All'Antico Vinaio

We woke up early to catch the Boboli Gardens and Pitti Palace before it got hot as it was a toasty 37 degrees Celsius the day before.  Even with that, we were still plenty sweating after those 2 tourist attractions.  We made our way over the Ponte Vecchio to a very popular sandwich shop called All'Antico Vinaio.  It was just a smidge past 10:00am and the lineup was already forming.  They actually have 4 storefronts near each other and they have staggered opening to help move the lines.

We got a sandwich each with mine being the Tartufo Uno with mortadella with truffles, stracchino, mushroom cream and arugula.  This was all served on freshly-baked focaccia that was rather firm and crunchy.  With all of the wet ingredients, this bread did serve it's purpose by keeping its shape and keeping things within.  There was a good amount of mortadella that had the unmistakable taste of black truffles.  The mushroom cream added both moisture and another layer of earthiness.  The arugula provided some bitter brightness.

For Viv, she went with the Summer consisting of prosciutto crudo, 

mozzarella fior di latte, tomato and basil.  Due to the use of raw prosciutto, it was a bit more difficult to chew without yanking the entire slice out of the sandwich.  However, the firm bread made it easier to not destroy the whole thing.  Mild ingredients such as the mozzarella, tomato and basil helped temper the saltiness and added texture and moisture as well as aromatics.

My son had probably the best oft the bunch with the Number 5 with porchetta, roast potato cream and parmesan cream.  Beyond the thin fatty slices of the roast pork, the best part of this sandwich was the roast potato cream.  It was certainly smooth and creamy with depth of flavour as well as adding a binding agent to the sandwich.  It held things together and the whole thing felt like a roast pork plate in a sandwich.

My daughter ended up with the Manolo with prosciutto cotto, mushroom cream, mozzarella fior di latte and basil.  This one, as well as mine, was the easiest to eat since the ham was tender.  The saltiness was tempered by the mozzarella as well as the fresh aromatics of the basil.  Just like my sandwich, this featured the same earthy mushroom cream.  So does this place live up to the hype?  I would say yes because the sammies were tasty and stuffed full of excellent ingredients.  An affordable and quick lunch that won't interrupt your sightseeing or wallet.

The Good:

- Quality ingredients

- Tasty ingredients

- Inexpensive considering everything

The Bad:

- Of course the dreaded lineup

- I liked the bread and it served a purpose, but for some, it might be too firm