Eating on a Budget in The Boot

Buy breads cheeses and fruits in local stores. Make sandwiches. Buy wine, if you drink same. Be sure to ask the price of a gelato made the way you want BEFORE you have one made. NEVER drink Coke (altho you may be among the happy band who already dont drink it).When you eat out,go to trattorias a few streets away from the tourist spots. These will be local eateries and thr costs will be much lower and the food far better.

Like Paul said, buy items from grocery stores (some bread, meat and cheese) to make yourself some cheap food. The last part of what he said is very key: when you go out, don't eat in areas that are right next to tourist spots. Don't eat in the Piazza Navona in Rome, etc. Walk a little further, and you will save a lot of money.

Eating is the enormous, controllable variable in your travel budget. I think a lot of people feel obligated to eat in restaurants for at least lunch and dinner when they're in Italy. You can easily spend $100 day per person doing so. There are reasons to do this, of course. The Italian cuisine is quite varied and part of why most people go there. But spend your money to do that with a purpose - don't feel you need to go to a sit down restaurant just to have carbonara. In many places, especially Venice, cafes and bars have inexpensive sandwiches to go. Pizza bakeries are everywhere. There are also different ethnic places to try. Just because you're in Italy doesn't mean you can't try other foods you may not get at home.

I'm sure some people could easily spend 100.00 per day eating lunch and dinner in a restaurant, but without accounting for beverages, I could probably do it for 25 euro. Pizza and pasta are cheap and I can get by with just water if I'm watching my budget ( I had to pay for water, but I forget the cost). If you're eating with someone else, my husband and I found it was easy to split a pizza at lunch; and at dinner I'd order a pasta and he'd order a main and we'd each share. We ate very cheap, loved the food and didn't need to picnic. We found the portions very generous so there was plenty to share (e.g. the "pizza for two" we ordered in Sorrento was about the size of a 12" pizza)

If you haven't read Rick Steves' guidebooks, you really should. (Get them from the library if you don't wish to purchase.) For many cities, he has an "eating cheaply" section. Perfect!

I would recommend street stands. I love Donar Kabobs. Just like here in the states look for long lines and full restaurants. You will know the food is good and a fair price. Be careful in touristy areas though. They can have mediocre food, service fees, and high prices. Have a Great Trip.

I found that understanding "how" food is sold in restaurants helped tremendously with my food budget. First, the appetizers (antipasto). Lots of choices there. Some restaurants offer an antipasti buffet - that alone, as a meal, is worthwhile! Next, the pasta course "primi". Usually a few delicious choices there - lots of regional & seasonal diversity. Then, the meat / poultry / fish main dish "secondi". That's ususally the costliest items on the menu. Side dishes "contorni". These are your veggies; they're not usually included in the secondi... Rizottos can end up in any of these categories. I have found that no one ever batted an eye when I ordered willy-nilly, like a primi with a contorni, or an antipasto and 2 contornis, etc.. We are people with weird eating habits to begin with, and our excentricities are OK... especially if you visibly thoroughly enjoy what you did choose to eat :-) House wine was often the cheapest beverage on offer - oh, rats, the sacrifices I had to make!! Be adventurous, try a variety of the smaller cheaper dishes. I found it easy to eat cheaply and well without sticking to just pasta and pizza. The best advice to eating on a budget: get far away from the places that cater to the tourists. Learn the words mentioned above, and in a pinch, say you want 1 primi (thumb up, NOT the index!), 1 contorni and 1 "bicchiere di vino rosso della casa" - with a "per favore" and a smile - and see what shows up! Have fun!!

Someone else brought up a great point..house wine! Sold in carafes (different sizes, often ranging from 1/4L to 1L) it is very cheap and still better than a lot of the wine you get in bottles here. No need to buy a bottle or glass of expensive wine if you can just buy a carafe. Also, another way to save money on food is take advantage of aperitivo! Around 5 or 6, most bars will have food out, or provide you with food after you buy a drink. The quality and diversity can range from some peanuts/onions/olives to a wide range of pasta and risotto. If you are not hungry for a full dinner, or want to get some cheap food ahead of time, visit one of these bars and load up. It isn't meant to be a meal, but you can turn it into a very large snack (and then just eat a small meal or another snack later) if you want.

Listened to RS show this morning, and they were raving about the Pizza in Naples. Half the show was on Naples. It seems you can't find bad pizza in Naples! I've really enjoyed some of the tips.