13th and Wolf's Florence week

I suspect many of you have found me through my brother's blog 13th & Wolf. For those of you who don't know 13th & Wolf yet, it is a superlative vision of men's style. This week, he branches out a bit with a very thoughtful series of posts regarding eating and art in Florence, Italy in honor of the fact that so many of his friends are making their first visit to our shared favorite city fr Pitti Uomo. His choices will be familliar to readers of this page, as tastes run very similar is our family. However, his choice of images and prose is worth a look if you long for a brief virtual holiday, or you happen to be in Florence right now. If you're in the latter category, I am supremely jealous.

In a related vein, today would've been my Dad's 69th birthday. In honor of that, and of the focus on Florence, I want to sing the praises of Trattoria Cammillo, 57R Borgo San Jacopo in the Oltrarno, just a quick right turn and a short walk from the Ponte Vecchio.


I raise it both because it is an excellent example of a true Trattoria frequented by fiorentini, and because it's where I had the last meal my Dad and I ever ate in Italy. I was in Florence for work (rough life) and he was similarly at a Board meeting in Rome, but -- true to form -- took the train up to spend the day with me. It was a Sunday, which meant finding a restaurant open for lunch was tough. After a couple of strikeouts, we walked past Cammillo. I had eaten there once before about ten years earlier, and remembered it as very good, if a bit pricey.


After scanning the menu, we both settled on the questionably named tagliatelle fresca con sugo di castrato. It turned out it was a ragu made from a neutered lamb, and hence much sweeter than traditional lamb ragu. It was absolutely delicious. Man, did my dad love his pasta. So guys, if you're stuck for lunch this Sunday, try Camillo.

Happy birthday, pop.