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

Essential 18 Restaurants in Bologna, Italy for Eater

Apr 25, 2022

Hey there! I wanted to let you all know I am still alive even if my blog feels like it’s dying.

Read More

{Recipe} Cheesy, saucy smoked spaghetti inspired by Amatriciana

Jan 26, 2022

I have a love hate relationship with pasta. I love to eat pasta (more than pizza) and is my favorite food

Read More

Deviled eggs and crab caviar snacks for a Happy New Year (2022)

Jan 6, 2022

Ciao a tutti! I haven’t written in a while (shocker!) as I’ve been focused heavily on my newsletter, Instagram and

Read More

SEE ALL POSTS >

POPULAR

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

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

Read More

A Curated Guide to Restaurants & Food in Florence, Italy

Jan 29, 2017

After all the random articles on the best restaurants in Florence I have scattered around, I thought to compose one whole

Read More

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

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

A perfect weekend in Bologna involves -all the mo

A perfect weekend in Bologna involves
-all the mortadella (from the right sources)
-tagliatelle al ragù (tag rag ™️)
-tortellini in brodo (6 to fit spoon, ideally)
-lovely company to eat all the things with (or your own if you prefer not to share- no judgment)
-any vegetables (for the love of life)
-vino and digestivi
-gelato (no monsters here)
And cultural exploring in between- this city is gold not just about food. Stay a while!

Keep tabs to all the city’s happenings, exhibits (need to return for the Lucio Dalla 🎶 on now thru July 17th at the Archeological Civic Museum) and details on sites via @bolognawelcome

Curious to know where to devour in such delights? Visit my blog thecuriousappetite.com, latest post links to @eater essential 18 list and more curated guides

Where to sleep? Our travel tips section on www.curiousappetitetravel.com has a whole guide for unique stays (as well as a listicle dedicated to gelato- forgive me Florence)

And besides the peek-a-boo view of Bologna’s “little Venice” canal on Via Piella- peep the one on Via Belvedere (which also has a top notch cheese shop across the street!)

What’s your idea of a splendid time in good ol’ Baloney town? #curiousappetite #bolognaItaly

Wanna know a couple tips for not getting duped int

Wanna know a couple tips for not getting duped into bad or “fake” gelato?

Besides the usual: no mounds, no bright colors that wouldn’t normally exist naturally, etc is also a gelateria that ONLY does gelato! I find it hard to believe a bar that does lunch, cocktails, Aperitivo and coffee to also do gelato extremely well. There are few exceptions such as @araesicilia (who has incredible arancini, cannoli, pasta, Sicilian wines, ancient grain breads, etc)

Generally speaking- avoid mounds and jack of all trade joints with gelato as an afterthought (in any case those ones are easy to spot since they usually mound their gelato or the ribbons if in flat trays look too perfect, which means they bought them pre-made, etc) We do a gelato tour too in case you needed to taste for yourself 😉

Last slide has a top notch example: Modica dark chocolate, salted caramel and pistachio from Stigliano (in Basilicata!!! 🌋 Bronte, Sicily you got competition!) @sbrinofirenze who use their own milk and a plethora of hyper regional specialty ingredients- farm to cone! Bravissimi!

What are some of the tell-tale signs you watch out for when picking your scoops? 🍨 #curiousappetite #gelatoholic

Me, my chins, crazy face and a carromatto full of

Me, my chins, crazy face and a carromatto full of wine. Sounds about right! This ancient party bus carries barrels of Tuscan wine history I recently learned about on our very own Buchette tour- peep it via LIB!

While I’m here, allow me to share a little barrel of my own history! Lately I’ve been getting a FAQ about why I chose to live (albeit now part-time) in Florence. Allow me to answer!

As you know (or don’t) I was an Italian studies major @uw_fis in Seattle. After I graduated, I was humming and hawing over moving to Italy. That was the literal reason I decided to study Italian- so I could move here having a foundation!

I guess these days I could have just learned how to @tiktok and capitalized on a more lofty eat pray love story/met a Fabio who changed my whole life trajectory. I still prefer how my story happened, even though my student loans were more expensive than a Fabio 🤣

I digress- so after graduating I was too chicken to make the leap, I thought- “what am I gonna do? Just show up and hope someone hires me?” So I stayed frozen for a couple years, I did comfy jobs (which had nothing to do with Italian). It afforded me various comforts. One of my former professors ran into me while at work and to my favor- disappointingly said “what are you doing here?” 🤦🏻‍♂️

There’s more what happened after, but basically fast forward and I decided to pursue my passion of blogging and cuisine. I signed up for a food & wine pairing program and started working in tasting rooms in Woodinville and moonlighted as a food tour guide in Seattle

I saw a flyer around campus to study in Florence @apiciusflorence and I saw that as my “wine window” of opportunity. It was still scary because I didn’t have any work prospects, but I thought I was a little more prepared with knowing I wanted to pursue a path in writing and culinary travel.

The path has been fraught with obstacles, including a pandemic, but I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m in love with what I do and what Curious Appetite has become (and will continue to grow) 🤞

Hope you enjoyed learning a little more- and no offense to Fabios or anyone with one 🤣🤣 🇮🇹🍷 #curiousappetite #florenceitaly #foodblogger

Wanna know a hack for the whole “no cappuccino a

Wanna know a hack for the whole “no cappuccino after 11” when-in-Italy-dont-make-a-scene-get-kicked-out-of-the-country thing?

Try a “macchiatone”, a big macchiato (espresso stained with steamed milk) which is a sort of short cappuccino and is the right amount of juice that doesn’t leave you hanging should you want a plate of cookies (rightly so) in the middle of the day.

This little cafe trend is said to have hailed from the Veneto between the 80’s and 90’s. 🌠

And in terms of this “rule”- honestly if you want a cappuccino after this hour I don’t think anyone will stop you or be nosy enough to care (and if they are let them eat boring life cake) but it’s more of a digestion/fullness thing to consider for yourself.

Why fill up on a cappuccino when you can save room with a macchiatone for the sake of cookies?!? ☕️ 🍪 #curiousappetite #foodtours

📸 from our Food Lover’s Crawl, schedule & tickets via link in bio 🍴

For rainy days or not feeling like interacting wit

For rainy days or not feeling like interacting with others unless in carb form or self-care ones calling for obscene amounts of calories in the privacy of your own home or hotel room- pizza delivery is done right by @pizzeriadamichelefirenze. Please for the love of pasta do not sleep on a side order of frittatine which are fried pasta fritters swirled with a porky ragù and creamy bechamel 🤤

Pizza here was a Napoli (anchovies, capers and mozz oh my) and I reheated leftovers in the oven with a few dollops of ‘nduja (best found @fornomaddaloni on via Gioberti) and it was a clever move if I may say 🔥🌶

Of course there are plenty of other pizzerias in Florence to eat-in at/support directly (my faves being @ladivinapizzafirenze @ilvecchioeilmareexpress @pizzeria_giovanni_santarpia @alsolitoposto_pizzeria_gourmet to name a few)

Rarely do delivery because of single-use packing waste, arrival quality and how these apps have made billions (just a tad under 5) while restaurants and gig workers have struggled throughout the pandemic.

But in the one blue moon I did, the snacks arrived perfect and was pleasantly surprised.

What are your thoughts on pizza in Florence, delivery and foods that travel the best? Tell me everything! #curiousappetite #florenceitaly

Updated on @eater: My picks (if they had to be 18)

Updated on @eater: My picks (if they had to be 18) in Bologna (the city where vegetables mysteriously don’t exist). This list usually gets updated more frequently but you-know-who got in the way. Know some had to be swapped to highlight other popular spots, and ordered by LOCATION not ranking 😅

All in all, this was a tough one since you have to grapple with what locals love vs your own personal tastes vs what places you think readers should know about, and if I had space for 2 extra- I probably would have added Grassilli (for cotoletta and tortellini in brodo) and Da Bertino (esp for the meat cart) which are a little more old school (but are hardly hard to find).

Overall, Bologna can be both an incredible and challenging city to eat in (price, sluggish innovation, lack of diverse options, pandering to studentsville, the disneyfication of food, etc). Yes lasagna is delicious but again, what’s the beef against vegetables? I guess that’s what multi-vitamins are for? 🤷🏻‍♀️

In any case, this one has a little bit of all: bakers against diets, macrobiotic vegetarian, fried things and mortadella plates, homey trattorias both iconic and modern, and at least one cocktail bar that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

For more detailed options in case you need more and tips for where to stay, the blog has them as linked in my newsletter that just went out. Didn’t receive? Subscribe via LIB

Buon appetito! 🍝 #curiousappetite #eater #BolognaItaly

Gelato season is upon us here in the birthplace of

Gelato season is upon us here in the birthplace of the stuff 🤩 Did you know Florence is where this food group was born?! Grazie ancora, Caterina! 😘

In my coppetta from @il_procopio_: Dark chocolate with hazelnut (sorbetto/dairy-free!) and pistachio cremino dashed with raspberry limone fior di latte 🍋

For more gelato tales, check out best picks lists on thecuriousappetite.com or sign up for a GELATO tour! 🍨 😋 (all via LIB) #curiousappetite #gelatoholic

Role call for our dinner crawl: ✅ Bistecca alla

Role call for our dinner crawl:
✅ Bistecca alla fiorentina and proper sides (chef has been throwing down some garlic roasted Zucca Mantovana- we love it 🎃)
✅ Aperitivo in an underground wine cellar with Tuscan juice you never knew you loved with hand-cut prosciutto, pecorino and dainty compotes
✅ Fresh pasta tasting including rustico classics like sage butter ravioli and cacio e pepe pici
✅ G-E-L-A-T-O 😋

Not in this order- but guess which it actually is 😉

We’re biased but we love this experience- it’s an extension of the blog and an easy peasy way to meet our favorite dining addresses in the city (and to work up an appetite in between courses)

If you’re a vegetarian or fish-only, etc we can definitely accommodate you (especially for private crawls!)

Schedule, details and tickets via LIB or by sending us a note bookings(at)curiousappetitetravel.com

Looking forward to dining around town with you! Buon appetito 🍽🥩🍷🍝 #curiousappetite #foodtours

Bonjour from Paris! 🥐🧈👩🏻‍🎨 Laterg

Bonjour from Paris! 🥐🧈👩🏻‍🎨 Latergram posting from Florence after eating up my first trip this past weekend to this darling city!

In the last decade of living-ish in Florence, I rarely took advantage of how close other countries were. Mainly because I’ve been so focused on developing Curious Appetite (and #sommlady) plus the last 2 years didn’t make traveling exactly easy!

But also you might not think but I sorta felt a little intimidated by visiting Paris on my own! Language, size (feeling like I’d need at least a week, as I’m more of a soak-it-in traveler) and the distorted idea it’d be best for a romantic occasion. Well, this time it was as I got to meet up with friends j’adore beaucoup! 💕💕💕💕

Now after all that’s happened I’m trying to say “yes” to spontaneous adventures even if my impulse is to stay home/be “productive.” Paris is even closer now that there’s a Frecciarossa train from Milan! I hope you’ll do the same if you can. (And if someone is waiting on word from me I promise I’m on it 🤓)

Overall I loved the city, found it extremely clean (living also between San Francisco you notice these things), friendly/tolerant of my non-existent French (although ask me now to count to 10 🤣) absolutely darling and undoubtedly delicious.

And strangely, I came back appreciating Italian food even more (esp vegetables and evoo) and its history, just consider the profiterole- it (probably) wouldn’t have possible if not for Florence! (I.e. the origins of the pâte à choux)

But don’t worry still lots of room to throw shade at Italian dolci and cheese (I’m not THAT loyal!)

If I can carve out some time in between inbox catch-up and tours, I’ll type up a post in the blog with all the finds and experiences. But for now check out @parisbymouth for in-depth nerdy culinary tours and easy breezy bike tours with @bikeabouttours (I’d suggest booking a private 🚲 tour if you can) and @lostncheeseland for incredible dining advice

In the meantime, let me know if you’ve been to Paris and what you loved the most about it!

Au revoir, alla prossima Parigi! 🇫🇷 🧈🥐🥖👩🏻‍🎨😍#curiousappetite