The water runs along the latch of the bar with up lights and reflections on the sand stone walland the counter.
The review below by NYT Travel, used the Milan site as the base for the review.
In Milan, choosing where to eat can be a lot like finding the right table in high school: it’s daunting. Foreigners are stuck in tourist traps, the cool kids fit in their skinny jeans by eating the nibbles at the achingly trendy bars, and the fashion crowd can usually be found at the local Nobu, thoughtfully situated in Giorgio Armani’s megastore.
But then there’s Princi. This chic bakery is dedicated to high-quality fresh bread using traditional recipes, made with organic wholemeal flour and baked throughout the day in a beech-fired oven.
The founder, Rocco Princi, opened his first store in 1986 and has since expanded to five stores. Princi’s outlets are striking in their minimalism, designed by the architect Claudio Silvestrin, with lots of straight lines, designer stools and diffused lighting warmly reflecting off wood, bronze and stone. It may be sleek and modern — they’re particularly proud of the fact that they remain open 24 hours, and on Sundays — but the rhythm of Princi remains quintessentially (and infuriatingly) Italian.
Here’s how it works: First, decide on which mouth-watering choice, from simple and sublime focaccia to a square slice of pizza topped with juicy tomatoes to more substantial meals like lasagna or an aperitivo later in the day. Get in line to pay, then get in another to collect your choice.
While the whole experience, especially at a busy lunchtime, can resemble one of the riots that often take place when the city’s two beloved soccer teams play each other, it’s worth it when the taste reaches your lips.
Princi is perhaps the closest Milan has to an eatery that is all things to all the people in Italy’s financial and fashion capital, serving laborers an espresso in the mornings and refueling bankers with a glass of wine or a beer on their way home.
The Milanese are obsessed with two of life’s most profound questions: What should I wear and where is the perfect place to eat? And Princi has found a way to combine the two. All of the staff uniforms are designed by “King Giorgio” himself. They even cut up the pizza into tiny little squares, all the easier to avoid dirtying one’s tailored suit.
http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/10/19/travel/19Bite.html
