Destination: Florence, Italy

Mode of Transport: Trippa Alla Fiorentina – Tripe

Not many people swoon over tripe (cow’s 2nd stomach), but while traveling the world, my sister and I are always in search of the best ones. Every culture that loves food has a tripe dish, and usually, it’s a dish started in a peasant society that eventually goes mainstream.

Next time we visit Florence, I will use these travel tips to avoid the longest lines in top attractions in Florence. 

When I first visited  Florence, I wasn’t aware that tripe was a specialty of the town of Florence. I was new at traveling and didn’t do a great deal of research back in 2000. Shortly after I returned home, I read about tripe in Florence.

Ugh…I was just there! I vowed to go back to Florence one day and have my share of tripe. Thankfully, that day came on July 10, 2014; I, with my daughter, sister and her son in tow, arrived Florence.

Right after we checked into Hotel Casci, which was a fantastic small, centrally located family hotel, recommended by Rick Steves, we planned dinner.

We asked our concierge, Pierpaolo, where to go. He recommended Trattoria al Trebbio. He said it is a simple, typical Florentine restaurant – perfect, we all said excitedly! He made a reservation and we were there in 10 minutes.

The restaurant was ready for us and we quickly browsed the menu. My daughter chose gnocchi with red sauce, my nephew decided on spaghetti with red sauce, my sister ordered risotto and I picked Bistecca alla Fiorentina. Of course, my sister and I also ordered Trippa alla Fiorentina to share.

The tripe had carrots, celery, onions and I think a little garlic; tomatoes also, and perhaps wine. It was great of course, and we both loved it. It was such a great first dish for us in Florence!

Trippa was in so many menus my second time around in Florence. I’m not sure if it’s because I was more aware about tripe this time, or that tripe has become more popular because of all the food shows encouraging people to eat tripe in Florence.

My sister and I really wanted to sample all the tripe available, but we only had two days in Florence, so we had to be smart about choosing our chance to have the best possible tripe in Florence.

My sister suggested we go to the Mercato Centrale (central market) to have our tripe at the famous Nerbone stand. We saw a big line with lots of Asians waiting to order – we knew that must be Nerbone, and we were right! We hopped on the back of the line.   When it was finally our turn to order, we got, among many other things, the Trippa alla Fiorentina. Of course, since Nerbone has been serving Trippa alla Fiorentina since 1872, it was definitely one of the best tripe dishes we’ve ever had. It still had a bite, and the tomato stew was just delicate and not overwhelming. In our opinion, it was the best tripe in Florence.

When I get back home to NYC, I will surely scope out a Trippa alla Fiorentina dish – maybe even venture to cook it myself – and I’m sure it will transport me right back to our humble table and bench at the Mercato Centrale in Florence… and it will be such a satisfying dish! Maybe next time, in Florence, I need to consider a cooking class. 

Have you ever tried Trippa alla Fiorentina? If you travel to Florence, will you try it?  Please let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Dish Our Town’s Travel Guide to Florence

I (Brenda) have visited Florence twice, once with my then boyfriend, now husband Andrew and once with my sister, her son and my daughter. Below are travel advice for both a romantic time in Florence and Travel there with kids.

Getting to Florence from the U.S. :

We flew to Milan via SAS airlines, from Milan took trains to all our destinations throughout Italy, including Florence. From Milan, our next stop was Venice and we took Trenitalia from Venice to Florence.

Stays in Florence:

Hotel Casci -For a fantastic family stay this hotel, is a very small, family-run hotel with no frills but is clean, organized, friendly and convenient. We booked a room with 2 double beds and 2 single beds for the my sister, her son, my daughter and myself (Brenda) and we had plenty of room. It was walking distance from all the major sights. The rate at the time, (July 2014) was 190 euro with breakfast included.

Before arrival, we received a very nice e-mail confirming our stay and also informing us about services, like tours, that we may be interested in. We also had numerous questions about car rentals that Paolo, thoroughly answered for us.

Hotel Torre Guelfa – In the year 2000, Andrew and I stayed here for a very romantic stay in Florence. It was also very convenient to all sights and is in a great neighborhood. There is a great view of the city when you climb up to its towers. I would recommend this hotel more for couples.
Booking.com

Eats:

Ristorante Cibreo – This is the restaurant Andrew and I remembered most during our first visit to Florence way back in 2000. Andrew had pigeon and I had steak, it was a wonderfully romantic and perfect meal.

Via del Verrocchio, 8r
Firenze

Tel. : 055 234 11 00
Fax : 055 24 49 66
e-mail : info@cibreo.com

cibreo.fi@tin.it

Cafe Cibreo – is where I opted to bring my sister, nephew and daughter for lunch in July 2014. I wrote more about this experience on Ytravelblog  if you’d like to read more.

Via del Verrocchio, 5r
Firenze

Tel. : 055 234 58 53

Nerbone at the Mercato Centrale – we absolutely love going to local markets, not only to shop but to eat cooked local food there. We loved Nerbone because it served the best tripe.

Via dell’Ariento 87-r Via S. AntoninoFirenze 50123

Trattoria al Trebbio – Pierpaolo at Hotel Casci recommended this local trattoria for a great, simple, typical Florentine dinner and it was a fantastic find!

Via delle Belle Donne, 47/49r

Florence,
Phone: +39 055 287089
www.casatrattoria.com

Daily Noon-3pm, 7pm-11pm

Books we used:

 

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