true that all ingredients must be listed by law. There are regulatory loopholes, depending on the specific ingredient. For instance, if a can of tomatoes containing citric acid is used in a recipe to make a commercial canned tomato sauce, listing commercial citric acid on the tomato sauce label is not required.

If canned tomatoes don't contain ADDED citric acid, I'm fine. The natural citric acid in tomatoes is not an issue. For instance, Pomi brand contains only tomatoes, nothing added.

Pollypvt

Thank you, thank you ekscrunchy! Yes, I have a simple list of ingredients I will ask the restaurant not to serve me (I will translate into Italian). And, it's a good idea to go with the daily special too - and find out what's in-season. I seem to do fine with packaged pasta. Thanks for letting me know some Italian canned tomatoes have added citric acid, so I can ask the wait person about their tomatoes. I don't want to bother the wait person with irrelevant questions. It's hard enough to wait on tourists all day! I'm glad to hear confirmation that higher quality restaurants generally cook from scratch with fresh foods. I thought this might be the case, but I was not certain. I can live without artichokes in September - thanks for the tip.

Pollypvt

A Fordorite emailed me this slow food link. The site includes some links to restaurant lists and guide books.

www.slowtrav.com

PeaceOut

We have like this restaurant and recommended it to foodie friends who went there twice in one week, because they loved it:

http://garga.it/trattoria-1.html

According to its website, it also meets your criteria. They offer a one-day cooking class, which I know you don't want, but it does give more credibility to their talent.

It is somewhat hidden on a side street, so you will need the exact address to find it.

ekscrunchy

Why don't you give us the list of ingredients that you want to avoid and we can attempt to offer a few tips..

Pollypvt

PeaceOut - oh, yes, this place looks quite good. Thanks! I agree that cooking classes give credibility. Google is great for mapping walking directions. Google street view even shows the quaint ally it's on!

ekscrunchy - You're right. Most of the Italian canned tomatoes in my local store list citric acid on their label. This is the list of ingredients I'll ask restaurants not to serve me in Italy. I don't even bother to make a U.S. travel list, because it would be too long. I may add canned tomatoes to the list. And, sadly, vinegar and olives are on the list. Olive oil is a staple for me, but olives are fermented and preserved in either vinegar or citric acid. I do okay with a few oil cured olives at night, but I'll probably skip them in Italy. : (

Maggi products
Knorr products
Ajinomoto
Monosodium glutamate (E621)
Hydrolyzed protein
Salad dressing
soup base or bouillon cube
Clam juice (from a can or carton)
Citric acid (not from fresh lemons, limes, or oranges)

Anything fermented, including:
olives
capers
pickles
sauerkraut
vinegar
balsamic vinegar
Worcestershire sauce
soy sauce

PeaceOut

Polly, here is my note about my visit to Trattoria Garga,
"... Trattoria Garga on Via del Moro 48/R, phone 055 2398898. We had an amazing meal there, probably my best in Italy. My dish was veal with avocado, which sounds odd (most really good dishes do, I think), and was mouth-watering. Our waiter was a riot-- singing and joking all over the restaurant. It was a friendly, lively, bustling atmosphere with excellent food. We paid 81EUR for two, with a half-liter of house wine."