zeb {florence}

I’d been reading and hearing about Zeb for a while. A grocery store that reinvented itself as a lunch and dinner place. Great soups. You eat at counters, not tables. Friendly service.

And the food was supposed to be fantastic.

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but certainly not the elegantly stylish, modern and sleek diner that I walked into a few weeks ago.
 
I arrived for lunch on the early side, around 12:15. The owners, Giuseppina Navari and her son Alberto, were just finishing set up. That mean setting out the various soups and stews along the gleaming counter, and then writing up the day’s specials on the black board that serves as the menu.

Looking at the menu, trying to decide what to order, I finally understood the name: Zeb. Zuppe e Bolliti. Soups and boiled meats. Simple, hearty fair, but with a twist. The day’s soup was Fregola e Patate – a Sardinian type of pasta and potatoes. Then there were Florentine classics like Lampredotto, Bollito, Trippa and Peposa.

But there were also a few inventive choices that were more ’creative’. Since this was the end of my week in town, updating Eat Italy,  I was ready for something different and chose Cappelacci di Ricotta e Zucca Gialla in Salsa di Delice de Bourgogne. Lovely, light ravioli filled with pumpkin and ricotta and tossed in a sauce of creamy French cheese. Topped with a scattering of poppy seeds, they were as gorgeous as they were delicious. And a nice change from tradition.

I have to admit that I wanted just about everything for my second course, and sorely regretted the fact that I was alone and had no one to share with. I finally settled on the Involtini di Verza Ripieni di Carne: cabbage roles stuffed with meat, then stewed slowly in a tomato sauce. I pretended to myself that the Sormato di Patate was a sort of side dish/vegetable, rather than admit I had really ordered two main dishes.

Everything I had was delicious, lovingly prepared and served with grace and charm by the mother and son duo. The prices are incredibly reasonable and the wines by the glass divine. The ‘store’ is still a shop as well, and they have a lovely selection of cured meats, cheeses and various well selected goodies like balsamic, pastas and wines.

While I’m all for places never changing (like Sostanza) I’m also happy when things change for the better. Even though I’d never been in the Navari family’s alimentari before they transformed themselves into this chic eatery, I’m sure it was wonderful. But as nice as it would have been to keep the small family store running, competition from supermarkets probably made it a losing battle. Instead of giving up, like so many small shop keepers, they saw it as an opportunity to try their hand at something different. And better.

Lucky for us.

Zeb
Via San Miniato 2r
Florence

Hours
Mon – Tues 9:30 – 8pm
   Lunch served from 12-3pm
Wed Closed
Thurs, Fri, Sat 9:30- 10:30
   Lunch served from 12-3pm
   Dinner served from 7:30-10:30
Sun 9:30-5
   Lunch served from 12-3pm