faredolce, you now have me at full drool. LOL!

I also like my steak rare (or even very rare). And here in Spain they tend to serve them very well done so I have turned back a few...many times I see the people eating and I can't help to think in Chaplin eating the boots...

Hi - I had the Chianina (bistecca Fiorintina)in a restaurant in Siena last year. Didn't ask; didn't tell. Just ate what they gave me and it was rare but not so much that it bled all over the plate. Utterly divine! It went around the table to much oohing and aaahing since it was more than I could eat. Part of the fun of traveling is trying what you normally wouldn't eat - and discovering you like it! I usually have a backup at the hotel just in case I really don't like dinner. Too bad that backup is usually cheese crackers.

I was raised on rare roast beef, rare steak etc. On the other hand I really don't like rare lamb or duck. My significant other likes his beef well done. Why should it matter to me? The man goes out and works hard everyday, helps me run my business, does dishes and laundry etc. so I think he's entitled to have his steak cooked any way he likes it. Some of these "snooty" chefs need to get their heads out of "you know where". So, they have a patron that wants steak well done. If they accommodate the request, the patron likes the steak so the worst thing that can happen is: the customer is happy, the customer returns to the restaurant, the customer tells all his friends what a great restaurant it is. In some countries people eat bugs..that doesn't mean that I have to. People are entitled to eat what they want to eat. I have seen extremes from time to time. People requesting things be cooked in special ways..remember Meg Ryan in When Harry met Sally?...then at that point I wonder why they just don't stay home and cook their own dinner. There IS a line I think between requesting a preference and desiging the entire meal.

kenderina posted:
"I also like my steak rare (or even very rare). And here in Spain they tend to serve them very well done so I have turned back a few...many times I see the people eating and I can't help to think in Chaplin eating the boots..."

Shame on you, kenderina. According to some here, you have no "right" to order it rare. You should always just take it the way they serve it. It that's well done, then so be it.

But I AGREE with you!!! Order it the way you like it. It does NOT make you a "bad" tourist.

I will add, in defense of Italian chefs who go all nutty on people, it is because they really CARE about food. A lot more than we do here in the States. I mean, the laws governing the food supply in Italy are mind-boggling. It is a part of life, a part of who they are. They yell and scold because indeed, it is incomprehensible to them that we seemingly are willing to compromise what they take so seriously. It usually is not because they wnat to be mean. Grouchy, yes, but not mean. Especially in a smaller town, these family-run restaurants and the foods they serve encompass their existence.

All of that being said, they still should cook it the way you want it. That's my story and I am sticking to it.

Order steak tartar and eat it with a spoon.

Steak tartar...YUM. I used to eat raw hamburger all the time when I was a kid. Not that safe to do anymore..so sad.

Ooh - sounds like I need to make another trip to Florence to try the Steak Florentine.

I am one who likes their steak quite rare (rare enough that when you poke it with a knife the juices run out and flood the plate). Sounds like Steak Florentine is right up my alley.

I don't think I'm a "bad" tourist for that matter :). If I turn back some dish, of course I do it politely and no one gets offended. "Oh, I think you have misunderstood me, I want my steak very rare , would you be so kind to order another one for me ?" with a smile, an repeat, no one gets offended.
The worst thing that could happen is that they make you pay both dishes.

Well, I still would not think of going to Paris without having steak tartare at least once while there! It just wouldn't seem like Paris without it!