eating panini at casa del vino {florence}

I was in Florence last week. Mostly, I was there to help a good friend turn 50. A weekend filled with delicious food and fun. But since the festivities didn’t start until the evening, I decided to arrive early on Friday, so that I could check out a few new places that had opened recently in Florence. Like Rome in the last year, Florence has been the scene of a bunch of new openings, and I couldn’t wait to check
them out.

But before I could even get to the first new place, I came across an old place that I’d somehow managed to miss in the past. In my defense, it’s not surprising that I’d missed it, since it’s hidden behind the mass of leather jackets, poly-blend t-shirts and rhinestone studded-belts that the outdoor bazaar around San Lorenzo has become. As Sophie and I made our way towards the indoor food market, trying to avoid the smell of weirdly treated leather and industrial starch, we squeezed ourselves between two stands, to make our way to the narrow side walk behind the busy market.

After managing to push aside a particularly tangled web of brightly colored purses, we found ourselves staring at the most perfect little sandwiches displayed in an old fashioned wooden and glass case. About as far away as possible, in spirit, as you could get from the touristy market we had just escaped.

Even though we were headed towards the newly opened Mercato Centrale (which we knew would involve much eating), we both decided we couldn’t pass up at least one of these darling little panini.

Casa del Vino is exactly the type of wine bar you dream of coming across in Italy. Wooden shelves hold bottles of wine for sale along one wall, while a long counter stretches along the other. At least a dozen bottles are open at any one time, for wines by the glass.

While wine is the thing, they are also well known for their food, which not only includes bite-sized panini, but small plates of old fashioned Italian bar food that you don’t see so much anymore. Pickled mackerel is served with baby artichokes; smoked herring is served atop a bed of fresh vegetables. And only Florentines could turn tripe and gizzards into a form of salad.

But since it was only 10:30 and Sophie and I were heading towards a market tour followed by a multi course lunch, we managed to satisfy ourselves with one of their perfectly made mini panini. Small, round, soft brioches are minimally filled to provide the perfect snack. This is not the meaty rolls of the tripe stands or the more substantial panini of some of the new breed of gourmet sandwich shops, but just the most perfect delicate bite you can imagine.

We had a hard time deciding, but finally settled on anchovies. The roll was liberally spread with butter, then topped with a few marinated anchovies. The bread was soft and slightly sweet, and the salty anchovies and rich butter paired perfectly.

We could easily have gobbled down at least three more. At one euro each, we could have tried some of the other sandwiches like prosciutto and mozzarella or stracchino and finocchiona. Or, since it was more or less breakfast time an egg and anchovy topped crostino would have been easy to justify.

But since we were headed straight for a day of mega eating. we restrained ourselves, making a note to stick to the sidewalk of the market next time we were in town, and come back soon to this little jewel.

Casa del Vino
Via dell’Ariento 16r
From Monday to Saturday, 9:30 to 8:30
June, July and September closed Saturdays.
August closed.