Originally Posted by
rbAA
OK, so it has been about 10 years since I last ate my way across Firenzi, but figured my Thai GF needed to try some other types of noodles (plus the Italian food in Bangkok is just ehhh,) so, we're heading off on Thursday for 2 weeks in Italy. With 3 nts in Florence, I found this thread helpful, mainly to remind me of the places to go, stop or consider.
One of my favorites in the past was Paoli, one alley/street north of O'Vesuvio. Actually, probably ate there more than any other Italian restaurant anywhere. I know, I found it in Fodors on my first trip in 1985, and they occasionally push all the tables in the middle of the main room together for the hoards of tour groups, but Geno can cook (hope he's still there.) Their salad cart and dessert cart are essential, and, being a chocoholic, the bomba was devine. Never had a bad meal there, and I've tried just about everything on the menu. Plus their house wines are reasonable and drinkable.
Hoping that it's not one of those experiences where the memories are better than the reality.
Anyone try them lately?
Ten years of work in the same place is forever in Italy, unless you work for the government, so I doubt you'll find Geno. If they were pushing tables to the center to accomodate "hoards of tour groups," in 1985, you can do better than that.
I'm sure you have great memories, as almost everyone does who has visited Italy, but Paoli is part of a restaurant chain called the Casa Trattoria Group. They have 9 branches in Florence alone, and are even in Milan. They have basmati rice and mango chutney on the menu to cater to the hoards of tourists from India.
This is not a place to take your girlfriend from Bangkok to impress her with Italian food because the noodles might actually be better in Bangkok. All 9 branches of the Casa Trattoria chain are in front of museums, shopping malls, or monuments so that they can cater to tourist groups.
There is nothing wrong with revisiting old memories. There are many places in Italy where I do that, but I'm usually there for weeks to months, and I can waste time on bad meals to indulge in warm memories. Whomever has replaced chef Geno knows that the people eating there today will be in another part of Italy, another country, or in another continent tomorrow, so they have no incentive to offer anything other than the cheapest food they can get away with.
I'm trying to not come off as unkind, but if you want to impress your girlfriend from Thailand, you can do better than taking her to a chain restaurant that caters to tourists.
On this thread PWMTrav and others have posted the names of many places where you can eat authentic, high quality Florentine food. I'd save Paoli for the warm memory bank. Make some new and even better memories.