Florence, like more or less all Italian cities, has a special kind of baked dough. It is salty and crunchy, its name is schiacciata. Usually we cut it in two halves and fill it with cold cuts (such as prosciutto, mortadella and salami), cheese, vegetables and some spread. In my life I've never seen it done as well as at All'Antico Vinaio. They use genuine ingredients and mix them skilfully, in order to get flavours that are hard to describe. The outcome is a big crunchy sandwich filled with generous portions of all the ingredients you've chosen.
They have everything; pecorino cheese, rucola, many kinds of prosciutto crudo, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, aubergines, truffle sauce and so on, and will help you to choose your filling, but, please, don't ask them for any pesto, they will just make fun of you because pesto is from Genoa, so you cannot have it on a schiacciata in Florence.
The only downside is that, since this place has become very famous, there is a long line of people waiting and it can take a while before you get your food (up to 45 minutes during weekends in summer), even though they've opened a second shop in front of the first one, making the very same sandwiches.
Find your way with 108 Insider Tips from our Local Spotters
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