As we finalize our 15-day Rome/Venice/Florence trip, I'm starting to compile a list of places to dine in each city. When we visited Paris (our first Europe trip) ten years ago, we assumed that all food in Paris would be amazing and thus did zero research. As you can imagine, that ended poorly! I wish to not repeat that experience! We had great dining luck on our subsequent Spain trips, but that was luck which was backed up with research!
The internet has confirmed what I assumed to be true: not all restaurants in these "big three" Italian cities are created equal. Many are, as one would expect, tourist traps. Of the three cities we are visiting, my understanding is that Venice will present the biggest challenge here.
I understand the basics--don't eat near a major tourist attraction, avoid places with posted menus in English, avoid places where staff is standing outside enticing people to come in. But I'd love a few recommendations for dining from those of you who have been there, done that. So I ask of you: what are some not-to-be-missed restaurants/cafes/etc. in Rome, Venice, and Florence?
A note on budget: this is a budget trip, so while I'm not trying to eat for pennies, any five dollar sign suggestions would be considered a once-per-trip splurge.
We will also have a kitchen in both Rome and Florence, and I'm cool with recommendations of markets to check out for at-home cooking. I'm also open to being told that cooking is stupid and we should just enjoy many of each city's fine restaurants instead!
And finally, a note on my unique concern (stop reading now if you don't want to know possibly TMI medical things!)
I would love to enjoy street food and/or gelato on the go. I also understand that the thing to do in Venice is a cicchetti crawl. However, I cannot do any of those things and here's why: I had cancer three years ago, a resulting MAJOR surgery, and now every single time I eat I require a restroom immediately. Like get up while eating and find a restroom and return to finish my meal. So I cannot eat on the street, and I cannot enjoy cicchetti bars, as my understanding (from much research) is that most of them do not have toilets. So for those of you making recommendations, please keep this in mind--and let me know if there's anywhere I should avoid! I would hate to walk halfway across town to arrive at a dining establishment only to discover that I can't eat there. Thanks!