An Italian Feast: Il Latini

Il Latini was another recommendation from Barret and his friends. Amy and I weren't sure what to expect - a great meal, said Barret; the best grilled meats in Florence and a 35-euro fixed price, said the guidebook; good but touristy, said Mirko's friend. What we didn't expect was a little restaurant located outside central Florence, off a dark side street, with a huge crowd of Italians clambering to get inside. Fortunately, Mirko had made us reservations, and with a few elbows and a ''scusi,'' I was able to reach the host and say, ''reservations per due!'' Within five minutes we were inside the restaurant, starring at huge mounds of prosciutto hanging from the ceiling. The tables were communal, and Amy and I were sat between an Italian family and two college-aged American girls studying abroad in Paris (coincidence!). As the Italians were almost finished, we shared our meal with the American girls.

A bottle of Chianti that was three times the size of any normal bottle of wine was put on the table first. According to our waiter, one glass each is included in the fixed price - but how could they tell we wondered??

On to the food... the first course was a thick slice of prosciutto that was so soft, I believe I called it ''butter meat.'' The second course was different types of bruschetta, including mushroom pate and chicken liver pate - all delicious. This was accompanied by a bread basket and cool, pure olive oil. The third course was soups - that's right, plural. A bean and barley soup, a tomato bread soup, and a vegetable bread soup called ribollita. According to the Tuscan cookbook I bought, these are classic Florentine recipes. The soups were given to us in huge communal bowls and we were to spoon out at our leisure. The fourth course was pasta - a spinach and cheese ravioli and a penne pasta with a wild boar meat sauce. Who knew wild boar was delicious - but it is. By this point, we had been satiated to the point of illness. But there was one more major course to go: the meat.

Now, when I say the fifth course was the meat course, that's an understatement. A huge platter was placed in front of the four of us, filled with thick juicy cuts of veal, roast beef, pork, lamb and rabbit. The guidebook was spot on - not only were the meat choices astounding, but each cut of meat was incredibly fragrant and well-cooked. Just when we thought let our guards down and started digging in, the waiter asked if we'd like potatoes and/or spinach to accompany our meat. We couldn't turn him down, but opted for only spinach.

When we finally gave up on the meat plate...looking almost untouched despite our best efforts (it could have fed a family of 10)...Alessandro, our waiter, was back to offer dessert. I was apprehensive, but Amy ordered us an almond cake. Even though I was bursting at the seams, I had to eat some of the cake because it was, like the rest of the meal, amazing. At this point, we had polished off more than half of our Chianti bottle (and switched out our bottle with that of our long-gone neighbors who drank less, in case they did actually charge by the glass). We were overly stuffed and definitely buzzed. However, Alessandro, who had taken a liking to us, decided to give us a ''present'' - a huge plate of biscotti, shot glasses of some sort of port drink to dip the biscotti, and a bottle of sweet dessert wine. Never one to turn down a present...we partook.

When it was time for the bill, we were all slightly apprehensive. Not only had we said yes to everything Alessandro offered, but, by that time, we had dipped into the neighbor's Chianti reserves. I was expecting well over 50 euros a piece. However, by the grace of the Italian food gods, the bill was exactly 35 euros each. For a meal that included at least six different glasses of alcohol and five different types of expensive meats, among many other things, I couldn't believe my eyes.

I felt sick all night and awoke with horrible heart burn...but it was worth it for what I can confidently say -- considering, quality, variety, uniqueness and price -- was one of the best meals of my life. I may make it my sole mission to return to Il Latini once a year until I'm old and put on a liquid diet...and, even then, I may go and just drink the Chianti.