Italy Food & Drink
When in Rome, as they say, do as the Romans do. In this case, that means eating excellent Italian food and drinking excellent Italian beverages.
Aperitivo in Italy: How to Eat for Free (Kind Of)
The concept of “Happy Hour” might not seem very Italian, and in fact it’s not - but it’s an idea that’s catching on in some of Italy’s bigger cities in the form of something the Italians call “Aperitivo,” and it’s an excellent way to absorb some of the local scene while eating on the cheap at the same time. Aperitivo in Italy seems to be most prevalent in cities like Milan and Turin, but I saw it advertised in Rome and Florence as well, so I think it’s spreading.
Aperitivo in Italy (also sometimes called Happy Hour, with the Hs being silent - like “Appy Our”) is where you buy your drinks and then you get to go through that place’s buffet line as many times as you want. Yes, the drinks are more expensive, but if you’re going out for cocktails anyway and you’re getting dinner thrown into the deal, you can definitely come out ahead. The food can vary from a few prettily-arranged baskets of pretzels, potato chips and bite-sized cuts of pizza or focaccia to a huge spread including pastas, finger sandwiches, vegetables, salads and even desserts later in the night. Literally, for the cost of one drink (wine, beer, or cocktail) it’s an all-you-can-eat extravaganza. This can be a great thing if you’re traveling on a budget. Plus, if the cafe/bar offers a good aperitivo, it’s likely that it’s a popular place for local residents as well - so you’ll get to soak up a bit of the local scene, maybe watch a sporting event on a big-screen, and just hang out for a couple hours over a nice drink and great selection of “free” food.
Date: March 24th, 2008 |
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An Italian Food Gift Any Italophile Would Love
Stumped as to what to get the Italophile on your Christmas list this year? Or just looking for a little something extra to fill your own stocking? Look no further than the Ms. Adventures in Italy basket which is up for grabs at this year’s Menu for Hope auction. Sara has put together a food-lovers dream collection of goodies that are famous in Italy as well as abroad, and any Italy lover - or foodie, for that matter - would be pleased as punch to get this. Trust me.
Sara’s a serious foodie herself, so I can only guess that every item in this incredible basked of Italian food has been personally tested and can be vouched for by Sara herself. Here are some of the items Sara has chosen for this year’s Menu for Hope basket, which come from all over the country:
Balsamic vinegar from Modena
White truffle oil from Abruzzo
Bronte pistachio cream from Sicily
Modica chocolate bars from Sicily
Extra virgin olive oil from a family friend in Puglia
Are you drooling yet? Because I am.
Date: December 14th, 2007 |
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Degu’s Drinkeria in Milan
One thing the Italians seem very good at is adopting English words and giving them their own special twist. For instance, yesterday the husband and I stopped into what was billed as a “drinkeria” for an afternoon snack. You’ve heard of “pizzeria,” I imagine, and perhaps even a “gelateria.” So what’s a “drinkeria?” If you’ve figured out that adding “-eria” on to the end of a food-item word makes it a place where you’ll be able to order and eat that food item, then you’re doing just fine.
Degu’s is a “drinkeria e degustazioni,” meaning it serves light appetizer-style plates and has a wide selection of alcoholic beverages to go with them. The plates are divided up into different sections by what the focus is - meats, cheeses, fish, etc. We had a plate of crostini with lardo, a plate of a soft cheese and sausage combination served with strawberry jam, and smoked salmon with toasted biscuits covered in butter. All three were really lovely, and nicely presented, and we washed them down with a glass of champagne each. The service was quick and friendly.
Date: November 13th, 2007 |
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Eurochocolate 2007: The Era of Chocolate
Perugia’s famous chocolate festival, Eurochocolate, is going on this week in the capital of Umbria. The fun got started on Saturday, when a giant PlayStation 3 game console - entirely made of chocolate - was unveiled, and then 200 smaller chocolate PlayStation 3 controllers were broken up and dispersed through the crowd for consumption.
This is the 14th year of Eurochocolate, which takes over the town of Perugia and gives the very air the scent of cocoa. The program changes each year, and this year includes musical acts, discussions about some different culinary uses for chocolate, and even a segment about using chocolate in your beauty regimen. Unfortunately, I think they’re referring to applying chocolate directly to the skin, not eating it. This year happens to be the 100th anniversary of Perugina, the city’s chocolate maker and the original force behind the festival, so that adds a special celebratory element to the goings-on.
The theme for the 2007 Eurochocolate festival is ChocolAge: L’Era del Cioccolato (The Era of Chocolate), and the idea is to inject chocolate into everyday life in such a way that it doesn’t seem strange or noteworthy anymore. Toward this end, one of the promotional pictures they’re using is of a woman talking not into her cell phone, but into a bar of chocolate. And yet all I can think is, “Wow, if that melts, that’s going to be a pain to get out of her hair…”
Date: October 15th, 2007 |
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Anti-Wrinkle Pizza Stirs Controversy in Italy
What’s the best way to combine the very Italian love of not-always-good-for-you food (are you listening, carbs?) with the also very Italian love of looking younger than your age? Why, the anti-wrinkle pizza, of course.
A nutritionist in Italy has created what he’s calling an “anti-wrinkle” pizza which, thanks to its ingredients, gives an added anti-oxidant boost to the body thereby helping to keep wrinkles at bay. This fancy new pizza is made with wholemeal flour, for starters, and also has several toppings which are high in magnesium and iron - including garlic, basil, …
Date: August 24th, 2007 |
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Menu Tips to Help You Order in Restaurants in Italy
Lucky for those of us who speak English as our native language, most menus in restaurants in Italy will have plenty of things that look completely familiar from the Italian restaurants you’ve eaten in back home. We all know what spaghetti, ravioli, lasagna, ragu and cappuccino mean. I always used to tell my Italian students that at the very least, they wouldn’t starve during their vacation in Italy. But you want to do more than simply “not starve,” right?
Here are a few tips for when you’re reading the menu in restaurants (and trattorias, osterias, etc.) in Italy:
For the most part, the Italians will think you’re strange if you’re pairing a sweet drink like Coca Cola with your meal, but my palate is used to the combination and I imagine yours probably is, too. So if you want your Coke with your meal, go for it. Just remember that if you want the diet version, it’s not called “Diet Coke” in Italy - it’s called “Coca Cola Light.” Also note that most places will serve your Coke in the can with an empty glass on the side - you’ll probably have to ask for ice specifically if you want it. That’s “con ghiaccio,” pronounced “gee-AH-chee-oh” with a hard G as in “girl.”
Date: March 17th, 2008 |
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Attending a Home Food Dinner in Milan
I’ve long wanted to try a Home Food dinner, but during my past trips to Italy it never worked out - I was never in one of the cities hosting a dinner during my time in the country. When planning last month’s trip to Milan, however, I reasoned that with a week in the city there just had to be a Home Food dinner in Milan (or nearby) that we could attend. As luck would have it, there was.
If you’re unfamiliar with Home Food, read my post about the organization (written back when I was salivating over just the idea) for more details, including how to sign up. The gist of it is that Italians who are approved by the people who run Home Food invite strangers into their homes and serve meals which are traditional to that city or region, using seasonal and regional ingredients. The whole thing has sounded brilliant to me since I first heard about it, and I was thrilled to find an event right in Milan during my trip in November.
Date: December 14th, 2007 |
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Pizzeria in Rome
Naples is the birthplace of pizza, but most tourists never get further south than Rome - so if you’re going to try pizza in Italy and you’re not heading to Naples, Rome is your best bet. Check out this video for an example of one pizzeria in Rome:
You may have noticed that the patrons were eating their pizzas with a knife and fork, not picking up slices (well, except for the hostess of the video who …
Date: October 19th, 2007 |
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Sicilian Gelato Sandwiches
I’ve been known to say now and again on this here Italy Travel Guide that it’s all but mandatory (in my opinion, anyway) that you have gelato every day during your Italian vacation. I feel completely guilt-free making - and living by - this recommendation, because Italian gelato is far less fattening than American ice cream. Besides, you’re inevitably going to be doing a ton of walking - in many cases far more than you do at home - so it balances out. At least that’s what I tell myself.
So far, I have not made it to Sicily. But something tells me that when I do, I’m going to have to either cut back on the amount of gelato I consume or I’m going to have to go without the gelato accompaniment Sara talks about here - gelato in a brioche.
Date: October 5th, 2007 |
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Limoncello Recipe in Pictures
After posting the Limoncello Recipe a couple months ago, I was inspired to make some for the members of my Italian conversation group. And I figured that while I was at it, I’d document the process for you, the Italy Logue reader! So take this post in tandem with the post about with the recipe for limoncello, so you can see how the stuff develops.
This is a photo of the ingredients necessary to make limoncello - a large jar with a tight-sealing lid, grain alcohol, a vegetable peeler and a pile of lemons. I made a double batch, so I had 16 big lemons in that bowl, all thoroughly washed.
Date: August 21st, 2007 |
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