Semel Street Food

"For the best sandwich in the world, according to obviously biased owner Marco Paparozzi, head to his tiny panino stall perched on the curb of the Sant'Ambrogio market. Fillings here break the usual meat-and-cheese mold, drawing from Tuscan-inspired flavors and dishes: Think stewed donkey, pear, pecorino, and truffle; wild boar sausage and broccoli rabe; and, at times, carb-on-carb taglierini pasta panino. Select your filling from the rotating chalkboard menu and Paparozzi or his nephew will promptly whip up a flavorful panino and insist it be washed down with a small glass of wine." - Coral Sisk

"Adjacent to the very local Sant’Ambrogio market, dapperly-dressed Marco Paparozzi’s squeeze of a sandwich shop (standing room only bar a couple of high stools) spills out onto the sidewalk when business is brisk—which is most of the time. It’s basically a counter laden with buns and a series of fillings which change daily; the choice is chalked up on a blackboard. Paparozzi’s soft white panini come with a series of seasonal fillings the likes of which you don’t normally find stuffed into a sandwich—think wild boar and polenta, figs and salame with a drop of balsamic for extra zing, sardines with orange and bitter chicory leaves, donkey stew (tastier than it sounds), and pecorino cheese with pears and truffle. You’ll almost certainly have to wait in line and there’s nowhere to sit, but this is some of the best street food in Florence." - Nicky Swallow