(Note: The purpose of this vignette and all others hereafter, is to provide some general impressions of our time in Italy. Our longer, chronological posts provide good snapshots in time, but in these shorter posts we hope to explain some of the trends we have noticed, and offer ruminations on them. And of course, to be able to more frequently connect with you: Our dearest friends).
Frequent dining out is both the boon and the bane of the traveler: Boon in that you are spared the inconvenience of cooking yourself, are waited on professionally, and eat excellently imagined and prepared food; bane in that it is very expensive, time consuming, and eventually you begin to miss cooking a bit. Or in Shaffer’s case, he begins to miss Amy’s cooking a bit. Here’s a few of the things we’ve learned about eating in Italian restaurants.
First, a few basics: Tipping is rarely expected in Italy. We will occasionally leave a small tip, but most restaurants come with a menu that either says servizio incluso (gratuity included in the prices on the menus) or a fixed coperto (cover charge). Ostensibly the coperto includes bread, but it varies by restaurant: Some restaurants offer bread, others foccacia dripping in olive oil and covered with fresh pomodori (tomatoes), others bring what are essentially little slices of pizza. Other restaurants (bars, and cafes) bring peanuts, pretzels, or other light fare. Some restaurants don’t give you anything at all- and still charge a coperto.
Drinks involve a bit of money. La Birra (beer) is more expensive here than in the states, costing as much as 5 euro for a pint. There was, however, a delightful outdoor café in Sorrento that sold 66 ounce beers for only 3 euro. You pay for water, though it comes in a sealed, glass bottle and usually comes cold. It costs between 2 and 4 euro, and comes in 1 litre or 1.5 litre bottles. You can get it naturale or sparkling. Wine ranges wildly in price: Much of it is very cheap, but some (like the Super Tuscans) range into the hundreds of Euros for a bottle. We usually buy a mezzolitre (half-litre) of the house wine, which runs us between 3-6 Euros. For reference, a bottle of wine, both in Europe and in the States, is 750 milliliters: three-quarters of a litre. We usually buy a bottle or two (or three or four) to keep in our hotel room, and have gotten very good bottles as cheap as 4 Euros each.
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| Vino della casa |
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| More vino della casa....mmmm |
The restaurants themselves are all very nice. Most offer outdoor (fuori) seating on the sidewalk or a terrazzo (terrace) that overlooks the street or a busy piazza. The seating is very nice, but the inside of the restaurant is usually just as nice, and often looks like a wine cellar, or some medieval keep. Also, the inside is often cooler than the outside. We try to mix up where we sit, depending on the particular restaurant, and the street or piazza it overlooks.
We have never eaten out for Il Colazione (Breakfast). The truth is we are rarely hungry in the morning. Also, we’re here on a budget (that has already loosened a bit) and skipping breakfast is an easy way to cut costs. Some restaurants, particularly those in Sorrento, offer large, full breakfasts. Sorrento’s restaurants, catering to the large tourist crowd, even offered “traditional English breakfast:” Egg, potatoes, ham, and a fried tomato. It seems that standard fare for locals in town is a cappuccino and a croissant or other pastry, eaten while standing at the bar. At our agriturismo more rustic, agricultural products, i.e. salami, cheese, and fruit, were added to the meal. For us, we try to enjoy a cappuccino for Amy, a succo (fruit juice) for Shaffer, and share a croissant or a piece of bread.
Il Pranzo (Lunch) can be done several ways. It is possible to get one of the larger, heavier dishes offered for dinner, but we rarely do as it costs too much. We took a vow of poverty before coming to Italy; which was convenient in that we have no money. More often, we stop at a trattoria or pizzeria, or even a café or bar for lunch. A bar in Italy is not a house of debauchery, but rather a place to buy snacks. Our lunches often consist of either panini (sandwiches) or pizza (not going to translate that one for you). Our panini have been fairly simple: Shaffer usually gets the crudo (just raw proscuitto) and Amy gets a more sophisticated sandwich with mozzarella and basil. Shaffer always wants to try a sandwich with salami (which has many different varieties here, with significant differences even from town to town), but always freezes when the vendor asks for his order and ends up with the crudo, with which he is never disappointed.
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| Our first pizza |
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| Even sideways pizza is still pizza |
Pizza most often means the Pizza Margherita which consists of tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil, and is very well priced. It is also big enough to share, though Italian waiters look at us as if we were a bit crazy for ordering just one. We have seen many other Italians who each order, and finish, their own. Shaffer once tired of eating the Margherita and instead ordered the Diavoloa: Tomato sauce, mozzarella and spicy salami; resembling a pepperoni pizza in the states. Amy had the Margherita, and neither of us were able to finish our entire pie. We vowed thereafter to share a single pizza, regardless of what the Italians said about it. A margherita ranges from 5-6 Euros here, and makes for a very affordable, and satisfying, pranzo.
La Cena (Dinner) is where most of our time and money is spent, and also where our tastebuds are most pleased. The true Italian Cena consists of antipasti (appetizers), il primo (the first course), il secondo (the second course), contorni (a side dish, to accompany il secondo), and il dolce (dessert).
Antipasti are usually fresh, local cheeses and salami, or bruschette: Toasted bread with olive oil, salt and other toppings. Occasionally restaurants will offer a risotto or other more gourmet antipasti. We particularly enjoy (though only rarely order) prosciutto e melone: Prosciutto (duh) and a ripe melon, usually cantaloupe. Antipasti vary dramatically in price, ranging from as little as 3 euro (for prosciutto e melone) to upwards of 15 euro for some of the more eclectic salami and cheese platters. As we never get antipasti, the prices are of little concern to us.
I Primi (which is the plural of il primo) are pasta dishes: Spaghetti, Ravioli, Tortellini, Tagliatelle, Gnocchi, (Amy’s favorite) and the like. These are served with a wide range of sauces including ragu (meat sauce), rose (cream and tomatoes), arrabiata (spicy), and chianti (chianti wine and tomatoes). Some restaurants let you choose which sauce you want, while others have a fixed menu. Other ingredients are woven into the pasta, and vary by region. In Sorrento, and the rest of the south, sea food was the norm: Mussels, clams, fish and calamari were integral parts of many of the pasta dishes. In the north, the accoutrements are more gamey, and a bit more exotic: rabbit, duck and wild boar. Shaffer always says that he is going to try the wild boar. Shaffer never actually tries the wild boar. I Primi are usually less than 10 Euro at the more affordable restaurants. Depending on the ingredients, they can go as high as 15 Euro. Of course at the gourmet restaurants you would pay much, much more.
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| Frussilli.....SPICY |
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| Ravioli con fungi (mushrooms) and spinach |
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| Gnocchi |
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| Tagliatelle with clams |
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| Spaghetti al carbonara |
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| More gnocchi |
I Secondi are almost exclusively meat dishes, with the occasional melonzone pamagiano (eggplant parmesan) thrown in. The specialties vary by region: Seafood in the south, land animals in Tuscany. A particular Tuscan specialty is the Bistecca Florentina (Florentine steak) which has a deceptive menu price: Usually around 3 Euros. However, the price is contingent on weight of the steak. It is 3 Euros per etto (100 grams) and most restaurants require you to buy a steak weighing at least nine etti: At a cost of some 27 Euro. It seems fairly common, though optional, to order a contorni (side dish) with your secondo. We’ve only done it once, but common corntorni include patate (which for us was roasted potatoes marinated in olive oil and rosemary), local salami, a risotto, or if your restaurant is touristy enough: patate fritte (French fries). I Secondi normally run from 14-25 Euro, again depending on the ingredient used.
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| Man food: lots of meat: Rabbit, chicken, duck, and pigeon. Ew. |
Il Dolce is one of the most fun parts of the meal, and deserves a blog post of its own. Which is precisely what it is going to get. So you’ll have to wait till then. For now, just be satisfied and enjoy the dinner. You greedy kids. I will tell you that dessert usually costs around 5 euro.
As you can see, a typical cena has a ton of food. We never do it. Our waiters seem to be a little bit surprised, and even a little hurt when we don’t, but there is no way we could eat (or pay) that much. We usually skip antipasti altogether. Then, we each pick either a primo or a secondo, depending on what mood strikes us. Often we look over the menu together, pick the two most appetizing dishes, and offer each other tastes of our respective meals. We never get a primo AND a secondo for one of us. It is just too much food. The Italians around us do though, and most of them are fairly fit. We usually finish with Il Dolce of some variety, to be discussed later. Our cena usually runs us in the 30 Euro range, including drinks. We have documented many of our dinners in previous blog entries.
Finally, there comes the matter of paying, which is more difficult than you might think. Italians usually enjoy an espresso after dinner, or perhaps a digestitvo: A mixed drink with alcohol (usually some variety of bitters), and herbs to help ease digestion. Italians often linger for as long as an hour after they finish a meal. To get our check, we first must catch our waiters eye, and then pantomime writing a check on our hand. They always see us, but usually ignore us the first 2 or 3 times, perhaps hoping that we will order more food if we are ignored.
Well, that was much, much longer than I imagined it might be. I promise that the next entry will be much shorter.
Up Next: Lucia dancing along the superstrada; hoteliers who speak “fluent english;” too much pizza; under the Tuscan sun; and naked cat-ladies: The road to Cortona!!
Arrivederci!
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