Description: This self-serve restaurant and bar is a hit among the Florentines during lunch hour. The menu, displayed outside on a chalkboard, changes each day and never tops more than 12,000 lire. The owner is also the chef and the atmosphere definitely suggests that this is a family-run establishment. A whispered suggestion for the specialty of the day is often shared with newcomers and travelers in the know.
Walk to the back of the restaurant to select from four different pasta or rice dishes, salads, omelettes and meat platters. A generous helping of white bean soup, pasta alla norma (a Sicilian pasta dish with eggplant, salted ricotta and tomatoes), truffle ravioli, artichoke risotto or penne in a hazlenut sauce will each run you about four USD. The salads and large omelettes, usually made with spinach and topped with quartered fresh tomatoes and melted Brie or Gorgonzola, cost six-seven USD, as do the salmon and steak platters. A basket of fresh Tuscan bread, olive oil and vinegar can be brought to the table, while drinks are ordered at the bar.
Excellent food and a cozy atmosphere at reasonable prices make Cafetteria Piansa one of my number one suggestions for the budget traveler.
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