Thanks to our friend Rena, who lived in Florence for a year, we had some insider recommendations about where to eat. The most interesting (and delicious) place, by far, was Mario’s, which serves only lunch.
The menu is scribbled on a piece of paper, and is replete with meat. The seating is first come, first served, and is “con l’altro”—with each other. Three parties of two might share a big table. Everyone sits on little wooden stools. The kitchen runs right alongside the dining area, and the inevitably loud conversations are punctuated by the bang-bang-bangs of the cleaver on the butcher block, chopping up the next set of lunches.
nice ceiling
the most delicious pork and beans I've ever had
Jack liked Marios.
We also went to what many agree is the best gelato maker in Florence: Vivoli.
I know I should have tried the cinnamon-orange, but I couldn’t resist my favorite nutty flavors.
The other high point in dining was Tranvai, a restaurant constructed out of an old tram-station, with excellent food. They offered offals and brain, but we stuck to slightly more familiar cuts… veal and rabbit.
The Roving Locavore 
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