Home - Curious Appetite

Curious Appetite is a food blog by writer and sommelier Coral Sisk. I blog about eating & drinking well in Florence, Italy & wherever curiosity takes me. I packed up to Florence via Seattle in 2012 to pursue a career in food & wine. Outside the blog, I lead culinary tours & write for trusted publications such as Eater, Vogue, The Guardian and others. My favorite food groups are pasta, gelato and cocktails. What about yours?

More About | Tour with Curious Appetite | Articles

LATEST POSTS

Favorite Bakeries & Baked Goods in Florence

Sep 25, 2023

Looking for the most buttery bakeries in Florence? Buttery may not be the accurate term since many Tuscan baked goods

Read More

Top Picks for Where to Eat & Drink in Florence in August (including Ferragosto)

Aug 2, 2023

just because the city is hot and humid, doesn’t mean your food needs to be. Tips on where to eat (and

Read More

Where to eat & drink outdoors (all’aperto) in Florence

Jul 19, 2023

Whenever warm temps roll around, locals tend to want to lounge and linger over meals and drinks outdoors. This post is

Read More

SEE ALL POSTS >

POPULAR

Where to find the best gelato in Florence

Jun 27, 2023

Looking for the best gelato in Florence? Start with being able to filter out the bad sugar bees. Tips on finding

Read More

Where to eat and drink in Bologna, Italy

Apr 12, 2023

if you are a first time visitor of my blog, I’m an American food & drink writer in Florence since 2012

Read More

Where to Eat on the Cheap & Budget Dining in Florence, Italy

May 25, 2021

(Updated in May 2021, due to a literal global pandemic bear in mind to check/call in advance, don’t rely totally

Read More

A Curated Guide to Restaurants & Food in Florence, Italy

Feb 23, 2017

If you’re getting overwhelmed by all the listicles on my blog, bookmark and study this page dedicated to where to eat

Read More

The best panini in Florence (that’s not All’Antico Vinaio)

Jul 22, 2016

Panini panini, where art thou damn good and not-so-hyped panini? Read more…

Read More

Food Souvenir Shopping in Florence

Dec 20, 2014

Where to shop for the most delectable, scrumptious food souvenirs in Florence to either take home or gift locally. Or stuff

Read More

SEE ALL POSTS >

TOUR WITH CURIOUS APPETITE

FOLLOW ME @CURIOUSAPPETITE

One of the foods in Florence visitors are always s

One of the foods in Florence visitors are always surprised by is no other than the sticky seedy harvest wine grape pie: la schiacciata con l’uva

A few spots which do this gem well:
🥐 @vecchiofornofirenze I’m San Lorenzo
🍰 @pasticceria_giorgio_firenze in the center’s outskirts but worth the trek especially for visiting pastry geeks and pros
🍇 @forno_becagli which deserves standing ovation for most of its gluten-full treats
🎉 any sagra dedicated to wine that has a bakery stand- snag a slice (or plan for the sagra della schiacciata con l’uva next Sept)

Can’t believe it’s officially Fall around here! 🍂 🍇 Have you ever tried this seasonal specialty? If not, would you? #curiousappetite #foodblogger

More tips for best bakeries in Florence on the blog via latest baked post: www.thecuriousappetite.com or taste irl on a culinary stroll with yours truly 😘

Vino, tacos and pizza @quercetodicastellina’s 25

Vino, tacos and pizza @quercetodicastellina’s 25th anniversary soirée out in the Tuscan countryside 🍷 🌮 🍕

It was a truly special moment to pair some Sangiovese rosato (Italian for rosé) with taco truck provisions in the middle of Tuscany’s wine country 🍇In my 11 years of living in Florence, this was quite the dreamy scene come true

Congrats to the earnest family wine makers and shakers @quercetodicastellina and wishing you all another fruitful 25! Tacos by @mototaco_italia

If you’re curious about wine touring around Tuscany, Querceto di Castellina is an obligatory stop for Chianti lovers. There may not be pizza and tacos when you go, but the family’s mamma Laura (who their Chianti Classico is named after) whips up delicious pasta along with rustic Tuscan fare 🍝

Need a DD tour guide? Send us an email via bio and we’ll connect you to the kindest wine tour pros!

Buona domenica a tutti and hope you’ve eaten your way well through the weekend! #curiousappetite #winetours

As I try and fail miserably at @tiktok here’s wh

As I try and fail miserably at @tiktok here’s what I’m trying to do over there which I’m going to put here in case it’s useful!

There are heaps more places I’d recommend for cups of java ☕️ and can be found on the grid if you scroll intently enough or on a blog post (I’ll link in comments)

Any qs about ordering or finding coffee in Florence? #florenceitaly #espresso #foodblogger

Looking for restaurant recommendations in Florence

Looking for restaurant recommendations in Florence?

I’ve been blogging and writing about where to eat in Florence for over a decade (that feels so wild to be able to say) and I’ve learned a few things:

☕️There is no such thing as the best restaurant or even a favorite- eating and what you’ll like is extremely personal
🍴There are truly some places that don’t deserve to have lines outside, and I find superbly overrated- for example I’m thinking of a place that starts with Za and ends with Za
⏰ Speaking of how time is wild, I’m in the camp that our meals are numbered on this planet and I for one do not wish to waste them on unworthy or mediocre calories

That all said, this is part of why I started blogging. It was before you had to have a strategy or were trying to sell something and you just rambled from the heart.

I still try to do that today, have no qualms being a little messy and am resistant to forcing myself to adapt to things like short form videos as it wouldn’t be authentically me. At the end of the day, I feel more like a writer (even if I blunder most of the time).

I’m not opposed to having things to sell (those meals don’t pay for themselves) but I still offer up free tips here and on the blog- you just have to do a little scrolling and searching.

At any rate, these plates of penne alla saucy vodka, feather light pappardelle in slow cooked wild boar and other cured meat treats were had in delight @allavecchiabettola_ off Piazza Tasso. It’s one of the 38 essential dining addresses I compiled for @eater🍴

I would kindly suggest an aperitivo @circoloaurorafirenze in Piazza Tasso prior and then a night cap @seedspopup (if during the week) or at @rasputinfirenze over in Santo Spirito for some craft cocktails

More curated tips on where to eat and drink in Florence (and Bologna) on the blog or on one of my professionally written guides online (clips and blog url can be found via link in bio or in newsletter)

Where do you love to eat in Florence? 😍 #curiousappetite #foodblogger #florenceitaly #eater

🚨ITALIAN FOOD RULES Italian food culture has

🚨ITALIAN FOOD RULES

Italian food culture has a lot of codes and rules, including:
☕️ No cappuccino after a big meal (you can still have one after 12- this “no cappuccino after 12” nonsense is fake news. Cappuccino is not Cinderella.) It’s thought a bunch of milk on top of a heavy meal can interfere with digestion. But then somehow gelato is okay so idk, really.
🥃 Amari (digestive bitters) are in the class of after dinner liqueurs, again meant to aid with digestion.
🍹Bitter-based (not the same as amari) spritzes made from @selectaperitivo, @cynar.italia, Campari (or Aperol in more recent marketing times) are meant for pre-dinner appetite opening
🧀 No cheese on fish except that’s not an absolute-ricotta or mozzarella with anchovies, hello!
🍍And lastly, no pineapple on pizza

BUT WHY PROSCIUTTO AND MELON BUT NOT PINEAPPLE ON PIZZA?! 🍍🍕

And also: Salami with figs? Prosciutto with melon? Wine grapes on focaccia? 🥲

Have you even tried pineapple on pizza? How can someone say it’s bad without even trying it?

After 18 years of my relationship with Italy, I’d say some of these rules are arbitrary, limiting and are meant to be played with

Thankfully Italian food media is coming around- I found a recipe for a 🍕 pie with spicy chili 🌶️ ‘Nduja and pineapple in the last issue of @lacucinaitaliana and I’d make it!

What are your thoughts? Buona domenica a tutti ☀️#curiousappetite #foodtours

🎥 taken from our Street Food Market Walk in Florence

Tuscany is full of figs right now which means not

Tuscany is full of figs right now which means not only figtastic puns from yours truly but also eating as many as possible at home and on our food tours in Florence (reminder- the capital of Tuscany) 👑

Carmignano (in the Prato province of Tuscany) is the Queen of fig production (che fico!) and specifically dried figs of Carmignano has been deemed a #slowfoodpresidia since 1997 by @slowfood_international

What this means is that these figs are protected and promoted for their distinct flavors and high quality. Not all the figs in these slides are from Carmignano but it’s worth mentioning

Figs from @siro.petracchi have been spooned into my morning yogurt bowls before heading off to taste flatbread schiacciata baked with these jammy jewels, then paired with salami from the backyards of purveyors we visit on the market tour, and infused in Negronis during our Aperitivo tour. I’m figgin’ surrounded! 🥁 🤣

Any other fig puns I missed? #curiousappetite #foodtours #florenceitaly 💚💜

✍️11 of Bologna’s best restaurants for @cond

✍️11 of Bologna’s best restaurants for @condenasttraveller written up by yours tag rag loving truly🍝

Saying arrivederci to August was tough 😭 BUT it does mean some favorite restaurants who were closed “chiuso per ferie” are reopening. Plus temps are cooling off enough to justify plates of ragù and tortellini but never enough to decline bowls of table churned crema gelato with syrupy amarene 🍒🍨

After taking a well-needed break ourselves, we are back to food & wine tours (both in Florence and Bologna) with more guides, articles and blog updates on the way 🥂

As usual, book anything worth writing home about about in advance (especially in Bologna), subscribe to our newsletter (via link in bio) for first dibs on Italy tips, and if you use any of my guides- let me know where you ended up at (and thoughts!) either by tagging #curiousappetite or spilling the tea in comments or IRL while eating around town

Buon appetito a tutti e buon rientro from any summer break you got! ☀️#condenasttraveller #bolognaitaly #byline

P.s. the doggie in last slide has nothing to do with the listicle but worth the carousel real estate 😍🐶

SPECIAL OCCASION APERITIVO IDEA IN FIESOLE (20min

SPECIAL OCCASION APERITIVO IDEA IN FIESOLE (20min from Florence)

Last week @belmondvillasanmichele in Fiesole hosted a pop-up cocktail aperitivo with the brilliant @martinabonci (bar manager/bartender pro @ Gucci Garden 25 listed # 50 on @top500bars) 🍸🥂

It was a perfect golden hour evening to catch up with friends, sip on some creative, deluxe aperitifs (loved the 🦋 butterfly flower viola hued Negroni with Tuscan gin, yuzu sake and luxardo bitter) up in the hills of Fiesole in their peaceful lush garden bar area with sweeping views over Florence. 🌸🌳

Even though this was a one-off, you can enjoy cocktails designed by Martina in Piazza della Signoria @gucciosteria or take the shuttle up from Piazza della Repubblica to @belmondvillasanmichele for a memorable splurge-worthy sunset aperitivo. They do run a curated drink program with thoughtful bites like the buttered brioche anchovy bites in slide 2 😋 plus warm thicc sliced potato chips and pickled tiny peach peschiole 🍑 🫒

Another reason to hit up @belmondvillasanmichele is to check out their current contemporary art install (last slides) by @sunyuanpengyu.studio in collab with @galleriacontinua

Was a pleasant reminder how many special things there are to do in this unique corner of the world!

Have any other qs for unique aperitivo ideas in or around Florence? Buona domenica a tutti! ☀️ #curiousappetite #aperitivo #tuscany #invited

📸 by @symmetrybreakfast for slide 4, 5 & 7 ❤️❤️

24HRS IN CASTIGLIONCELLO From Florence, you can

24HRS IN CASTIGLIONCELLO

From Florence, you can reach a myriad of beach towns by train. One of my favorites is Castiglioncello which is just a little over 2hrs south. A bit of a mission for a day trip, which is why I suggest at least an overnight

TIPS
⏰Plan a bit in advance for the best quality accommodations like @hotelatlanticocastiglioncello
🏖️Same goes for beach umbrellas and chairs (“bagni”) if you’re not going to BYO/wing it at the free beaches- I really enjoyed @labaracchina1946 as well as their restaurant which has an intriguing wine list and tasty sea urchin and bottarga spaghetti 😍😍
More bagni tips:
Bagno Italia and Bagno Nettuno

Other tasty food and drink snaps were thanks to Florence’s traveling @seedspopup by @julianbiondi @anastasia_kovrigina with chef @kawaimasaru418 (previous experience includes Cibreo)

If you missed their seaside pop-up last week, (I pity the fool) then you can catch Seeds back @ostello_tasso in the Oltrarno from end of August and on! They also do Omakase and cocktail pairing nights in addition to DJ sets and 🌮 Tuesdays

Hope you all are beating this heat with plenty of water! 💦 🥵 #curiousappetite #tuscanytravel #castiglioncello #italianbeaches

%d bloggers like this: