rebekkah

What city is known in Italy for the best food? Where would I get the best bang of my buck? Any recommended restaurants or food/wine tours in that city?

bvlenci

That depends on what kind of food you're looking for. Pizza? Naples. Tortellini? Bologna.

I think you need to do a little research on Italian food.

sandralist

Double ditto to the post above. I have heard many cities and regions in Italy touted as "the best" and my feeling is that Ligurian pesto and fresh seafood is the best, and after that I'd rather eat in Sicily -- but I really, really like seafood and vegetables.

Italy is not like other European countries that invested massively in their capital city to be the core of the national culture, with the best in food, theater, style, etc. Italy has no true equivalent to London or Paris in that sense. It is a very fragmented place, and food from one area of the country to another is wildly different, even in the interpretation of Michelin-star cuisine.

However, I will say that there are some cities in Italy where it can turn out to be pretty hard to get a quality meal at a moderate price. Venice really leaps out as having that problem, and Milan can be tough for quality food and wine at a modest price.

bilboburgler

veggie, game, fish ?

rebekkah

Thanks! I actually think we are changing up our plan and may only stay in Venice.

Pegontheroad

I did not find one specific city or area to have better food than others. When we went to Italy, we had Karen Brown's guidebook, and we used some of her rec's.

I've also had success in various countries by asking my hotel for recommendations--unless the hotel itself has a restaurant, in which case I'd check a guidebook.

PalenQ

Best pizza in Italy? But linguine in Italy? Best gelato in Italy?

A quioxtic search IME.

yestravel

I love the food in Italy, but will agree that Venice is the hardest to find moderately priced good food.

bvlenci

And I confirm that opinion of Venice. It's one of the places where I'd just as soon have a slice of pizza and avoid the restaurants. There used to be, and maybe still is, a self-service cafeteria near St. Mark's where at least you won't be ripped off.

Striscia la Notizie, an Italian humor/satire program once sent out three groups of people pretending to be tourists to order identical meals in the same restaurants in Venice. One group was a group of people from the Veneto region, with the typical Veneto accent. The second was a group of Italians from the province of Rome (who have an unmistakable accent), and the third was a group of Italians of Chinese origin, who pretended not to speak Italian at all. There were three different price structures, just as Striscia la Notizie suspected.

sandralist

My first Italian teacher taught me my first Italian joke (which I will relate in Englsh):

What is the tourist menu in Venice?

Pizza, cappucino, gelato 10 euros.

(cue uproarious laughter.)

All that said, I would not despair of beating the odds. My strategy would be to find one excellent Venetian restaurant for one spectacular foodie dinner -- and prepare to pay the price.

Otherwise, follow the best advice you can find for eating well with a happy price tag. Here is a start:

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/20...-drink-cheaply

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/20...s-cicheti-wine

I would also book a meal with Home Food. Don't be shy, they will help you with langauge and give you the best food and wine at the best price.

http://www.homefood.it/en/cerca-menu...&button=Search

RonZ

Regarding pizza, don't expect numerous toppings like you may get at home.

rebekkah

We are looking into staying in Italy for a week. Yes, we will be in Venice the first few days, but we are open to whatever and where ever after that. Sure, we love pizza and pasta and wine.

Maybe a place we can experience that with some culture. It doesn't have to be pizza.

I hear Bologna is great!

If we went to Florence is it better to stay in the city, r stay in Tuscany and visit Florence?

cmndesign

I have never had a GREAT meal in Venice. When I take students this summer, I have picked places to eat that serve cicchetti (Venetian tapas). You get a variety of food, it goes well with a cocktail, it's easy and fun. Don't over think the food in Venice because every time I have, I have been disappointed! What I do is read articles, look at reviews and more specifically look at photos of food from the restaurant.

And remember, even a good review of a restaurant is not a guarantee of good food. When you are having a great time and the wine is flowing..........everything tastes great!

sandralist

How about Verona? Very good for wine and has interesting pastas

http://honestcooking.com/on-the-ital...lovely-verona/

http://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/g...verona,-italy/

Rather than go to Bologna to eat, I would recommend going to Modena. Definitely head for lunch at Hostaria Giust (reserve because there are only 4 tablesi, but also see the market in the morning. You can visit Bologna and Parma as a day trip from Modena. There is a nice new Best Western Hotel in Modena.

If you go to Bologna, I would recommend All'Osteria Bottega or Da Gianni, or Caminetto d'Oro. And if you want good pizza in Bologna, then Alce Nero, but remember it is not as good as what you get in Rome or Naples.

It is better to stay in Florence if you are interested in seeing the artwork in the city. If you want to stay in the peaceful Tuscan wine country, you have to go there, but then you generally need a car.

sandralist

Sorry, I misspelled Hosteria Giusti in Modena

http://www.hosteriagiusti.it/template.php?pag=42663

HappyTrvlr

As a seafood lover, I preferred Liguria.

sandralist

Ligurian food really is special, but it is a long train ride from Venice. As wonderful as the seafood is, there is also marvelous pasta with pesto or walnut sauce, and chickpea tortes. Many things you cannot get outside of Liguria in their true form. Wine is not great in Liguria. It also matters what time of year somebody is traveling.