maitaitom: Il latini is still very reasonable. It was one of the least expensive meals we had in Italy, It was about 70euros for the 4 of us. I wish I had been there when you were having your Dean Martin sing-along!

lulu: Statia's information is correct. www.venicerentals.com. I thought Denise and Maurizio were both great.

betsy: I think you would have a great time at Il Latini. It would be a great way to meet lots of other people.

Shana,
Loved your description of La Giostra in Florence. We're going in April & I'm looking for restaurants that are reasonably priced, like your description of Il Latini. Is La Giostra in that category or more expensive?
Grazie!
Ellen

Great, funny report.

Particularly enjoyed your observations about the orange pants.

eab;

La Giostra was about twice as expensive as Il Latini, but the food is also twice as good, so it was well worth it. We also had more expensive wine there, so that may have upped the euros on the bill, too. Make sure you make a reservation if you decide to go.

Shana, wonderful, honest first hand report. I loved your breaking it up into categories.

Shana,

Fabulous report - a fun read as well as informative - you've got style!

I'm thankful to read that I'm not the only one wondering about the sanity of people posing with pigeons on their heads in Venice. Each time I've seen this I've thought "if these people were at home and a pigeon landed on their head, they would FREAK OUT"!

Regards,

Melodie

Shana,

Just reading your thread now...thanks

Two questions:

1) Does La Giostra really require a coat and tie for dinner?

2) Do you have an address/phone for L'Orso '80?

I agree about L'Orso 80. We had reservations at Al 34,nearer the Spanish Steps, and coming from the other side of Tiber, got lost and found ourselves near Piazza Navonna. We turned and found ourselves down narrow walks and stumbled upon L'Orso 80 which I had on my list of restaurants found at this site. It was just before opening and the waiters were eating. They told us to wait til 7:30 and then we went in.
My sister is a vegetarian and she had no problem eating because the antipasti was fabulous! She ate and ate and even drank half a bottle of wine: a first for her. By 8:30, the place was packed and noisy but we were enjoying the food and the service so much, we just kept ordering. One of my great memories of our week in Rome.

We were disapponted in Gusto, and found that most of the guide recommendations were not up to the praise.

Since Shana may not be back in the foreseeable future...

http://travel2.nytimes.com/top/featu...=1083919787791

The above Fodors listing that appears on the NY Times Web site says "Jacket and tie" for La Giostra. So does this listing on fodors.com:

http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgr...=full&pg=4

Here are the address and telephone numbers of L'Orso 80:

L'orso '80
00186 Roma (RM) - Via dell'Orso, 33

06.6864904 • 06.6861710

The telephone listing also states that the restaurant is closed on Monday.

I've been there twice without making a reservation.

Shana - We are going to Rome, Florence & Siena next September as well as the Amalfi Coast and I would like to know how the weather was when you were there. Did it rain much? Thanks!

I have heard so much about the antipasti at L'Orso 80 and was wondering if you can just order that. Since it is just my husband and I, I don't want to look cheap in restaurants but know if I order the antipasti, that's all I will want.

Damama:

L'Orso 80 is more than accustomed to having people, and particularly tourists, order only the antipasti. It's all I ordered (though with a little joke "Since I'm a tourist, you really don't expect me to order something else..."), with a half-liter of wine (he brought a full liter, to be charged "al consumo," i.e., as much of it as I had drunk; I regret to say that I only left a few drops at the bottom to salve my conscience), then for dessert a tart with wild fieldberries (raspberries, tiny strawberries, blueberries etc.) and an espresso. The waiter offered me a complimentary limoncello (he could not have been angry about my ordering only the antipasti!) but after all that wine, I regretfully had to decline it.

Go for it!

Thanks, Eloise. I am trying so hard not to be the ugly American. With all of the help I have gotten from these threads, I will have to write a trip report the length of Gulliver's Travels.

Thank you for a wonderful trip report! In addition to being informative, you brought back a few wonderful memories. One of them: "At the train station we went outside to the designated taxi stands. There was a gypsy woman pointing out taxis and she grabbed one of our bags for us and put it in the trunk."

Last spring, we arrived in Rome by train during a terrible, cold rain storm and there was a long line for a cab. We were miserable, and the only good thing about it was this old gyspy woman who strictly policed the line, directing people to their cabs and making sure no one jumped ahead. Several people tried, but she was relentless! I bet it was the same woman. Everyone in line was cheering her, because it would have been a madhouse otherwise.

Anyway, thanks for the great report.

We went to L'Orso 80 twice, both times for lunch. The first time we ordered the antipasto, plus pasta for DH and soup for me. We were so stuffed after the antipasto we couldn't finish the other courses, although they were very good.

When we went back again, we ordered only the antipasto, plus wine. They actually brought us bigger servings of the antipasto and charged us more -- I guess for a double portion. So I think they build in a little more profit if that's all you order, but they certainly didn't object to our only ordering that.

I just received an email reply from Aldo of La Giostra (Florence) and they do not require a coat and tie as reported in Fodor's or NYT.

Which just goes to show that Fodors can be wrong too... (The NYT entry is taken directly from Fodors.)