I just don’t know what I was thinking. I was living in ignorance of brilliant food combinations, trendy environments, and handsome chefs.
I had a problem. But not anymore.
After being satisfied with my meal from the touristy Italian restaurant “Zaza’s” in Piazza Centrale, I blogged quite highly of the establishment. I did this because I was ignorant of what I did not know.
I was ignorant of Zeb and their genius fusion of flavor and tradition.
The restaurant is extremely small boasting only 15 seats. To dine at this establishment is is HIGHLY recommended to have reservations, especially when enjoying dinner here (only available Thursday-Saturday). But before we made our way into Zeb, we hiked up to Piazza Michelangelo, which overlooks all of Florence.
And at night, other than the shady fake watch and handbag sellers, its absolutely magical. It shows Florence at it’s finest. It’s a must see when visiting this city
But after this hike, I was hungry, and completely unaware of magical dishes that would be presented to me. Like this:
This dish, above, is actually what caused my intense rage of anger when I ordered truffle pasta on the cruise. Because, my friends, this was REAL truffle pasta, with a homemade delicious egg pasta that had a simple essence of black truffle with beautiful truffle shavings. I just kept eating it and eating it and eating it, and then realized that I had to stop because there was none left.
Best truffle pasta I’ve ever had.
Sorry Zaza’s.
To the left, pecorino stuffed ravioli with sweet pear sauce (a trendy dish in Florence). And on the right, my new favorite pasta dish EVER, the zucchini flower and ricotta ravioli in a light cream sauce.
People, I have literally dreamt about this dish.
I mean, I would try to use words to describe it, but it deserves so much more than that; like maybe a musical, an orchestra, or a trilogy of films like Lord of the Rings.
And I’m sorry, but Zaza’s, you need to take ravioli lessons from these people.
Please, look at the above picture. That ravioli is STUFFED with perfectly seasoned ricotta.
Let me break it down this way. You see, I have this “bucket list” for Florence. No, it doesn’t have museums, shops or theaters on it… it has restaurants. And my goal in life here is to complete this list.
I would forgo half of the list just to eat this again.
I’m gonna move on now, I’m sensing that you appreciate my obsessive nature toward this dish.
Our next course was a ham stuffed chicken breast served in a light olive oil pool. It was nicely seasoned and the olive oil and sage complimented the meat quite perfectly.
And then, my mind was COMPLETELY blown again with this fresh burrata (cheese) dish served with perfectly cooked vegetables that had been generously coated in olive oil.
We ordered a “warm your soul” meat roast with tomatoes, onions, and a whole lot of love.
And then, because we had already each consumed an entire plate of pasta AND a proper entree, we thought that it was completely necessary to finish the three course meal.
I mean, we didn’t want to deprive ourselves of added nutrition. What would our grandmother’s say?
We decided to order three desserts, and split them, the theme for the entire meal. Each dessert had it’s own crowning quality:
The Schiacciata Con L’uva, pictured above, is a traditional Florentine dessert consisting of focaccia break topped with a special variety of seeded grapes and sugar. The was quite a delicious one and the crunchy quality of the seeds gave it a pleasant texture sensation.
Above, we also selected the chocolate pear tart, a light chocolate fudge mousse cake with delicate surprises of pear.
Chocolate fantasy.
And, my personal favorite, and one that I felt jipped out of not getting a bigger piece, the Apple tort with cream. It. Was. Phenomenal. It was kind of like already having the ice cream inside of the apple pie.
Oh Italians, they are so onto of everything.
One of the BEST parts about this restaurant is the fact that their menu changes almost weekly, depending what they desire to make or what ingredients are in season.
So I can go back every single week.
My life just keeps getting better and better.
And that, my friends, was Zeb. Tied for my favorite restaurant in Florence (along with I Tarocchi and Trattoria Gargani).
Come on, a girl can have more than one favorite.
It’s kind of like asking me what pair of shoes are my favorite.
Not. a good idea.
Get Your Zeb Fix:
Via San Miniato, 2 rosso
Florence