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<blockquote data-quote="Max Roscoe" data-source="post: 1349469" data-attributes="member: 17845">I had a similar experience at a restaurant in Florence, Italy.The host at our B&amp;B recommended the place.&nbsp; It is walkable from all the major tourist attractions but off the beaten path.&nbsp; You basically just walk 3 blocks and cross this bridge, and everyone on the other side is locals, and all the tourists remain right around the Duomo.&nbsp; The restaurant was in the basement of a building.&nbsp; Far in the back I could see a giant fire and this chef hacking at a wild boar with a machete.&nbsp; They had no menus, just wrote some things down on the butcher paper (it was a &quot;nice&quot; restaurant though, kind of like eating in an upscale medieval restaurant, not a hole in the wall) and then brought out delicious food and wine.&nbsp; I can't remember the prices but very affordable.As a general rule, food quality is much higher in Europe.&nbsp; Over the last decade, things have changed in the US where one can often special order organic foods and better cuts of meat, etc, but all the general grocery stuff (and almost all the restaurant stuff) is low quality, factory farmed stuff.&nbsp; Whole Foods was probably the first chain that offered it, and now we have many doing the same thing.&nbsp;I took a cooking class in Tuscany, and they stressed that the key to good food is simplicity, and high quality ingredients.&nbsp; I guess Papa John must have visited there before and ripped off their motto. Better Ingredients, Better Pizza. (FYI PJ used frozen pre-grated cheese when I worked there)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Max Roscoe, post: 1349469, member: 17845"] I had a similar experience at a restaurant in Florence, Italy. The host at our B&B recommended the place. It is walkable from all the major tourist attractions but off the beaten path. You basically just walk 3 blocks and cross this bridge, and everyone on the other side is locals, and all the tourists remain right around the Duomo. The restaurant was in the basement of a building. Far in the back I could see a giant fire and this chef hacking at a wild boar with a machete. They had no menus, just wrote some things down on the butcher paper (it was a "nice" restaurant though, kind of like eating in an upscale medieval restaurant, not a hole in the wall) and then brought out delicious food and wine. I can't remember the prices but very affordable. As a general rule, food quality is much higher in Europe. Over the last decade, things have changed in the US where one can often special order organic foods and better cuts of meat, etc, but all the general grocery stuff (and almost all the restaurant stuff) is low quality, factory farmed stuff. Whole Foods was probably the first chain that offered it, and now we have many doing the same thing. I took a cooking class in Tuscany, and they stressed that the key to good food is simplicity, and high quality ingredients. I guess Papa John must have visited there before and ripped off their motto. Better Ingredients, Better Pizza. (FYI PJ used frozen pre-grated cheese when I worked there) [/QUOTE]

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