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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?

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LATEST POSTS

Where to to eat & drink in Venice, Italy (mostly for cicchetti)

Mar 29, 2023

This is a highly subjective mini-guide to where to eat in Venice along with tips for spritz, wine, restaurants and local

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Where to Eat in Florence for Easter (Pasqua and Pasquetta)

Mar 22, 2023

Curious Appetite has some tips on where to eat this Easter in Florence. If you don’t have plans this Sunday or

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Budget-friendly Aperitivo ideas in Florence, Italy

Mar 3, 2023

Aperitivo might be the culinary ritual that cemented my love for living in Italy. When I first moved to Florence in 2012

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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

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Where to find the best gelato in Florence

Sep 20, 2018

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

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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

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Where to eat and drink in Bologna, Italy

Jan 12, 2017

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

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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…

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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

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TOUR WITH CURIOUS APPETITE

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One of the many reasons I love Florence is its eve

One of the many reasons I love Florence is its ever evolving food & drink scene- meet (then run to) @seedspopup by @julian.biondi and @anastasia_kovrigina!

This is Florence’s only bar open Sunday - Thursday (cheers to work life balance) and what makes it special are the spirits made locally and in-house by Julian who is one of Italy’s coolest (and most humble) beverage experts

Also noteworthy are the internationalish bar snacks using super artisanal local ingredients (think cavolo nero tostadas, quesadillas using pecorino from a historic maker in the Mugello and Sichuan pepper chickpea farinata) for a mostly vegetarian menu as their vision involves sustainability. (Pics of menus in the slides)

Drinks are fun and play with seasonal fruits like loquat (nespole), tomato water, organic lemon and Calabrian bergamot

Plus they put on DJ events and taco Tuesdays (what’s not to love are you a monster or something) 🌮 🌮 🌮 Believe me this is exciting- (and while not taqueria level) I’ve lived in Florence for 11 years and never met a taco that didn’t involve bootleg jarred salsa sadness, stale shells and soggy tortillas

Hope you stop by- great reason to get out to beat the workweek blues, let me know what you think when you go!

🍹#curiousappetite #florenceitaly #newopenings

Any amaro and bitter fans out there? 👋 These ar

Any amaro and bitter fans out there? 👋 These are from a private Italian aperitivo & amaro tasting I led last week! Blue cheese and amaro, duck prosciutto + candied orange with distilled artichoke water Negronis- was quite the flavor soirée if I may say!

I have a soft spot for a lot of Italian culinary drink rituals and all things bitter and the art of the aperitivo and post-meal digestivi are one of them.

It’s fun to play and bend the rules, and on this recent tasting we figured out why blue cheese and amaro can actually be quite enjoyable thanks to the high ABV and botanicals cutting thorough the richness.

If you’re intrigued about Italian bitters and amaro, pick up The Big Book of Amaro by @matteo.zed or History and Art of Italian Liqueurs by Renato Vicario. We can taste them in the flesh around Florence’s best bars too 😉

Hit me up via link in bio anytime to arrange or comment should you have any bitter curiosities or have more book tips! 🥃 #curiousappetite #amarolovers

Savoring a bit of spring during our street food ma

Savoring a bit of spring during our street food market food tour! 🍷🍽️🍰🍨🧀🥖

I have a soft spot for this particular food tour as it visits bakeries, food stands and cafes off the crowded tourist track and involves various local delicacies like fried pizza dough coccoli, hand-cut Tuscan prosciutto, seasonal fruit and veg like shucked fava beans with fresh spring sheep’s milk cheese, savory flatbreads from generational bakers and so much more.

You’ll get a slice of daily Florence food life in one of its most soulful quarters and learn about seasonal foods, how they are prepared (and how they taste!) on this gourmet crawl. It’s really one of my favorites! 😍

This is apart of our private experience collection, as this year I decided to focus more on offering private food tours. We do have some daily small-group shared options that rotate based on day of the week, but if you can swing it- I highly encourage you arranging a private culinary immersion with yours truly and our small team of specialized experts.

Curious for more info? Tap the link in bio or send an e-mail

Buon appetito! 🌷🌷#curiousappetite #foodtours

Life sometimes gets crazy and it takes a minute to

Life sometimes gets crazy and it takes a minute to catch you all up on the delicious restaurant finds in Firenze but may I suggest @ilvecchioeilmarefirenze on Via Gioberti? 🍕🦐

Off the main hotspot drags a bit south of the city center but worth the detour for notable pizza (respected @gambero_rosso gives it their 3-slice approval 🍕🍕🍕) and flavorful seafood options I still crave today (even if these plates of uni pasta, pistachio tuna and fried pizzette are a throwback to a dinner had many moons ago!) 😍😍

Florence has several diamonds in the mass touristic dining rough worth seeking, and I’d definitely include this address as one! Looking at you, pizza and seafood lovers. For more tips and curated guides, make sure you’re subscribed to my newsletter via LIB

Buon appetito a tutti! 🍽️ #curiousappetite #foodblogger #florenceItaly

We can have a little cheese and wine by 12pm, righ

Maldita primavera- the inspiration for this beauti

Maldita primavera- the inspiration for this beautifully unreal soup marries scallop fava beans and raspberry from @gucciosteria’s New Memories spring menù 🌷

Deviating from my normal explain-every-slide vibe but rather, how the dish title came about (an aspect of menu creation I wonder is ever appreciated)- read on!

Mexico-born Chef @karylmt behind this part of the menù alongside husband @championtaka._ explained why “Bendita Primavera” (meaning blessed Spring, and actual name on the menu for this gazpacho-esque dish) was inspired from a pop 80’s song in Mexico (covered from an Italian original) “Maldita Primavera.” (Maledetta in Italian)

The meaning of the ballad is bittersweet, translates to “damned Spring” and depicts a betrayal lived during Spring she is forced to relieve every time signs of spring arrive, thus damning “la primavera.” 🍿

This luxurious creative dining ⭐️ gem by @massimobottura on the lip of Piazza della Signora is worth the splurge- there are a la carte options or tasting menus for various appetites. #invited

If you’re a fine dining lover curious about getting a table, you may end up heartbroken if you mull over it too long- best to book ASAP as everything in Florence worth their salt is booking up quick- don’t let last minute planning damn your Spring in Italy 🤣🥁

Buon weekend a tutti! #curiousappetite #florenceitaly #michelinstar ⭐️ 🍽️

Everyday is a beautiful day for a gourmet tour fit

Everyday is a beautiful day for a gourmet tour fit for food lovers in Florence! ❤️😋

Enjoy these glimpses into one of our curated culinary walks of the city- our Historic Food Lover’s Stroll- which blends street food, hidden gems, bakeries, taking in iconic sights, decadent delis for charcuterie, wine, gelato and more! 🍨

Food has so much positive power, and part of what we hope to do with it is to help you create delicious memories when visiting Italy which we love wholly and dearly. 🇮🇹

Thanks for sharing all the calories via tagging @curiousappetite or #curiousappetite when you snack around town with us!

The weekend is almost here, hope you all have something tasty to look forward to 😉 #FlorenceItaly #foodtours #foodtravelinspired 📸 @foodtravelinspired

P.s. for info on our top-rated experiences recommended by trusted travel guides like @lonelyplanet and @frommers- tap that link in bio or e-mail us. Buon appetito!

What’s our choice of Aperitivo this Friday- spri

What’s our choice of Aperitivo this Friday- spritz, Negroni, vino or bubbles? (On the aperitivo tour, the choice is clearly the latter trio 😉)

Buon weekend a tutti, we are having a blast with you all on our various curated food & drink crawls- see you soon! 🥂🍷🥃 🧀 #curiousappetite #foodtours

How is it Wednesday already?! Easter weekend in It

How is it Wednesday already?! Easter weekend in Italy will do that to you especially since Easter Monday “Pasquetta” is a holiday for us too (praise be to all the holidays in Italy! For better or for worse…)

Still digesting all the deliciousness in Umbria (Spoleto side) at the long weekend courtesy of dearest friends including fried artichokes (in Umbrian EVOO 😍), all sorts of Easter “pizza di Pasqua” (nothing like the pizza you’d expect- but rather panettone shapes of either cheese bread with local salumi at antipasto or sweet bread served with broken pieces of Easter egg chocolate) plus herby ricotta baked pasta al forno, braised meats and more artichokes then Monday spent BBQ lunching at a relaxing organic winery @cantinadefilippo in Cannara, which is an agricultural village of Umbria known for a sweet onion (move over Tropea haha) and a sweet (but not overly) wine made from a type of local Vernaccia grapes 🍇

It was pretty down to earth, super family-friendly, plus horses/farm animals and picnic area overlooking the vineyards. It’s the kind of spot you can bring your own proteins to grill (or purchase on-site) and some wild asparagus around to pick in case you felt inclined to thrown a vegetable in the mix!

Last slide- I rarely see martitozzi outside Rome let alone with custard AND alchermes??? 🤯🤯🤯

Hope you all are getting through the week and let Spring begin!🌷#curiousappetite #visitUmbria #Italytravel

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