The Old Venice
Pizza and 5 & 5
take away
Typical Local Cooking - Grilled Meat and Fish
Quality Wines
Climatized premises - Reservations appreciated
Pizza and 5 & 5
take away
Typical Local Cooking - Grilled Meat and Fish
Quality Wines
Climatized premises - Reservations appreciated
Everything checks out, but what about “cinque e cinque” or 5 & 5?
Who of you, outside of Livorno, knows what a 5 & 5 is?
Ming was close to the truth: a five & five is a sandwich which, long time before the Euro, was just 5 cents (old italian lira) of bread and 5 cents of “torta”.“Torta” is short for “torta di ceci” (literally chickpea pie) which local vendors prepare with water, chickpea flour, salt and a bit of olive oil. The batter is poured in large pans called “teglie” and baked preferably in a wood oven.
The resulting thin pie (more a pancake) is crunchy and crispy on the outside but soft on the inside, and you have to eat it hot, with a sprinkling of ground pepper. You can eat it in slices like pizza or in a sandwich and... voilà the “cinque e cinque”!
See also: Gold of Pisa
