Wife and I will have two nights in each of Florence and Rome as bookends to a week in the Tuscan countryside in the first half of May. We love good quality food and being part of the local (non-tourist) scene.
Would appreciate recommendations - across the cost continuum - for must do dinner/lunch restaurants in Florence & Rome, again keeping in mind that food quality and non-touristy is of most importance. Thanks!
Have you checked the existing threads?
I certainly did a search but didn’t find anything recent that’s relevant. If I’ve missed something, appreciate the help!
I am heading to Rome next month with my family incl chidren 10 & 9, who have set the proviso that they want to taste great pizza. I have done a bit of research in egullet and also there is a nice article from Tom Cannavan here http://www.wine-pages.com/food/foodie-weekend-in-rome.htm
The following foodie blogs seem to be very good resouces
http://www.parlafood.com
http://www.theromedigest.com
http://www.elizabethminchillinrome.com
I have narrowed it down to the following for our needs:-
Pizzarium – very informal, lunch for pizza slices = near Vatican – go early or after lunch
Roschioli
Life
Cul de Sac – Jeremy Holmes recco
Café Estaccio (?) – best coffee Rome
Antico Arco –
Romeo – lunch venue near Vatican
Any other tips greatly appreciated.
Garga has been recommended to us multiple times! On our definite “to do” list next month!
Both were great experiences, dining and otherwise. Garga was so much fun in addition to great food.
The service at Citta del Gusto was inspiring. One waitress worked the whole dining room with just the help of food runners. Really nice room also.
In Rome, we went to Pizzeria da Remo in Testaccio. I thought it was great in the ultra-thin & crispy style. I hear there can be long waits, but we got there early & lucked out with the timing.
One word in Rome. Testaccio. That area has more great restaurants than you could want.
In Firenze, you will have a lot of choices too.
Not sure Rome with kids and Catholics (nothing against either - I have both) is the same as Rome with foodie wife.
Ari, a wealth of good info in that thread. And please don’t malign your wife with the douchey term “foodie”. 
I certainly think you’ve missed some recent, relevant info, but maybe we’re not on the same page here. Are you or your wife somewhat familiar with the various cuisines of Italy? The primary traditional dishes of Rome and Florence, and their respective regions? The flavor of the various neighborhoods (especially sprawling Rome)? That is, do you have a general idea what you want to focus on during your very brief stays in those cities?
Are you more interested in the internationalized Michelin type places, or the more traditional peasant inspired cuisine? Do you have a specific desire for salumi, or sampling thru the family of Roman pasta dishes, or trying the best of the primary pizza styles of Rome? Do you want to try the key ethnic food traditions, like the “alla Judea” dishes you’ll find in the Jewish quarter, or the traditionally working class offal dishes? Are you looking for restaurants with the deepest cellars of classic wines or wine bars with the latest natural, slow-food movement offerings? Will you be dining on Sunday in Rome?
Have you checked the resources suggested to you above and in those other threads? Parla or Minchilli’s blogs? The Italy board at Chowhound?
If I could recommend one thing, it’s to narrow your interests to those most desireable to you and then explore those options. You have barely enough time to scratch the surface of a small sliver of Rome. Even Florence is too much to get a feel for in such a short time, but your stay in the Tuscan countryside will give you many opportunities to sample that region’s cuisine. So perhaps you’ll want to try something less inherently Tuscan in Florence, like a three-star temple of dining with an ultradeep cellar and less “local” feel, and then focus on the region specific cuisines in Rome. But you need to define and narrow your specific interests to make the most of your stay.
Some helpful threads:
Recommendations - Whirlwind Rome / Florence / Venice Food Tour: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/970029
A bit out-of-date, but this covers a lot of ground in Rome and includes many restaurants recommended here:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/793982#6656695
Thanks. I’ll take a look.