Food in Italy
Let’s face it. Tourism is the major industry in Italy now and the food is suffering. It takes some real investigating to find good old restaurants that offer traditional food at a fair price. Your instincts are probably right. Pizza is still good, cheap and available.
Even though restaurant prices seem to increase every year, wine is still reasonable. So, if you are having wine with your meals, prices will tend to even out. Limoncello ( lemon flavored drink) makes a great desert. I love Vinsanto with dessert. or in place of.
If you eat with locals, let them tell you what and where to eat. Every Italian takes food seriously and can teach you a lot about their restaurants and specialties. Don’t even think about eating in the evening before 8 P.M. if you are with an Italian.
If you can find vegetables, they are usually well prepared, but that isn’t as easy as it once was. If there is a buffet, the vegetables are gone early. Most restaurants don’t replenish, they just keep removing empty platters, so the selection is pretty limited as the day wears on.
Unless you are eating in a very good restaurant, the bread will be stale. Italians use pasta as we use bread. They don’t see the point of adding bread to the meal. The traditional bread of Tuscany is without salt and tastes pretty flat.
But there is plenty of good news. Italy has been eating pasta since Marco Polo brought it back from China in the twelve hundreds. It is always good and sometimes is great.
For lunch, find a cheese shop. Olives, cheese and maybe some meat will give you a fabulous lunch. Or find a tavola calda, ( hot table) which sells hot and cold prepared dishes. You can get a good assortment of dishes for a full meal, or just a snack of something hot and healthy.
Your trip to Italy is not the time to give up desert, you’ll probably walk it off anyway. Try to go a few blocks off the main tourist streets to find gelato. The quality may not be better, but the price will. The fruit flavored gelatos are fresh and refreshing in the heat.
Italy has added ethnic restaurants as immigration has increased. All tourists know to look for a good Chinese restaurant when in doubt. And Italy’s Indian restaurants are usually good.
Be sure to count your change. Short changing the tourists has become a national sport. Don’t let the restaurant bring you unsolicited dishes in a seemingly friendly attempt to share their local cuisine. You will be charged an outrageous amount. Keep your receipt with you when you leave the restaurant. Cheating on taxes is common, so you are required by law to produce your receipt if the tax police ask for it. If you don’t get a receipt, they are not paying taxes. Ask for one.
You can still have a good time eating in Italy. Where else can you find a good pannini even at the train station. Just do as you would in any strange place, look for where the locals eat.