Florence does not simply regard itself as home to the greatest of Italy’s regional culinary traditions, but as the birthplace of all Western cookery. Florentines will tell you that it was the sixteenth-century Catherine de Medici who taught the French to cook by taking with her a team of Tuscan chefs when she married the Duke of Orleans, later to become King Henry II of France.
While it is hard to tell if the above is true or false, there is no doubt Florence can reward the wise traveler in search for good local food, especially if he/she manages to get off the beaten track. The key is to find a place that looks as though it’s popular with locals. If you find such a place, you’re probably onto a winner, both price and taste wise.