Food is one of the top reasons visitors cite for planning a trip to Italy. But what you and I think of as Italian food in the states is pretty far removed from the real deal. Food in Italy is also highly regionalized. The country itself is only about a hundred-fifty years old and regional differences are still very noticeable, especially amongst pasta. Nearly every region has their own shapes and while some, like spaghetti, have become ubiquitous, others like fagotini and pici, are not.
Restaurant Types
If pasta wasn't already the fount of all variety, lets look at Italian restaurants and shops.
Cafes: Cafes serve coffee and pastries, light sandwiches and snacks, and apertifs. Service here is typically continual throughout the day and the best place to grab a bite if you miss lunch hour. Many close around dinner time, but some will stay open as bars. If drinking at the bar, pay the cashier, then order from the barista. If sitting at a table, expect an upcharge and flag a server down to order. Do not order at the bar and then sit.
Osteria, Trattoria & Ristorante: Now often used interchangeably, their roots differ. Traditionally, the Osteria mainly focuses on wine with simple accompanying dishes while the Trattoria had a full-service kitchen run by a family cooking up traditional meal. A ristorante is a full-service establishment with a host, wine-list, and significant menu. At all three, you can enjoy a meal with varying levels of formality. Expect afternoon closures at both of these establishments. Lunch runs 12:30 or 1 until 2:30 or 3, before reopening around 7:30 or 8 in the evening. Expect a weekday closing day as they are open on weekends.
Enoteca: This is a wine bar. You may sip in the shop or take away as well. They may serve charcuterie, but not meals.
Pasticceria: This is a dessert shop, not a pasta shop. Find all sorts of sweet treats here. Some are for dine-in, others are takeaway only. These shops tend to be open during the day only, occassionally with lunch closures.
Gelateria: This is home for Italian gelato. Do not call it ice cream - it is an easy way to get an Italian bothered. The base for gelato differs from ice cream as it uses less heavy cream and fewer eggs if any. Gelaterias serve a large variety of flavors. Popular flavors include vanilla, chocolate, and fruit flavors as well a fior de latte (cream), stracciatella (cream with dark chocolate), and nocciola (hazelnut). Gelaterias typically open during warmer seasons around noon and stay open well into the evening.
The Italian Menu
Italian menus are set up by courses.
Antipasti: These are starters - cold meats like proscuitto or carpaccio, crostinis, pates - meant to jumpstart the appetite.
Primi Piatti: This is the first course generally made up of pasta and grain dishes.
Secondi: These are meats and fishes - beef, cinghiale (wild board), lamb, duck, pigeon, all sorts of fish, eels, etc. Chicken is fairly uncommon (eggs are for pasta afterall).
Contorni: These are sides - cooked greens, vegetables, beans
Dolce: Literally, the sweets. Cakes, tortes, custards, etc.
In a large group or at Sunday lunches, it is typical to order plates from each course to share. If you are in a group and want to share everything, let the waiter know your are ordering for the table. We often order from two courses and share. Generally rule of thumb is that for every adult at the table, one dish should be ordered from somewhere on the menu. If you want it to come out together (insieme) or to share something (dividere), let your waiter know. For children, restaurants are happy to make pasta with oil and butter (bianco) or with a tomato sauce (pomodoro). They will also make half portions of many dishes.
Beverages
Wine lists can be very long and many varietals are routinely exported. Ask your server for suggestions. Many restaurants also serve white and red vino della casa, house wine. It is usually local and served by the half (mezzo) or full liter. It is incredibly cheap and a good way to try something local.
Beer is most commonly consumed with pizza. Peroni and Moretti are widly available. But smaller artiginal breweries are popping up and usually worth a try. Italians tend to drink lighter beers like lagers and finding a stout is a rarity.
Water is nearly always charged. You can order still (naturale) or sparkling (frizzante) by the half or liter bottles. Many restaurants have reusable filtered carafes as well. While you can in theory ask for tap water, good luck getting the point across and even after that, receiving it. Canned or bottled sodas (Coca Cola, Fanta, Limone) are available, but quite expensive.
Allergens
Italy is allergy friendly. They have a numbering system for common allergens. Menus often have little numbers next to dishes that correspond to this list or you can ask for an allergy list. For example: Margherita Pizza (1,8). If you have an allergy not listed, let your waiter know by saying "Sono allergico a ______."
1. Cereals containing gluten 2. Crustaceans 3. Eggs 4. Fish 5. Peanuts 6. Soybeans 7. Milk | 8. Nuts 9. Celery 10. Mustard 11. Sesame seeds 12. Sulphites 13. Lupin or legumes 14. Molluscs |
Vegetarian options are common, especially in the countryside where poverty meant meat was routinely excluded from dishes. Vegan is a little trickier, but some pasta types like pici are made without egg. Many restaurants have gluten-free options, too, for pasta or pizza dough.
American Dishes that Don't Exist in Italy
Many of our favorite "Italian" dishes are inventions by Italian Americans. While they aren't bad, you just won't find them on the menu. And if you do, you should probably find a different restaurant that isn't so geared towards tourists.
To name a few...
Fettucine Alfredo: Our creamy, cheesy dish isn't a thing in Italy.
Chicken on Pasta: For an unknown reason (either texture or tradition), chicken, when found, is reserved for secondi.
Spaghetti and Meatballs: These are two dishes. Meatballs or polpette are usually an antipasta while spaghetti will be served with a tomato meatsauce.
Chicken or Veal Parmigiana: This treatment is reserved for eggplant in Italy
Pineapple on Pizza: Love it or hate it, this is a Canadian invention.
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