How to order food like an Italian in Italy.

Basic Rules: Part 02

8.Ask for recommendations; Italians love giving their opinions on just about everything, but food questions will be tackled with the seriousness of a political debate. “what would you recommend?” works better than “what is good?” “Everything is good!” they will reply, like I said tread lightly food is serious business.

9.Most Italians (especially in South Italy) will have; anti-pasta, pasta, secondo, fruita, dolce and café. If you want to try so much food once in your life I recommend you don’t eat too much pasta and avoid the bread. Or you may just pop.

10.Never ever in your whole life, even if your life depends on it order a cappuccino after a big meal. Everybody in the place, who is Italian, will naturally assume that you are foreign and “don’t understand anything about food.” Unfortunately they have brainwashed me and I too now believe that milk after fish is not so hot.

1.Look for places filled with locals and ask about dishes you see passing by.

2.Try to always order local wine and often house wine which can be home made wine. It’s a little rough round the edges and lighter in alcohol but once you get the taste for it there is no going back. Especially since the price is right and the hangover is low key.

How to order food like an Italian in Italy.

Basic Rules: Part 01

1.The shorter the menu the more likely you are to get good quality fresh food.

2.The more dishes offered with ingredients, which are in season, the better the food will be.

3. In Italy ingredients, which are frozen have to be indicated on the menu, so look out for those little stars on the right.

4.Water is always ordered at the beginning of the meal, a lightly fizzy is recommended to clean the palate especially if you will be eating rich food.

5.If you start with fish or meat, you should stick with the theme or have lemon sorbet between courses.

6.Avoid anything labelled tourist menu or you will end up with fish fingers for your main.

7. It’s good to know what different areas are famous for e.g. Naples has mozzarella, Rome the Amatriciana, Tuscany has it’s Fiorentina and Genova has pesto. But these are just the obvious, Italians can be so passionate about their way of making a certain pasta that they will talk about the people in the next town who don’t know how to cook because they add onions. They will discuss these onion lovers as though they come from a far off land.