Geobeats

www.lapiperna.it Joining the Socio of this small, new place, based on the foods and preparation styles of Ischia, was the best thing we did when arriving in Florence (my husband is an art professor, here with a group of students for the classic term abroad... boy, do I benefit from their experience! this is our fourth three-month stay in ten years...). The food is highly unusual for Florence -- extraordinary fish, flown up three times a week from the island; the traditional rabbit, cooked in a sauce entirely foreign to Tuscany, as are the neapolitan and island-style appetizers and desserts. Check out the website. The Ischian house wines are also delicious -- an exquisitely brisk and flavorful ultra-dry white, and a Ciro-esque red, as well as an intriguing list of unfamiliar regional ticchetti we have not yet tried. Service is delightful -- young, engaged, proud of their offerings and their distinctive diferences -- and the kitchen highly consistent. We've been there three times, and are going back at least twice more in the next month. A perfect night out in the neighborhood, or worth a trip to try something regional in an appropriate, simple setting. Love it! OH! Forgot to mention: as an old English major myself, the placemats are an added treat -- extensive quotations, from everyone from Pavese to Auden to Gorky to Lampedusa to Truman Capote (in Italian, all, of course) about Ischia then... giving you the perfect basis for a conversation with the owners, asking them about Ischia now.