Dan

My wife and I will be in Venice and Florence in Sept. for the first time and are wondering where to eat & how to order decent meals without meat. Most of the restaurant recommendations in Fodors or in posted messages seem to mention meat dishes. We would be appreciative of any info or recommendations. Thanks!

David

We ate at Ruth's in Florence last week. All vegetarian. Excellent food.<BR>While not vegetarian, we had an excellent meal at Cafe Piti across from the Piti Palace. Marco was our waiter and the service was top-notch. We had ravioli with fresh truffles.

Marj

Just about all restaurants offer many dishes with meat. It won't be a problem at all.

Leslie

I agree with Marj. Our son is vegetarian but we are not. He had no trouble ordering at all the the restaurants we visited - pastas, pizza, calzone, salads, antipasti, etc. Now, if you are trying to avoid cheese, your choices narrow a bit, but still plenty.<BR><BR>Also, many, if not most, restaurants post their menus outside so you'll be able to see the options before you go in.

Marj

i just notice my typo, my post should read "without meat", not "with meat".

Lucille

(My experience is from Venice). Italian is not -by nature or history- a meat rich cuisine. Many of the pasta preparations have no meat (tomato based, pesto, cream, eggplant, etc.). Salads like tomato/mozzarella/basil are common. Lots of sandwiches offered~ tomato/hard boiled egg and grilled vegetables ready-made at the cafes and stand-up sidewalk places.<BR><BR>But if you are vegan, now than THAT will/would be more difficult.

Agree

Yup, there's plenty of vegetarian food in Italy. It's probably one of the easiest countries to find vegetarian cuisine. while often times there will be a meat dish as the second plate, the primo piatti typically offers plenty of vegetarian options. just ask for food that is "senza carne" or "without meat," if you don't understand the menu or something.