Acqua Al 2

Lily Payne
Jun 12, 2017
5 min read

This morning Paige and I went back to the San Lorenzo Mercato Centrale di Firenze for another purchase of dried fruit for breakfast. On the way back to the apartment, we sat and sipped on coffee from Arnold's. It's this café that serves American styled coffee. I ordered an American iced coffee; there was nothing fancy about it, but I enjoyed it the most of all the coffee I'd tasted in Florence. It was refreshing because it was cold and it wasn't as bitter as the coffees or cappuccinos that I was tasting at other restaurants or bars.

Next, it was time to go for a tour at the Duomo. We met at the Apple store in the Piazza de Republica. Unfortunately, this was another terribly hot day and uncomfortably sweaty one since we had to wear long pants and cover our shoulders since we'd be entering a church. It was just our luck that we would have some delays during the process of actually beginning our tour. Right before we were about to enter into the church, we were informed that the guide who worked at the Duomo had passed out which would mean that we would have to wait outside for what would be about an hour; that's how extremely hot it was today!

After patiently waiting, we would begin our endeavor to the top of the dome. The views were incredible and the heat wasn't as bad with breeze from being so high up. Oh, yeah...I may have forgotten to mention that the Duomo's rooftop is the highest point in the city! It was gorgeous and worth the 463 steep steps that were taken to get to that point.

After that adventure, we had the opportunity to visit the Baptistery as well, but everyone opted for lunch and a break from the scorching sun instead. Paige and I went to search for another healthy and refreshing meal but nothing too heavy since we'd be eating dinner soon after. On our route home we stumbled upon this restaurant called Simbiosi, an organic pizza and pasta place. We'd passed by it before and pinned it on our hit list so we figured now would be a better time than ever to try it out. I ordered a caprese salad with romaine lettuce, organic tomatoes, and organic mozzarella. It was just a real simple and easy salad with olive oil drizzled across it. The salad was just what I needed to reboot and re-energize after the invigorating walk up the Duomo's tower. I also had a glass of fresh pineapple juice and might I just add that it was COLD! Nowhere in Florence did they serve water with ice so my was this a treat and worth the 4 euros. I literally drank the glass in probably 5 seconds so I didn't really have the opportunity to savor the taste but let me just tell you the cold juice was very much enjoyed.

A couple hours later we would reconvene for dinner at 7:00 which would be at Acqua al 2. The group met at the steps of the statue of Dante and we would follow Pascoe to our destination. When we go to the restaurant, we were about 10 minutes early, which would mean that we had to wait outside until the clock hit exactly 7:00 on the dot. I found it interesting that a lot of restaurants don't open for business again until a certain time, usually 7:00, and when they would re-open it wouldn't be a minute before they time they had set; they took it very seriously. When we were allowed to enter, right at 7:00, we were seated downstairs in a cellar.

We would first be served bread with a tomato spread which tasted like a chunky salsa. The second spread was similar to hummus as far as consistency and color, but it was warm and much more mild than humus. It was never specified what it was, but the dip wasn't as popular as the tomato spread.

Next, we would have 5 pasta dishes.

1. Broccoli (shell) pasta with soft breaded croutons

2. Risotto with gorgonzola cheese mixed with shot of dry martini

3. Fusilli (short spiral) pasta with toasted pinenuts and spinach

4. Rigatoni with eggplant

5. Macaroni with a vegetarian meat sauce/ ragu

The first pasta dish was really tasty especially with the broccoli mixed with the pasta. You could taste the hints of broccoli in each bite, but it didn't overtake the creaminess of cheese in the pasta or anything; it was an even ratio per each bite.

I did not particularly like the second pasta dish, but I know it was because of the strong flavor of bleu cheese. I could smell the risotto as it was being brought down that's how sharp the smell of the melted cheese was. It's been said that the last thing you eat with is your mouth which makes sense if you think about it. You eat with your eyes and your nose before the food even makes contact with your taste buds. In this case, it was the stinky smell of the cheese that drew me away from this dish.

The third dish made up for the risotto especially since I'm a huge fan of the pairing of pine nuts and spinach. The earthy and bitter taste of the spinach was a perfect match for the oaky flavor of the pine nuts. The green color that was incorporated into the pasta was not visually appealing, but it tasted great.

The rigatoni with eggplant was another delicious pasta plate. This delicious mixture had the broccoli dish beat. Tasting the small pieces of eggplant really elevated and enhanced the pasta. The distinct taste of eggplant was what drove it home for me because I'm a sucker for eggplant.

Finally, the macaroni with ragu was good but after having 4 other pasta dishes, I don't think I was physically able to enjoy it. My stomach was getting really full. I don't think it was as unique as the preceding pasta plates either so I wasn't as impressed. It tasted very similar to other pasta dishes we'd had in Florence.

Then, we had a small break to digest but soon after we were brought a filet mignon topped with a blueberry sauce along with a side of mashed potatoes. The meat was delicately and precisely plated with intricate attention to detail. For example, the mashed potatoes had a decorative cherry tomato placed on top. There was also a spiral of cantaloupe with strawberries, placed inside the swirl, that lay on the plate for a pleasing aesthetic quality.

For dessert, we were each brought a small platter with a sample of cheesecake, tiramisu, coffee cake, and a strawberry and ricotta cheesecake. The first cheesecake I tasted was my favorite! It was safe and reminded me of something I'd find in the United States; it was a traditional cheesecake. The next dessert I tried was the coffee cake which was so strong and powdery that I couldn't take more than one bite. I was disappointed in this cake because I expected it to be light and fluffy when in fact it was dense and overpowering. Third, I tried the tiramisu which was good but had more a pudding texture versus a creamy consistency. It was just ok. Finally, I tasted the strawberry mystery dessert. It was terrible! I think I was so off put by the strong liquor taste in the cream cheese portion of the dessert that was so pungent. I couldn't even detect what was in it, but I was not at all impressed. It looked pretty; however, the strong flavor of the alcohol was too heavy handed for the dainty dessert.