In America we are accustomed to a certain degree of convenience. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the food industry where Americans expect to be able to eat 24/7 and especially late at night. However this is not the case in Europe, specifically Florence, Italy…

We wandered the streets late at night, starved, drenched from the deluge of rain
flooding the city streets. Every place we passed was closed, and those that looked open sternly said, “Chuiso” as we attempted to gain entry. Resigned to our growling stomachs we walked back to the apartment ready to go to sleep hungry. At this point it was at least 12:30 at night, but a pizzeria near the apartment had its lights on. We readied ourselves for more disappointment but surprisingly one of the workers beckoned us to come in and eat. He asked only that we try to eat as fast as possible since they were closing after all. We obliged, ordering two basic margerhita’s and anxiously awaited the pizzas, thanking all of the workers profusely for allowing us to come in and eat, a clear impediment on their closing. After devouring the pies we payed quickly and the waiter offered us some limoncello. After some coaxing he allowed us to give him a tip for all the trouble we had caused them.

The next day we returned to eat there again, and to thank the workers once more for our inconveniencing them. This time I ordered a pizza with spicy salami, similar to a pepperoni pizza and it was just as remarkable as the one I had the previous night. As before we were offered some complimentary limoncello after our meals. Il Nutino’s in Florence is a great pizzeria, though one should try not to inconvenience the workers by showing up late at night, even though they were quite generous and accommodating nonetheless.