Ask a Florentine: The Steak Rules, the Gelato Test & Why We Eat Tripe Sandwiches
Marco Rossi has lived in Florence for 40 years and owns a leather workshop in the Oltrarno quarter. He considers himself a guardian of Florentine food traditions and gets visibly agitated when tourists order bistecca well-done.
What's the biggest food mistake tourists make in Florence?
Ordering bistecca alla fiorentina well-done. I'm serious. The bistecca is a thick-cut T-bone from Chianina cattle — the breed is specific, the cut is specific, the cooking method is specific. It goes over high-heat charcoal, 5-7 minutes per side, and comes to the table rare to medium-rare. This is not negotiable.
Ordering it well-done in a real Florentine trattoria is like asking a sushi chef to microwave the tuna. They might do it, but the disappointment on their face will be real.
The steak is sold by weight — typically 40-55 EUR per kilogram, and a steak serves two people. Share it. Best at Trattoria Mario (casual, cash only, shared tables), Il Latini, or Buca Mario.
What about gelato — how do I spot the good stuff?
The test is simple. Look at how it's displayed. Real gelato is stored flat in covered metal containers with muted, natural colors. Pistachio should be brownish-green, not bright green. Lemon should be pale, not neon yellow.
If the gelato is piled in tall, colorful mountains with vivid artificial colors — that's industrial product with food coloring. Walk away.
The best: Vivoli (since 1930, near Santa Croce), La Sorbettiera (locals' favorite in Oltrarno), and Gelateria dei Neri. A 2-scoop cone costs 2.50-3.50 EUR. Any shop near Ponte Vecchio charging 5+ EUR is overcharging for mediocre product.
Tell us about lampredotto. Most tourists don't even know what it is.
Lampredotto is tripe — specifically the fourth stomach of a cow — slow-simmered in broth with tomato, onion, and parsley, then served on a crusty roll with salsa verde and a spicy sauce. The top of the roll gets dipped in the cooking broth.
It costs 5 EUR from the trippaio (tripe cart) vendors around San Lorenzo Market and near Sant'Ambrogio Market. It is the most Florentine food that exists. More than bistecca, more than ribollita. The trippaio is where construction workers, bank managers, and grandmothers all stand together eating the same sandwich.
Most tourists are scared of it. Their loss. The texture is tender, the broth is rich, and the combination of the soft meat with the crusty bread and sharp green sauce is perfect street food.
Where do Florentines eat?
Not near the Duomo. Not on Piazza della Signoria. Those areas charge 30-50% more for worse food.
Oltrarno — the neighborhood on the south side of the Arno river — is where Florentines eat. Trattoria Sabatino (cash only, no menu, they bring you what's cooking — 8-12 EUR per course), Il Latini (reservations essential), and the small trattorias on Borgo San Frediano and Via Maggio.
Mercato Centrale upper floor is also excellent — a gourmet food hall with artisan stalls open until midnight. The lampredotto sandwich there, the truffle pasta, and the craft beer stalls are all good.
What about leather shopping?
Ah, this is my expertise. The San Lorenzo outdoor market is full of vendors selling "Italian leather" that is actually synthetic or imported cheap leather from elsewhere. If a leather bag costs under 50 EUR, it's almost certainly not genuine Italian leather.
How to test: bend the leather. Real Italian leather flexes without cracking and springs back. It has a specific warm smell. The stitching is even and tight.
For genuine leather, go to Scuola del Cuoio inside Santa Croce church — it's a working leather school where you can watch artisans and buy directly. Or visit the small workshops in Oltrarno — there are still families making bags, belts, and journals by hand using traditional techniques.
My own workshop is one of them. I've been working leather for 25 years. I can tell real from fake from across the street.
What's your favorite place in Florence?
Santo Spirito piazza on a Sunday morning. There's a small flea market, the church facade is deliberately plain (Brunelleschi designed the interior, which is extraordinary), and the neighborhood gathers for coffee and conversation.
No tourists. No museum lines. Just Florentines doing what we've been doing for centuries — sitting in a piazza, drinking espresso, and arguing about nothing important.
Final advice?
Don't eat on church steps — there's a fine of 150-500 EUR. Don't buy leather from street vendors. Don't skip the Oltrarno. And for the love of Brunelleschi, don't order your bistecca well-done.
Florence is small enough to walk everywhere and rich enough to spend a lifetime discovering. But you have to get off the tourist track. Walk across the Ponte Vecchio, keep going south into Oltrarno, and find the Florence that Florentines actually live in.
That's where the real steak, the real gelato, and the real city are waiting. If Rome is also on your itinerary, check out our Rome travel guide.
