florence: trattoria zaza

i was looking forward to florence and was more excited with its culinary offerings....seems like there are more restos in florence and everything is within walking distance. i've read so many reviews about zaza and although it's very touristy, people vouched for their good food. and indeed, trattoria zaza didn't disappoint. we ate there twice, it could have been more if only there were nights we weren't lazy to walk.

spinach ricotta ravioli

this was awesome...the truffle scent was wafting and yet not overpowering. i super loved this dish. truth be told i got confused i was thinking that this ravioli was stuffed with meat... think tortellini so that it won't be cloying. i was so famished i was not thinking straight and ordered this ultra rich dish. you need something else to counteract the richness...that's what my parents' orders are for hehe.

pork dish

i forgot the name of this dish. it was good too. the pork loin was sooooo tender. the baked beans cooked in tomato sauce was reminiscent of canned pork and beans but was a couple of notches better. 

zaza's tuna spaghetti...i forgot the name again

this was a house special. you'd think it's so lame to order tuna spaghetti in italy, it's so "un-italian". but this was extraordinarily good. the herbs and spices just worked together. this was a nice contrast to my cloyingly rich truffle cream ravioli.

salad nicoise?

this was from our second outing, dunno why i ordered this. cannot remember if they have plain caesar which is what i should have gotten. there's nothing really special about this one it was so so.

fried zucchini flowers

i wish they were stuffed, i wanted them to be stuffed but they weren't. i just doused it with malt vinegar since it was bland. skip this.

bolognese

i always thought that our pinoy spaghetti translates to the bolognese, but i thought wrong - blame it on my asian and american experiences! this bolognese has a different flavor profile, i liked the mildness of the italian herbs and it doesn't have that distinct tomato flavor, this totally redefined bolognese for me, it is not just plain red meat sauce.

bistecca fiorentina

this was a must! i couldn't leave florence without trying bistecca fiorentina. a traditional bistecca fiorentina is the t-bone from the chianina or maremmana breed which are more expensive. this one is a different breed, atleast 1.5 inches thick it's a minimum of 1kg. the verdict? the beef wasn't that flavorful...i want my meat really beefy - think dry aged beef. of course this one is fresh so the flavors are less intense. i wasn't super duper happy but i'm glad to have finally tried it.

there are hits and misses with zaza, you'd rather stick to the pastas which they do really well and zero in on the truffle menu if you like truffles =).

trattoria zaza

piazza del mercato centrale

(it's right outside the mercato centrale)

there are two zazas side by side and they are just the same