food – Page 15 – Designverb!

Category: food

Florence: Vini E Vecchi Sapori

April 1, 2007

After a few days of unsuccessful restaurant choices we went back to our reliable resource that first introduced us to the fantastico “I Due G” and asked for another find. This time the long words “Vini E Vecchi Sapori Osteria” were given, and upon a simple google maps search we were there.

Vini E, as I now call it, is a cozy 5 table space with high rustic wood-beamed ceilings, brick floors, one waiter, and a visual aroma for what was to come. This place seemed authentic, real, warm, and truly Italian with no need or care for tourists even though cradled near the populated Piazza della Signoria. The environment was stacked high in wine bottles and oils along with hollywood like beacon lights blistering the wooden fan ceilings. Our first sign of an authentic meal glimpsed at the daily hand-written menu which had no english besides the words “no pizza, no ice”. That was a good thing because our attempts at pizza in Italy proved poorly thus far.

More pics after the jump…
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Florence: Trattoria I due G

March 31, 2007

Right up near the Stazione di Santa Maria Novella train station and close to the Fortezza Da Basso is a hidden little gem of a restaurant called “Trattoria I due G“. I was hinted several times about this place having simply the best “fantastico” black truffles dish in Florence. I envisioned a crowded fancy over-plated dark environment but that perception quickly diminished after coming here 4 times. Yes, we came here 4 times in a span of a few days for many reasons. First off, we had to try the truffles, secondly we had to bring more people to experience the truffles, thirdly it was near our clients, and 4th, my group had little success in finding other good restaurants in Florence, hence returned here.

Imagine an extremely traditional, family run, local restaurant in Florence filled with only locals, wine staffed up high, pictures and paintings mounted on every wall, and a staff with much personality and charm almost from a book you had read when you were younger(maybe Lady and the Tramp) . Nothing too fancy, just simple, clean, and to the point. Cooks would come out to greet customers like family and serve dishes along with a story or joke each time. The environment was charming with bricks on plastered white walls, picture frames, checkered red tables cloths, and chandeliers draping from fairly high brick ceiling. Enough about the space, let’s see the food!

Food and pics after the jump!

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Florence: La Giostra Ristorante

March 30, 2007

My first experience of an Italian restaurant brought me to a tiny cozy place called La Giostra Ristorante nearby the central Duomo and hidden in a small alleyway on Borgo Pinti Street. The cabin like space was lit up with a cascading assortment of flickering ceiling lights, aisles of rustic wine bottles, melting wax candles on every table, laughter, and a warm welcoming by the pirate like passionate owners. I came here my first day and last day, so I’ll be posting on both these occasions at this wonderful restaurant which I’d highly recommend for a tasty enjoyable meal. If you dig into their site, you’ll find a set of pictures taken by celebrities who have been there, which are also plastered on the restaurants interior.

More pics and yummy food after the jump.

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Florence: TASTE Conference

March 28, 2007

My first stop in Florence was at TASTE, a 3 day food gathering of Italy’s finest foods ranging from jams, wines, cheeses, meats, chocolates, and much more from over 160 select exhibitors. This mouth watering event allowed attendees to eat, taste, question and buy products from a wide range of creators and distributors around Italy, though many of them seemed to be small independent family run organizations, which I liked. The highlight of the event for me is pictured above….it’s buffalo mozzarella! Simply Amazzzing!!

More pics and info about TASTE after the jump. (more…)

Italy update

March 24, 2007

I’ve been dancing and prancing around Florence for the past week and will finally have time to check out the city over the weekend. A stop by the Duomo, the huge galleries, and famous churches is a must. The architecture here is charming, unique, and fluent thriving with colors and hand made rustic materials. Food so far has been ok….a few amazing meals (truffles above, egg noodles, mozzarella(buffalo), meat, salads), and a few misses due to my trust in touristy areas. An endless supply of amazing wine, cheese, coffee, and gelato exists in every corner while the weather has been cloudy, rainy, but sunny at times. If the weather is nice over the weekend, I’ll probably rent a Vespa and cruise abouts the hills fashionably with my camera in one hand.

The people I have met so far locally are incredibly friendly, fashionable, jazzy, and passionate about Italy. Many of them smoke, all of them ride Vespas, and all must have coffee. The city of Florence is annoying to an extent that there are toooo many tourists and some local businesses take advantage of that in unkind ways. The nightly streets are packed full of fake brand goods, but it gives the place charm in a funny way.

I’m trekking over to Milan on monday, so if you have any must do’s there, let me know..otherwise, I only plan to visit a few churches and the Italian Design Triennale as my flight is the next morning back to gloomy yet good ole Boston.

I’ll have a more visual report once I return, but for now, I’m going to experience Italy and try to stay away from my laptop as much as possible besides work reasons. Ciao!

Total Darkness Restaurant

March 15, 2007

Here’s something I would have never thought up….serving dinner in total darkness as a restaurant theme. I love the idea of heightning your senses for food, but I wonder how many times I would flip food into my face or nose. I guess I’d avoid the noodles or soups and hot BBQ plates. Otherwise, I wonder if the users eat like blind cavemen using their hands. A dark room food fight with thousands of marshmellows could be fun.

“The first dark restaurant in Asia is officially opened on the 23 December 2006. This restaurant, located in Beijing, China, has its interior painted completely black. Customers are greeted by a brightly lit entrance hall and will be escorted by waiters wearing night vision goggles into the pitch dark dining room to help them find their seats. Flashlights, mobile phones and even luminous watches are prohibited while in this area.

The meal will be taken in this environment with the complete loss of vision. By starving oneâ€™s sense, your other senses are stimulated to full alert â€“ all so the theory goes â€“ and your food will taste like itâ€™s never tasted before. In case you are wondering about the washrooms, they are all brightly lit. Link [in Chinese] ”

via neatorama

G Pure Energy

March 13, 2007

A few weeks back the iconic creators of Voss Water sent me a case of their new drink G Pure Energy to try out.(thanks melissa!) At first I thought it would be another over caffinated and marketed drink in a very busy sector, but oh was I wrong. I was sent two awesome flavors: Orange Blossom and the Zero Carb Lime both in their squeeze shaped glass bottles with metalic covers. I was also sent a folder containing some zesty cocktails mixes which I have not had a chance to try out but will do so for some upcoming spring parties. So now for testing it out… I snapped open a chilled bottled and gave it a sip. It was snappy, fresh, smoothe, and poppy like champagne. It had a soda like touch but much cleaner without the sugar though sweet enough to enjoy. Unlike many other energy drinks, it didn’t leave a weird after taste, but more like a healthy dose of carbonated water with a kiss of sweetness. Super chilled was a must. It was almost like carbonated water with a bit of a zest which I enjoyed. The only minus was that these bottles emptied fast at 200ml. I’m not sure how much energy these actually gave me but the refreshing zest made me smile. I’ve never seen these in stores, but if you do, give it a go! I’ll post a pic of two of the bottle chillin in the snow on my porch after the jump.

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Pink Dragon Fruit!

February 26, 2007

Wow…OMG that looks soooo good! I personally loooove eating dragon fruits, but I’ve never seen a flamming pink one like the one above! As much as I crave dragon fruits, this picture made me mentally drool. Not only does an image like this capture my attention, curiosity, and thoughts, but it ignites my tastebuds. I’ve always wondered how to extract that magical element in food into product design. Sure, there’s amazing packaging, housewares, utencils, glasses, and items that surround food, but how can product designs in say laptops, pens, chairs, cars, etc make me drool like food does? I’m not sure, but I do believe in the idea of sense being enhanced or triggered by the other senses…like hearing through images, or seeing through touch.Â Here’s a pretty cool thesis bases on that idea called “Synesthesia”.

via deliciousdays (a very inspiring tasty blog)(fyi: designers looove kick butt food)

All Look the Same: Exam Room

February 10, 2007

The incredibly fun and rather tough “We All Look the Same” test to differentiate between images of Chinese, Korean, or Chinese people that I posted about before has expanded their face test to several other cultural tests in their “Exam Room“. Besides faces, the test now includes Modern Art, Architecture, Photos, Urban Scenes, Food, and Architectural Details. I took the food test and scored 14/18, but I failed miserably at the Art test with 9/18. Go take the tests and feel proud or miserable about your eye for asian culture.

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Bossa Acai Juice..yummm

January 23, 2007

On one of my “let’s try a new drink” journeys at the grocery store, I grabbed a small bottle of Bossa Acai Juice(mango). So, what is Acai exactly? According to the label Acai is a purple rainforest berry that claims to be the “World’s most healthy Fruit” with the highest amount of antioxidants surpassing our beloved Pomegranate fruit. This was enough for me to give it a go, and I’ll have to say, it was delicious! Served chilled, it was very refreshing, and just enough to give you a boost of energy from the 10 oz bottles. I’ll have to grab a case of these next time around.