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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

Eating & drinking (well) in Venice, Italy

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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In Florence for Pasqua (Easter) Sunday and/or Mond

In Florence for Pasqua (Easter) Sunday and/or Monday “Pasquetta”? You need to book a table now or a ticket to our dine around if you haven’t already and if you’re planning to eat out ⏰ 🍽️

Easter is a big deal in Italy and is similar to any other major holiday in terms of closures. 😅

We took on the task to call our favorite spots around town and compiled a list on the blog. ☎️

There are some exciting places open like @osteriadellenoteca, @trattoriacammillo, @culinariafirenze and more.

Plus we have a few seats left on our Easter Sunday progressive dining crawl where we’ll be partaking in some Italian Easter specials like fried lamb chops, fresh Spring cheeses and artisanal colomba cake desserts- just to name a few! 😋😋😋

Head over to the link in bio to book a seat on the crawl and keep an eye on your inbox for our newsletter about to drop (hopefully by tomorrow) which will include the Venice guide I promised last week. If you’re not already- subscribe via LIB!

Buon appetito- anyone else already tearing into colomba cake for breakfast these days? 🕊️🍰#curiousappetite #foodblogger #florenceitaly

My latest article ✍️ for @italymagazine was a

My latest article ✍️ for @italymagazine was a humbling interview with Saghar Setareh of @labnoon, a Rome-based food photographer and author originally from Tehran, and who recently published #PomegranatesandArtichokes (cookbook) recounting personal stories via mouthwatering recipes from Iran to Italy and beyond peppered with fascinating culinary history. 🇮🇷 🇮🇹 ❤️💚

Anyone multicultural and/or culturally fluid, or those who too have taken the plunge to live abroad should appreciate the poignant candor in the article and in her book (I would hope!)

Integrating in a loved country like Italy is not all vino, pizza rossa and rosy gelato! And it hasn’t been an easy path either for some of the foods like eggplant and peppers which were brought over (which some Italians seem to forget- that their own cuisine couldn’t exist as beloved as it is today without centuries of migration, trade and cultural blending) 🍅

During my 15-plus-year relationship with Italy, I’ve been drawn to foods that represent my own cultural contaminazione — blending — of my Persian and Italian heritages: finding saffron grown in Tuscany, or pistachios from the volcanic soils of Mount Etna’s Bronte, or Bolgheri-sourced rose water accented gelato.

Or on the 2nd slide: an herbed frittata kuku sabzi — prepared with wild herbs foraged from Venice’s biodiverse lagoon created @tociavenezia on Persian New Year. (Of course, I still think my aunties make the best versions in the world 😉)

Go hit up the article, order Saghar's book and subscribe to her #substacknewsletter rife with food for thought

s/o to editor in chief @verymarygray for being wonderfully collaborative 🙏

#curiousappetite #foodwriting #italymagazine

Link:
https://www.italymagazine.com/featured-story/saghar-setareh-food-moves-us

For fellow low key picky palates (I mean that with

For fellow low key picky palates (I mean that with love), you’d be a monster if you didn’t enjoy the thoughtful flavors (like chicken liver fegatino block w/ vin santo reduction or thyme infused honey for carboncino soft cheeses) and hand-picked caliber wines @enotecadegiusti, by the same buongustai @enotecapittigolaecantina and @osteriadellenoteca 🍷🍷🍷

Their calling cards are quality-driven expressions of Sangiovese around Tuscany and Nebbiolo around Piedmont (and cousins like Chiavennasca from the Valtellina). A splurge-worthy fancy aperitivo or light dinner (don’t expect salads lol) but not stuffy at all. If tables aren’t your thing, pull up a bar chair and snack the night away, wines poured by knowledgeable and friendly staff

They also boast a tight bubbles fridge and a few unique off-beat vini bianchi if rossi aren’t your thing. Bookmark for the next special outing! Buon weekend a tutti 💕#curiousappetite #florenceitaly

24 hours in Venice: cichetti crawling, Persian New

24 hours in Venice: cichetti crawling, Persian New Year pop-up @tociavenezia with @labnoon (author of #pomegranatesandartichokes) and getting lost in between 😍

I’ll compile favorite snacks, vino & spritz finds in my next newsletter update- subscribe via link in bio!

In the meantime, if you plan to visit ever- make it for March or other off-season sunny months (October, even?) and always @selectaperitivoit when spritzing in Venezia ❤️

Hotel rooms are more affordable, less crowds and milder weather. If you can, avoid mass destination cities like Venice in peak heat months. Unless sweating through crowded streets is your thing?

Thoughts? Anyone else love Venice/planning a visit soon? #curiousappetite #VeniceItaly

This week’s salad was OOO and done in decadence

This week’s salad was OOO and done in decadence @cibreo_firenze (the caffè)

But first sharing their vassoio tray of antipastini with bites of tripe, fegatino pâté, Tuscan prosciutto del Casentino (better than Parma for a slew of reasons), the curcumin lemony greek yogurt budino and picked giardiniera 🥕

Salad was a riff on Caesar with chicken, mayo, crispy Tuscan rigatino 🥓 and toasted cubes of pan brioche 🥗 basically a deconstructed BLT with chicken in lieu of tomato 🤣 half glass of Kerner to pair 🤤

Going to lunch is a treat during the work week I rarely have (or make) time for- as in Italy it’s an affair for never less than an hour (unless you do lampredotto or a panino, or piatti espressi).

My American workaholic brain refuses to understand that a 15min lunch break is not okay. And is usually spent multi-tasking responding to e-mails. It almost makes me wish I could skip lunch. But then I’d get too hungry to be productive🌀😵‍💫

Can anyone else relate?!

So worth it and already looking forward to the next (with pasta. The other table’s taglioni with cacio e burro 🧈 had me FOMO’ing big time) 🤦🏻‍♀️#curiousappetite #italiansalad #wheretoeatinflorence

Afghan food in Bologna? Yes, and @kabulagna was ha

Afghan food in Bologna? Yes, and @kabulagna was hands-down one of the best meals I’ve ever had in tortellinilandia aka “La Grassa.” 🇦🇫 🇮🇹 ❤️

Bologna offers a decent amount of international dining options that rarely get discussed (guilty)- from Sicilian-Japanese sushi fusion, Thai, Lebanese, Palestinian street food, Persian, and so on.

I’m sure this post will appeal mostly to those of us who live in Italy (especially those who don’t have an emotional investment in the Eurocentric notion that Italian food is the best) but hey if you’re asking where locals eat- this is where the tourist-free zones are. 🤣

I don’t know where to start but you can’t go wrong with the roasted eggplant and tahini starters, beef yogurt manti ravioli dumplings (so scrumptious you’ll want seconds) succulent kebabs and saffron rice, lamb and dried fruit rice pilaf, greens and chickpea sides as well as the pistachio rose accented desserts. 🌹😍

The atmosphere is full of soul and service patiently kind. I’d go back in a heart beat. Anyone else down? 🥟 #curiousappetite #bolognaitaly #afghanifood

Love natural wines and tasty tunes? Check out @vin

Love natural wines and tasty tunes? Check out @vineriasonora’s new record shop/wine shop bar situation called Lato B (B-Side) across the street from their osteria bar on Via Degli Alfani 🍇 🍷

I love them for having a super selection of quality-focused artisanal (or natural/minimal intervention), biodynamic and organic wines from all over Italy including some fun skin contact “orange” wines and juice from regions which fly under the radar like Calabria.

The owners curate both spots with not only stand-out wines, but also solid tunes, positive vibes, sweet service and delightful nibbles

Lato B adds another hit to Florence’s wine bar best of tracks 🥁

A casual pit stop for a glass of wine while perusing the record or book selection along with w/ a marinated artichoke capocollo crostino bar bite.

Kinda random but I appreciate they use seeded and whole grain breads for their snacks (I really prefer the taste/bite over Tuscan bread)

Plus open on Sundays which is sweet if you need to grab a bottle before heading to a long lunch or picnic (spring is coming! 💐)

Any qs about natural wine vs biodynamic vs organic? Curious how to drink orange wines the right way? Let’s chat in the comments and stop by Lato B to taste for yourself 😉 Buon venerdì a tutti! 🥂 #curiousappetite #newopening #florenceitaly

p.s. There are many fantastic wine bars in Florence! I compiled several on the blog (thecuriousappetite.com or link in bio) titled “Where to drink wine and enotecas in Florence” Salute!

Did you know avocados grow in SICILY? This is pret

Did you know avocados grow in SICILY? This is pretty much the only way I’m not disappointed with buying avocados in Florence (i.e. when Sicilian avocados are available.) Everything else is usually bruised brown stringy sadness

Finding avocados grown in Italy pose a bittersweet dilemma. On the one hand- yay for these incredibly healthy fruits found (relatively) local in lieu of flying them in from overseas but seeing them is a blatant sign of climate change since now the warmer weather in Sicily can host their growing.

I’ve even seen papaya and mangos from Southern Italy. What’s next- coffee?! You may have also learned that avocados are extremely water demanding, too. The solution? Everything in moderation (well, hopefully if the planet can sustain even an occasional avocado for millions of people! 🌀😵‍💫)

Spiral aside, this week’s market salad (at least the one I had time to document) involved mixed chicories, frisée, romaine, fresh dill, mint, sliced radishes, golden plum tomatoes and 🥒 plus avocado for satiating healthy fats and tinned fish in olive oil for a protein boost. Crunchy salt and cracked black pepper as usual along with glugs of EVOO and tangy umami sweet aged balsamic from Modena.

I realized after capers would have been extra tasty, too! What else would you have added? 🥗 🥑 #curiousappetite #italiansalad #foodforthought

Ciao from San Gimignano 💜 Sunday funday post-B

Ciao from San Gimignano 💜

Sunday funday post-Bologna was nothing short of decadence from savoring the sights, sipping on local hooch (crisp vino bianco Vernaccia di San Gimignano to saffron infused grappa), breaking the rules by having gelato before lunch, leisurely pranzo at an agriturismo farm for saffron ricotta gnocchi and duck ragù pappardelle noodles and a couple rustico desserts including cantucci vin santo dunks 🥃

Wanna join the fun? Details for slow-food style culinary adventures around Tuscany via link in bio/inquire for an intro
🍷💜#curiousappetite #sommladytravels

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