Best sandwiches

Right at the moment I do not remember names or addresses, but it doesn't matter. You will find many places with a variety of sandwiches, usually foccacia bread filled with any number of meats, cheeses, and vegetables. Ask for it hot (Calde) and they'll put it in a panini press. The cheese gets gooey and the bread crisps...wonderful. Porchetta sandwiches, basically pork roast, are also popular. If you are in Florence, a must have is the tripe sandwiches, stewed in sauce until it is tender and tasty, truly an Italian experience. Of course, there is a wide variety of pizza by the slice or kilo, from thin and crispy to thick and bready, again, a Calde, por favore; gets it to you heated and crisped up.

Italy isn't really sandwich country. I think you will find plentiful pizza-by-the-slice and bakeries with various seasoned bread things. You can buy fresh rolls at the bakery and proscuitto (sp) and cheese at the grocery for a DIY sandwich. I do remember one fantastic sandwich I bought at a cafe near the duomo in Milan. Just walk around and see what's available.

Tonno Panini. Enough said.

We found the BEST pork sandwich ever at Nerbone, a little cafeteria/buffet line inside the market in central Florence. It's been famous for over 100 years. The market has outdoor stalls but this is inside where there are all the food stalls. Go to web site "tasteofitaly.com" for a review and address.

We discovered caprese sandwiches - usually fresh mozzarella slices, tomato, olive oil, basil - great in the heat of the summer.

We found the sandwiches to be fairly bland with very little meat or cheese on them. We stayed in an apartment so we made our own sandwiches and carried them in a backpack with us for the day. My daughter is a vegetarian so we made veggie sandwiches for her.

In Venice, as well as other northern cities, many bars and cafes have tremezzi - white-bread sandwiches stuffed with an assortment of fillings - tuna, ham and provolone, caprese. The custs are trimmed and the sandwiches served cut in half. Between one and two euro, they're great snacks!

If you are spending the money to go to Italy, Why on earth are you wanting to limit your meals to sandwiches. The food is awsome in Italy and a big part of the whole Italian experience. I say save some more money, you'll enjoy your trip much more if you don't have to limit yourselves to Pizza and sandwiches.

if you can't eat gluten, risotto (usually arborio rice with a variety of sauces) is popular in Venice and the surrounding area as is polenta (made from corn meal; don't know if that qualifies as gluten free???)

Thanks everyone for your feedback. Although, I love sandwiches, I'm not a big fan of pizza. Maybe I'll feel different in Italy. Mark, I wish I could save more money for our trip to be able to eat in the rest. but our trip is in one month and when we planned it, the dollar was much stronger and this trip should have never cost us what it's going to cost. So, something has to suffer and I don't want it to be not seeing the sights. I have been colleting everyone's comments on very reasonable places to eat and maybe we can squeeze a couple of those places in. Again, thanks all....I'm sure with or without Italy's cruisine, we'll have a marvelous time.

Hi Linda, Ask you hotel to recommend places in your price range. In Rome and Venice we got some great suggestions from our hotel at reasonable prices. They were places we never would have found on our own. They called ahead and made reservations for us. If they had not, we would not have gotten in because they were so popular and the prices were reasonable. If you pick a place out on your own for "sandwiches", be sure to see if they are going to automatically charge you for table set up, water, and or bread. I stopped at a place for a light lunch in Rome and get hit with a service and bread charge. Needless to say, after that is always read the menu posted more carefully or asked before going in.

Thanks Marie, I will take your advise.

Head for a super market - you can get any and all sandwich fixins there. As well as just about anything else you might like.

Many little grocery stores carry fresh pasta. I bought many precooked "deli" items and prepared them at home on my last trip.

Eli, many farmacias carry gluten free products. It is a growing concern in Italy and they are quite familiar with it. Here are some links for information. There is also a book on guten free eating in Italy.

http://www.celiactravel.com/gluten-free-cards/21-italian.html

www.celiachia.it/ristoratori/default_eng.asp

http://www.celiachia.it/

Trish

If you are going to Ravenna, they have a special sandwich called the piadina they like to tout as their own. You can get it many places, and they are very well-priced (5 euros or so). They are like calzones but better and have lots of different fillings. I would definitely recommend going to Ravenna if it's not on your list too! Tons of history--it's been the capital of three major empires during its long history. Very under-appreciated and not crowded.

Erica, where is Ravenna? I never heard of it. We have a packed itinerary but who knows if it is close enough to where we'll be. Thanks!

Linda; As for pizza vs sandwiches, Rome at least, has a wide array of pizza styles, many that are like an open face sandwich (Think foccacia with fresh arugula and fresh tomatoes, or eggplant, and on and on) or even like a sandwich, If it looks good, try it. They also have many "white" pizzas, meaning no tomato pizza sauce base, usually either an olive oil or possibly a cheese base.

Ravenna is probably closest to Bologna, up near Venice, not extremely far from Florence.

Hi Linda--You'll find plenty of cheap places to eat in Rick Steves' book; in Rome, we found the deli next to the Pantheon really convenient and their sandwiches delicious (expect to be asked if you want your sandwich heated). But to combine eating cheaply with savoring the Roman experience, consider buying food at the Campo dei Fiori farmers market. Put together a lunch of fresh meats, cheeses, and fruit, and buy an inexpensive bottle of wine at the wine shop at the southeast corner of the campo. You'll even find a stall with kitchen gadgets and nicknacks so you can buy glasses to drink your wine out of. Even if you're not in an apartment with a kitchen, you can still get great food to make a picnic outside or in your room. Eating in Italy is part of the fun of traveling there, but that doesn't mean that your meals have to be in restaurants. (In restaurants, remember the house wines are nearly always terrific & cheap, and you can have tap water if you ask for it.) Enjoy!

Thank you Elizabeth and Paul (and everyone else too) for all these wonderful suggestions and ideas on eating cheaply in Italy. I do plan on picnicing as much as I can. I think sitting on some steps and taking in the surroundings and the people, is something that sticks with you so much more as a memory than sitting inside a restaurant. But I do plan on eating in one or two restaurants during our 2 week stay though. Only 3 1/2 weeks away....I can't wait!

Just a quick note - pizzas are different in Italy than in US. What they sell as a single serving can feed 1-2 people, maybe more depending on your appetite! And they are so good!!

If you're going to Bellagio the Gilardoni Alimentari makes great sandwiches. I loved salami with Fontina cheese on focaccia but they make fresh sandwiches to order. Even better was sitting on a bench near the water eating them with a slice of the apple tart.