Hello All -
The countdown is on until the family trip to Italy, eight days and we are off. The times that I have been the best meals I have had weren't places in a guidebook (no offense to the sponsor of the site) but places I stumbled upon taking a wrong turn somewhere. So I ask your expert advice, what are the best small "hole-in-the-wall" restaurants you have eaten in Rome, Florence, Catania, and Agrigento.

Thanks for the help!!

In Florence: Zio Gi-Gi's. Not far from the Duomo. Good food, decent prices, friendly service. For something more elegant and more expensive near the Ponte Vecchio: Buca de l'Orafalo -- you'll need reservations. It's in an alley on the main-city side of the bridge.

In Florence, your best bet for a hole-in-the-wall type of restaurant is Nerbonne inside the San Lorenzo market.

This is a classic eatery stall inside the market, complete with communal tables. Freshly prepared foods for the day, mostly Tuscan specialties, are available. The tripe dish and the boiled beef sandwich dipped au jus is nowhere near anything that's comparable here in the US. Grab a tray, just point and ask for the dishes that appeal to you, order a carafe of their house red/white and sit and enjoy your meal with local workers at the communal table. Experience tasty, freshly-prepared, good and hearty Tuscan dishes without spending a fortune.

BTW, this one is open only until the indoor market remains open, say about 4 pm.

I will second Zio Gigi in Florence.
As for Rome, if you turn down any side street off a piazza, you will find all the hole-in-the-wall restaurants you want. "I have never had a bad meal in Rome" is my DH's new mantra.

I'll second Buca del'Orafo near the Ponte Vecchio. Delicious ribollita and artichoke omelettes. Not cheap but everything we have ever had there over the course of several meals has been excellent.

bkm