I was watching rachael Ray on the Food Network and she made some recommendations on restaurants in both Rome and Florence. Has any one been to: Spirito DiVino, Il Gelato di San Crispino, La Pompiere, Enoteca Corsi in Rome; in Florence: Il Latini, Acqua Al Due, Il Forno Sartoni, Trattoria Sostanza?

we have eaten lunch several times at enoteca corsi in rome...very very good and quite reasonable.
san crispino is a favorite gelateria near the trevi...my personal favorite is still giolitti's closer to the pantheon..and we did give san crispinos a try..
in florence, haven't been to il latini, but have heard from others that the food is disappointing and the atmosphere..hectic, noisy..(but some like that style!) acqua al due is very good and close by a wonderful gelato place...vivoli's~

We ate at Il Latini last week while in Florence. It was not the BEST food we had in Italy but was a great time. The food was still good but it's the atmosphere that packs people in. You set at big tables with other diners. I think they purposely set the English speaking diners at the same table the night we were there. We had alot of fun just talking to the other travelers about where they'd been and where we'd been. One Italian couple also sat with us and they were very friendly to talk to also. I suggest giving it a try. Be there at the door when they open to get in -- there was a line already when we arrived 15 minutes before they opened. It is down a little alley and very difficult to locate!!

My experiences at Il Latini were very similar to Angelablom. Not Lucas Carton by any means but good. Our crowd in November appeared to be mostly Italians on a Saturday night. Location for me was fairly easy to find as it was only 5 minutes away from our hotel near the Ponte Vechio.