Great Food, Great Restaurant, and Some Wonderful Interviews

Last May we convinced several of the people at our favorite informal restaurant, La Grotta di Leo on via della Scala, to let us interview them to use as a basis for a future show. Those interviews along with photos and recollections of 18 years of great experiences comprise Alan's Italy Show # 77 which has finally been posted to Youtube after some fancy editing by Ellen, my Engineer. The show features interviews with the owner, the pizza chief, and the oldest waiter and one of the newest. The interviews are fascinating give the viewers a clear picture of a fabulous pizzeria/ristorante in the heart of Florence.

Of course we have had to wait an extra week posting, because somehow a period of one minute of blackness encompassed the screen, for which Ellen had no explanation, but was happy to bring it home and edit. That is one thing I have been unwilling to learn, how to edit, and much to my disadvantage, have had to either let an imperfect show stay that way or allow Ellen to do it for me. Of course, I could have learned how to execute an edit the same way I learned just about every other aspect of cable TV production, but just felt that considering the whole affair was informal and a "hobby" that I didn't want to spend hours a week producing the show. Nonetheless, Ellen did a perfect job being an expert and very experienced videographer.

So taking its place alongside my other restaurant show, La Spada, this show probably exceeds that one in that these interviews are sweet, informal representations of who works at this marvelous place where I have been dining for parts of three decades going back to before the current crew were there in the mid '90's. Located down the block from my hotel Croce di Malta and Lidia's store, Gioia Chiara, I happened upon it one day and have been dining at all hours since then. It main qualities are fabulous pizza, excellent pasta, an extensive menu, an outdoor section, clean and appealing dining, and I think best of all hours that extend well beyond the usual restaurant/pizzeria in Italy beginning to serve in the late morning and extending all the way into the wee hours of the next morning. Personally I have eaten there over 50 times at most hours of the day. When I was single and hated dining alone, I would get there around 5 PM before most larger groups arrived and have a fine meal, usually alone in the restaurant. It was one of the few places open at that early hour of the evening. I also to this day love their pizza, which affords over 30 varieties not even counting odd concoctions that the diner can come up with combining any of the ingredients listed and some not.

he next blog will focus on the show I did this evening, so stay tuned.