Lampredotto

Lampredotto is the abomasum, the fourth and last stomach of the cow, simmered for hours with tomato, onion and herbs until it is soft, then chopped and packed into a plain bread roll with salsa verde and, if you want it, chilli. The lid of the roll is dipped in the cooking broth before it is handed over, and that is the part that makes the whole thing work. It is sold from carts, trippai, standing in the same pitches for generations and opening in the morning for the markets and the building trades. The name is said to come from a resemblance to the lamprey, once caught in the Arno.

What you actually see

• The bagnato - the lid of the roll dipped in the simmering broth.
• Salsa verde - parsley, garlic, capers and anchovy, the standard dressing.
• The carts - trippai in fixed pitches near the markets and the old squares.
• Trippa alla fiorentina - the other version, stewed with tomato and parmesan.

When to go

Carts open early and most are finished by mid-afternoon, so this is a lunch rather than a dinner. Cold weather suits it. The queue at the busiest pitches around one o'clock is long but moves fast. Choose a cart used by people in work clothes over one with a printed menu in four languages.

Honest expectations

It is offal and it tastes of offal; the texture is soft and slightly rubbery and some people cannot get past it. The roll is messy and there is nowhere to sit down. Carts beside the main sights charge close to double what the outlying ones do. Vegetarians have nothing here beyond the bread.

Nearby

The Sant'Ambrogio and central markets are the traditional pitches; the Duomo is minutes away.