A couple silly questions

If you mean how do Italians eat spaghetti, they use only a fork to twist it. Not as difficult as it may sound. Just twist smaller portions than you would with a spoon to assist. That said, people should enjoy eating it however they wish. No one will care. Italy has many wonderful combinations of pastas and sauces, and they vary by region. It's not just spaghetti with tomato sauce.

1: I do not think there is a standard ettiquette, but most I see use fork and knife or spoon, winding the pasta and cutting to get mouthsize bites, usually small bites as the meal pace is very relaxed. 2: Beer I do know. All beer you will be served in Italy will be cold. Nearly all beers avialable commonly are light lagers, a few Italian, but most from elsewhere in Europe.

I do not know anything about beer, but with spaghetti you should use a fork and spoon. My husband likes to cut up his and you should see the looks he gets. Years ago Pizza was suppose to be eaten with a knife and fork. You should have seen the looks I got in the 70's when I picked up a slice of pizza with my hands. Time change.

I also wind my spaghetti around a fork using a spoon. The first time I went to Italy I thought I would learn how to eat spaghetti the correct way. I was suprised to see that most while they tried to wind it usually ended up putting a forkfull in their mouth and sucking the rest in just like many do at home.

Leslie, 1.) I've never really paid attention to whether there's a particular "etiquette" or not? I use only a fork and wind the Spaghetti onto that using the bottom of the plate rather than a spoon. Not sure if that's "correct", but I have no intention of changing my technique. 2.) I've never really paid attention to the Beer in Italy, but don't recall seeing any "draft beer". I prefer to sample the Italian wines when I'm travelling there. Cheers!

Thanks everyone! Ken- that's what I was planning on-wine, but recently it has been giving my terrible headaches. I'm more of a beer girl anyway but I wasn't sure I could do it if the beer was lukewarm.

3. Acqua Minerale Frizzante is cold.

Beer is cold. Not frosty, necessarily, but not warm. And draft beer is everywhere.

Thanks Nigel. That is an option I hadn't really planned on but it might have to do. lol =)

One thing I've learned here is that Italians generally drink beer with pizza whereas Americans and Germans prefer wine with theirs. I am not a big fan of Peroni but the Nastro Azzuro and Moretti are both good, especially on a hot day. My favorite Italian beer is Forst, made up in the Dolomites but I'm not sure how common it is further south. As far as spaghetti, I've had plenty of friends here tell me that the ubiquitous "bolognese" sauce is the one sauce that shouldn't be used on spaghetti. Apparently the pasta shapes are made to hold various sauces and the spaghetti noodle is made for cream or oil based sauces. The bolognese sauce goes best with pasta types such as penne and ziti as it holds the meat sauce better. My favorite spaghetti dish is "aglio e olio" - garlic and olive oil. Simple and delicious.

Leslie, Just curious, what kind of wine do you normally drink? If you're drinking primarily red Wines, do you have the same reaction with white Wines?

Well, summing up the first 10 replies gives a decent idea about spaghetti and beer in Italy, although I was surprised some had not noticed there's plenty of draft beer in Italy. Just ask for "birra alla spina" and you'll get a variety of sizes offered. (Birra piccola, grande, etc. Use your hands to show how much you want.) As for spaghetti eating, if you see people using fork and spoon (or even a knife!) you can be sure they're not Italian. Just grab four or five strands with a fork and roll them up against the plate, until you get a roll your mouth can handle. And please don't cut spaghetti with our teet and spit them out on your plate. Nor suck them up like you do it at home, as one answer said! (Italy is not Japan, where slurping up soup is considered a sign of approval.) That would attract head shaking from the locals. As would ordering a cappuccino or a caffelatte after noon. In Italy, any drink with milk is strictly a morning or mid-mornig thing. And if do you order "a latte" the American way you will just get ... guess what --- a glass of milk!

No offense Guy but I've always hated the whole "never order cappuccino after lunch" thing as it's not really that big a deal here. It's more of a general rule to follow but I see Italians order cappuccinos and machiatos all the time. Bottom line, if you want a cappuccino, order one regardless of what time it is. Chances are nobody will care, especially in a city where there are a lot of tourists. And if someone looks at you funny, it's their problem, not yours. BTW, if you want a large size beer here, it's often called "media" rather than grande.

Italians I've seen just do the twist thing with the fork. Draft beer is common but the degree of coldness will vary, same for bottled out of coolers. Alot of the beer will have much higher alcohol content than what you get in the states. Italians still eat pizza with a knife/fork. Seems like most Italians don't like to touch food. You'll get a little wooden pitchfork at McD's with your chicken nuggets and I've seen people eat a cookie or pastry all around a napkin and then pop the last bit into their mouth with never touching it. Strictly speaking the capucino in the afternoon is a no no. I always get some good natured hassle from the guys I work with whenever I get one anytime past 10/10:30. Bottom line though nobody really cares how you do things. We still eat our pizza by hand and so on. Rik's suggestion about the spaghetti con olio e argio is a good one. Simple and delicious. Add in pepperconcino and it's even better. A shot of cold (colder the better) limoncello after a meal is good too.

I don't know if there is a true and proper way o eat spaghetti, but as long as you don't have to go thru what these Arab women have go thru, your ok. Check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCU7O58RKxQ As for the beer; it's usually "Nastro Azzurro" by Birra Perroni. It's one of my favorite beers and I still buy it at home. The beer is crisp and refreshing, but not served ice cold.