This hole in the wall serves THE best Italian sandwiches in Florence. There is a second one of the same name directly across the street, and on any given day and time (during opening hours of course), you will find a queue of people outside each one, literally going down to the end of the street. It is important to remember that this is not a place for those with little or no patience (but a good place to start working on that - some things really are worth waiting for). It is also important to make sure you’re just the right amount of hungry; hungry enough to devour what you’re about to be served (it’s huge), but not so hungry that waiting in an endless line will feel so torturous you’ll want to knock everyone down like a line of dominoes and jump over them screaming for your sandwich whilst flailing your arms about, with the risk of getting permanently barred. However, once you’re inside, you will be greeted by a line of five charming young Italian men (but not always the same ones...yes, I went more than once). You could even say they are... ‘sandwiched’ together *ba dum tss*... behind a very narrow counter, and will swiftly serve you your sandwich of choice while gracefully shouting to each other in their melodic Italian to be passed the ingredients they need. Watching them make your sandwich is half the experience of this place. These guys have a very impressive system of perfectly organised chaos. There is a seamlessly perfect method to the madness that is Italian sandwich making. I recommend trying the Summer Sandwich. This simple sandwich consists of just the right Italian ingredients. A very generous few layers of pepper prosciutto, thick juicy slices of fresh mozzarella, perfectly ripened tomatoes (and those of you who know me know how fussy I am with my tomatoes), and a tiny touch of basil, all stuffed between two enormous, olive oil-soaked layers of freshly baked, deliciously comforting focaccia the size of your head (I’m not kidding). And it’s literally ready in seconds. It takes a while to get through it (mine took me my entire two train journeys from Florence to Rome), and so good that you will feel very protective over it, and certainly won’t be sharing it with anyone. Not even your dog. In fact, the experience is quite like a combination of those two Friends episodes, ‘the one with Ross’ sandwich’ and ‘the one where Joey doesn’t share food’. Who ever thought you could write five paragraphs about a sandwich?! My primary school teachers would be proud. Now go get in that queue, it’s only going to get longer!
