Trattoria Milanese (Milan, Italy)

Delicious saffron risotto (which was ordered by every customer in the restaurant), and veal milanese.

L'Antico Pozzo (Bellagio, Italy)

The food was good, but the view of Lake Como was incredible.

Trattoria Sostanza-Troia (Florence, Italy

This restaurant has been in operation since 1869.  Their speciality is butter chicken.  The egg artichoke pie is also very good.  We poked around in the kitchen after the meal.

Trattoria Quattro Leoni (Florence, Italy)

Favorite meal of the trip.

Osteria del Cinghiale Bianco (Florence, Italy)

Truffles, truffles, everywhere.  Homemade tagliatelle pasta, buffalo mozzarella, and florentine steak.

Rome Fiumicino Airport (Rome, Italy)

    
Surprisingly enough, the restaurant on the second floor of Terminal 3 in the Rome Airport served the best buffalo mozarella I've ever had.  It's made from the milk of water buffalo raised in Lazio (and not cow's milk).

Gelateria Della Palma (Rome, Italy)

 
Very popular gelato place around the corner from the Pantheon.  The gelato is richer and creamier than San Crispino, and there is a lot more selection, including Kit Kat gelato and Smarties gelato.  We had coconut and tiramisu gelato.  I still prefer San Crispino, which was lighter.

Pizzeria da Baffetto (Rome, Italy)

We were told that this place serves the best (Roman-style) pizza in Rome.  The recipe for the very thin crispy crust is generations old, and the wood oven certainly looked ancient.  We waited an hour to get in, and another hour to get our pizza (and had to share tables with two other parties). Was it worth it?  Yes!

Pizza dough; pizza toppings; the owner of Baffetto's with small mozzarella pizzas for the staff; Baffetto pizza with egg, sausage, artichokes, peppers, onions, and mushrooms; margherita pizza with proscuitto, arugula, and parmagiano

McDonald's Spagna (Rome, Italy)

  
This is the first McDonald's to open in Italy, and the largest one I've ever seen.  You can get paprika french fries there, plus clappers to support the Italian soccer team for the World Cup!

Checchino dal 1887 (Rome, Italy)

     

Checcino has been run by the Mariani family since 1887, and Mario Batali says that this place has consistently been his favorite restaurant.  It's famous for serving the quinto quarto (aka, organ meats).  It also has a killer wine list (inexpensive compared to US restaurants) and cheese list (5 kinds of pecorino!). 

Rigatoni with pajata (intestine of suckling pig fed with its mother's milk, tastes way better than it sounds); Bucatini Gricia with pecorino and bacon; oxtail stewed for 5 hours in tomato sauce with celery, pine nuts, raisins and a sprinkling of chocolate; the special "Buon Ricordo" plate we received.

Remo (Rome, Italy)

  
We wandered here accidentally, and later learned that it's one of the best places in the city to get authentic pizza romana.  This explains why it was packed "early" on a Saturday evening at 7pm.  Remo is located on Piazza Santa Maria Liberatrice, which is a beautiful square in the Testaccio neighborhood.

Antico Forno (Rome, Italy)

            
This place is known for its six-foot pizzas, which have a distinctive crispy crust formed by letting the dough rest under a glazing of olive oil.  The pizza is sold by the pound, and one very large piece will set you back only two euros.  When we were went, pomodoro and bianco pizzas were available.

Il Gelato Di San Crispino (Rome, Italy)

               
Many call this the best gelato in the world, and it's received rave reviews from NYTimes and TimeOut.  The lemon sorbet was awesomely sour (notice the pucker and closed eyes), and the pistachio gelato had bits of pistachio in it.  We went to the branch on Piazza della Maddalena near the Pantheon, and may have to go to the other two branches before we leave Rome!