Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

The venerable Cibreo in Firenze is nice for a sit down meal.
For a quick pick-up meal, there is a sandwich shop near the Mercato Centrale that serves amazing porchetta sandwiches. They slather on this secret sauce that always reminds me of In-And-Out sauce, but more complex and perfect for the pork.
Sorry I don't remember the name. If you are coming from the train station, leave from the left (McDonald's side), cross the street and then you'll need to take a left to head towards the Mercato. The shop is somewhere between that left and the Mercato. If it's lunch time, just look for a the line and follow the pork smell =)

The two big gelato places in Firenze are Perche No (Located between Pizza della Repubblica and Pizza della Signorina.) and Vivoli (Via Isola delle Stinche 7 50122 Florence; it’s roughly a block northwest of the Piazza Santa Croce). It's been awhile but last time I was there in the summer Vivoli was closed in July, so check before if you can!

Buon viaggo!

I agree with @simon that a real fitness program helps. The intensity of exercise for someone who is actively trying to drop weight is a lot more than the exercise program needed to sustain weight. I work in fitness and I hear all the stories and excuses. In the long run the folks who don't make them tend to do a lot better.

But nothing will drop unless the calorie consumption is controlled. To me that means just saying no. In the moment it's hard but if it's worth it to you, you'll get over it. Controlling calorie consumption also means that the calories you do consume need to be packed nutritionally. Especially on reduced caloric intake if the calories you do consume are empty then you'll be hungry often and on the verge on of binges.

It's true that in the end it is about a lifestyle change, but until one gets to their goal it will take extra work. Hopefully your reasons for the weight loss beyond the number on the scale help make it seem like less work than it is.

I make a lot of fresh pickles to munch on. My mom's are still better, but I'm getting close.

For the best balance of acidity, sweet and crunch keep the ratio of vinegar to sugar 1:1. I've used white, brown, raw sugars. If you are going to eat it immediately or within 24 hours use rice vinegar. If you are going to eat it later and/or if you like yours with a little more bite use white vinegar. Everything else, garlic, chili flakes can work around that brine.

If the cucumber is waxed you need to get rid of all the skin. The waxy skin just turns into yuck when pickled. Like everyone has been mentioning salt the cucumbers and then let them sit for a little. That helps them retain crunch and gets rid of a bit of the bitterness. I try to use Japanese cucumbers and rather than slicing them nicely I create these jagged long pieces with my palm or the heel of the knife. Cut the cuke into about 2 inch long rounds and then gently push on with the your palm. If the cucumber is fresh it'll break into you'll get a few pieces. If it's a little soft you may have to pull them apart. I find that method creates helps create crunchier pickles. I don't have a clue why, but it works.

Just came back from Asia and found/ate/gorged on a cherimoya variety that had been crossed with pineapple. Extra sweet and floral..yummmy.

Try Yamasa. Like Kikkoman, Yamasa has both American and Japanese made varieties. I prefer the Japanese made stuff. The flavor is more complex, less salty and once you get to the mid-priced range they no longer use sodium benzoate as a preservative. It's easy to spot, everything on the label aside from the FDA required stuff will be in Japanese. My last 1000 ml bottle was about $5 from Berkeley Bowl. Their American stuff works okay for me to and can be comparable in price to Kikkoman.

Yume in Alameda, CA. Serving sushi the right way.

I love my pressure cooker. It makes beautiful stock, pickle pork (sorry probably a bad translation), and stewed meats, but tomato meat ragu is not one of them. I haven't tried this particular recipe but the ones I have tried in the pressure cooker don't get same richness and depth I get from a few hours on the stove or in dutch oven in the oven. It's still good and yes I do agree it has the sweetness, porkiness, thickness that a good ragu needs, but the flavors don't meld as well. It could just be the recipe I use, but I don't have this issue with the other pressure cooker dishes I do.

I find the dishwasher doesn't do a great job with the mesh teeth.

Getting that part clean is pretty easy by hand. After a rinsing to get rid of all the larger coffee bits. I go in with a well soaped sponge and squeeze and blot the coil. You're mostly getting rid of the oils that are trapping the coffee grit. Once you release that, everything else comes with it.

The most difficult aspect of the whole thing is not accidentally breaking the carafe during the whole cleaning process. I once just tapped the carafe with the plunger while washing it. I only heard a tiny crack, but it started to spider pretty fast and then it was gone.

sugar cookies cut with scottie dog cookie cutter

A few weeks ago I made David Chang's Bo Ssam. It was delicious and easy. It's a version of what @simon is describing above.
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/bo-ssam

Definitely try and find an Asian grocery or better yet Asian bakery to find fresher, reasonable priced mooncakes. Though mooncakes are usually made and packaged to be able to last a long time, fresher ones have a very different taste because of the skin. The filling flavor and texture doesn't change too much over time, but in a fresh mooncake the skin is tender and rich in taste. As the skin ages it gets gummy, and all I taste is overwhelming sweetness.

Deep fried crispy duck with taro. It's a great intro to the taste of taro, though it is a time intensive recipe.

Steam the taro to cook it. Then mash it up to get a nice smooth consistency. Take the seasoned mash and put a 1/2" layer on the underside of on a already cooked duck breast - roasted, pan seared, however you want to cook the duck. Lightly coat the taro in cornstarch. Then deep or shallow fry the whole thing until the taro gets that lovely brown crispy and airy quality. You have to be careful when you fry because the taro has a tendency to want to slip off. You want to keep it flat and use a spatula to keep it together when you move it. Traditionally it is served with a sticky, sweet soy sauce.

You end up with duck that is crispy on both sides! One side from the skin and the other from the taro. Soo good.