food in italy

Italy is rightly famous for food. I'm sure you'll get lots of specific restaurant recommendations if you post which cities you'll visit. Anything that has been frozen must be disclosed on the menu ("surgelato"). Produce and fruit is seasonal. Generally, the further from a tourist site, the better the food. So, where do you plan to go?

Patty, you're pulling our leg, right? :-)

How's the food in East Haven?!!?? Take a look at the Graffiti Wall on this website. Under the Eating and Drinking category is "Mouthwatering Italy." THAT should give you a clue!!! BTW no grinders, no Starbucks, and pizza isn't Dominos.

No root beer, either. :-)

My way of describing the food in Italy is we traveled 25 days in Italy and had pasta as the first course almost every meals, but never had the same flavor of pasta even once! Wonderful pasta! Heavenly!! We did feel the lack of veggie in typical Italian meals though. Surely they have tomato, bell peppers in salad, but neven had spinach, leafy greens too much in side dishes.

It's ok.

If you tell us which cities you'll be visiting we probably can better help you. I live in Como, no problem showing you around if you're coming here or in Milan.
Food is great, you'll love it. And it's not the Italian food you eat in the States. Forget about pasta and meat together like chicken parmesan

Veggies are abundant in Italian restaurants, not just in salads but as side dishes and antipasti.

How is the pizza in Italy? Does it taste better than most of the pizza in the U.S., e.g. Pizza Hut, etc.? Also, I have heard of (not sure of spelling) Coucha Pepe and Seafood Risotto -- for those who have eaten these dishes, how are they? Are there any must tries?
Thanks! Ruth

If you come to milan you must eat a Milanese. In Rome you should eat "carbonara" or "amatriciana" or "Cacio e pepe". I don't like fish, but you need to try risotto or pasta with fish, but only if you visit a seaside city. Don't eat fish in the middle of bug cities, it's not worth it, unless is Thursday, they usually deliver fresh fish on this day.

Pizzais totally different from what you know. Try it out anywhere. If you tell me which cities you're visiting I an tell you where to eat if I've been there.

Hi Cristina, I will be visiting: Venice, Florence, Rome, Sorrento ,Pompeii Scavi (just the site), Positano, Amalfi, Capri/AnaCapri, and very briefly, an overnight in Naples to catch an early morning flight back home. Thanks! Ruth

Venice: try the "panzerotto" everywhere on the street which is like a filled rolled pizza. There's the baccala' alla Veneta. I've eaten once underneath the Rialto bridge, there's a restaurant with tables outside and a small veranda. Drink a coffee in piazza San marco, something really typical for venetians, kind of expensive for others, but worth the try. Something typical in Venezia is APERITIVO, happy hour. Get an aperol spritz. Firenze: 1. "Da Alfredo sull'arno", which is on the other side on ponte vecchio going towards the left and you'll find it riverside. 2. A couple doors before, there's the "golden view open bar", kind of expensive but very good, it's worth it.
3. Caffe concerto paszkowski - historic caffe in piazza Della repubblica, in the evening they usually have piano bar.

Rome: http://www.feliceatestaccio.it/ this is a really good place in Rome. To get there use this website about city bus/metro service http://infopoint.atac.roma.it/bw.asp?lingua=ENG Another good place is in piazza Della Minerva.
You have to get ice cream near piazza Di spagna, via Di propaganda 26, GELATERIA ANTICA ROMA.

Ristorante grotta dello smeraldo between Amalfi and positano right on the sea.

In Naples you'll find good pizza anywhere. Try mozzarella Di bufala too. Or gnocchi fritti with cold cuts.

Catch Anthony Bourdaine The Layover:Rome if you can find that epsoide. Just watched it last night, am still very hungry.

Christina, your food recommendations sound wonderful. Can I add my list of upcoming visits: Verona, Riva del Garda, Stresa, Como, Varenna, and Florence. I agree about the bufala mozzarella - anything with that in the ingredients is a winner!

One of my funniest moments traveling in Italy was hearing some lady complaining at breakfast one morning that the food was not as good as Italian food back home... Real Itatian food is almost completely unlike anything you've probably seen the the US. Of course you can find the familiar things in restaurants that cater only to tourists, but otherwise expect lots of freshness, in meats, cheeses, fruits and vegetables (not sure where that earlier comment about lack of veggies comes from). And it all depends on where you go. Each region has its own unique specialties. So set your pre-concieved notions aside and eat what is recommended at each restaurant, I think you'll love it!

Patty, In my experience, the food situation in Italy is the same as anywhere else - some restaurants have absolutely fantastic food, and others are somewhat "mediocre". As the others have mentioned, Italian food in Italy may be different than Italian food you've had in the U.S. One point to make regarding dining in Italy, is that meals are presented in "courses" - Antipasti, Primi, Secondi, Contorni and Dolci. You'll also be paying for bottled water and of course a "Coperto". If you order the "full meal deal" along with some Wine at every meal, it will get expensive in a big hurry! There's NO WAY I could finish a full meal with all courses! I typically order only Primi along with Insalata Mista, water and of course VINO! I sometimes splurge with Dolci, but not always. One note about salads, there's only one choice for dressings - Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar. Some restaurants are "stingy" with the Balsamic, and only provide a spray bottle. Ruth, The Pizza in Italy IS different than it is here, and most definitely NOT like Pizza Hut. I've found that the choices vary a bit by region. One type that I've tried in the north is Quattro Stagioni, which comes with Artichokes (which I've never found here). The most "authentic" is probably Pizza Napoletana, which tends to be very simple with just tomatoes and mozzarella. Another example is Pizza Margherita (named after a Queen) which usually consists of a thin crust, cheese, tomato sauce and Basil (usually a bit of Olive Oil on the top). Probably because of the thin crust, I've found that it's not hard to eat a full size Neapolitan Pizza. I've had some with Mozzarella di Bufala and they were excellent (but probably not good for my waistline). Buon Viaggio!

Looks like the weekend has arrived. Surely it is not a serious question. DNFTT

Thank you All, and a special shout-out to Cristina and Ken! Grazie! Ruth

This post MUST be a joke. I've read all the replies and noticed Patty hasn't responded once. It IS possible to get bad food in Italy, but uncommon.