Arriving around 19.30, it was a Friday night and the restaurants and enotecas in Firenze were all fighting for my business. After contact with Judy, the Divina, the decision was made to check out the Trattoria of Cibreo.
Cibreo, the original, is a fancier place with a long Florentine history. I was not looking for anything formal, just straight good food – and was lucky to find it there too! Eric and I enjoyed plates like:
Pate di Fegattini di Pollo; Insalata di Trippa; Passata di Pesce; Passata di Zucca; Cappello di Prete; Piedi di Vitello; Tortino di Pere; Tortino di Cioccolato; Cheesecake.
All the titles above are what I can remember now; this was not a dinner I wrote down, but much more for fun and being welcomed into Firenze. The Pate was creamy and smooth, perfectly made. The tripe was a cold salad with a ‘salsa verde’ dressing. Both passatas were great, the fish very clean and flavorful and the squash with a note of nutmeg – very elegant and rich.
The cappello di prete was a form of Zampone, served with an awesome tart of mostarda. The braised veal hooves were delicious. The hooves are de-boned and the meat and gelatinous tendons are separated and braised perfectly. When I received this plate, I asked if seconds were available because it came out on a 6” plate. The server assured me that this is the perfect portion size and after eating this rich plate, I would have to agree.
We opened with spumanti and drank a bottle of Avignonesi Grande Riserva either 98 or 99 – cant recall. I remember the wine being a bit warm but it was good.
The restaurant emptied out by the time we were on our mains. There were seven other tables and almost all were empty (it was about 23.30).
It was dessert time and I had my eye on a very tasty looking apple tart but when ordering, learned that it was pear – ok –so that is what I had. Eric had the chocolate cake and they gifted us a slice of the cheesecake. All three were brought out with a complimentary taste of Antinori’s Mufato for us to enjoy.
Overall, a great experience. Very good, homey, ‘rustic’ food with a few flares here and there. Everything was very tasty and properly done. The walk home was a freezing cold one.
At nights Florence was extremely cold, it wasn’t snowing but it easily could have with the low temps. We thought about going to a bar or club but we passed by a new concept we haven’t seen before. A large window for us to peek in from the street, we noticed one chef preparing food for the entire enoteca/restaurant.
The place is Cibo e Vino (I think) and from the looks, it was a hipper, newer place in Florence. It was late, they offered us no food, but we did enjoy a bottle of Umani Ronchi’s 25th Anniversary edition wine. I recall a ’99 vintage and I thought for the price, not a bad markup – 70 Euro. So that’s what we had.
I remember visiting the winery, Umani Ronchi, in Umbria, and that bottle was sold out – not available for sale – at the winery – so I had the chance and it was pretty good!
After the wine we kept walking in the cold, this time to the Duomo area where the hotels were. 
We found this boar on the way! Somehow, we ended up at JJ Cathedral, an American/English pub/bar in the center of Florence. It was a great time meeting many people and speaking English, like, ummm, like, ummm, like, ummm. 
Actually, it was pretty bad but it was fun! After two beers, Pilsner Urquel, my head was spinning and it was time to go (alone). Lots of pretty girls but they all traveled in packs, like wolves, and weren’t very open to others.
No Prob – early morning market meeting for me the next day!
