By the way, I will admit to having one really horrible and disappointing meal in Rome on this last trip. It was a place called Dino and Tony's that was highly recommended by posters here. Simply awful!!

Some thoughts in reply to this question and the comments posted:

We rarely eat beef in Italy - I think the area around Florence has some cattle but for the most part the beef is not like U.S. and not the best choice for a good meal (IMO).

I almost always do alot of research on places to eat - on these boards and in tour guides. Sometimes the recommendations are good, sometimes disappointing! So you may do just as well choosing at the moment and giving the restaurant a critical look over before sitting down.

Venice seems to be a little more difficult to find good food than the other cities. Usually there if you stick with pizza or pasta you will make out better than looking for a more elaborate meal (again, IMO) We usually try to get some seafood there - sometimes it is mediocre and overpriced.

One time in Venice we noticed that we were served some really bogus (IMO) bread - these light fluffy tasteless rolls, while on other (Italians??) tables were baskets of the nice heavy bread more typical of Italy. Maybe they thought we would like the rolls better being American???? or were they saving the good stuff for the Italians, who knows.

But overall we have had many good meals in Italy that were not too pricey. For the most part we don't eat in fancy places - we eat alot of pizza, pasta and some of the appetizers - like the vegetable antipasta, ensalata caprese or calamari. Bon voyage and bon appetite!

"...and just eat where and when we chose at the moment. Is this a dumb idea?..."

No, I don't think it is a dumb idea at all. In fact, I think it is a lot more fun than having to remember a bunch of rules.

Dear CSS - you don't say where you are going to be staying. Certainly I have read lots of recommendations of good cheap [ie E20 pp] places in the centre of Rome on this forum. I would add to W9's list to avoid places with japanese translations ; somewhere with no menu or a very short hand-written one will be better.
We stayed in the Monti area - an old owrknig class area of Rome between the Colosseum and Via Nazionale and ate there virtually every night. The only bad meal was at a restaurant recommended in a guide. WE also ate in the centre at lunch-time, and did ok or better.
WE tended to pick places that were obviously family-run, with shortish menus. Our 15 year-old son is particularly picky, so on occasion we didn't find anything we liked, said grazie, and walked out.
If you arrive at 7.30 ish, you should get seated in most places as the Romans don't go out til at least 9pm.
THere is nothing wrong with ordering a pasta as a main course - we often did and the sky did not fall in. we tended to order antipasti for two or three [and share] then a main course [or pizza or pasta] and then dessert for the kids, coffee and grappa for us.
THe best meal we had was at a restaurant we picked almost at random [on a street running parallel to the via N'ale] where the waiter recommended the mixed ant-pasti, and we then had pizza/pasta for main course.
THe mixed anti-pasti turned out to be 6 different ways with baby octopus! WE would never have ordered it ourselves, but it was really great.
THe whole meal cost about E90 for 4 including a carafe of house red.
After a day or two, I'm sure you'll get into the sweing and learn to spot the palces that will suit. If not, your hotel will help you reserve tables, I'm sure.
If you want the names of the places we ate, let me know.
Have a wonderful time!

There is a rather sad article in the International Herald Tribune (www.iht.com). Click on Regions and then click Europe. The article is titled "When in Rome don't expect to pay as the Romans do". It is about how some restaurants in Rome are really cheating tourist. Even a woman from N Italy was quoted as being disgusted. So dear Fodorites, if you have been dissapointed with your meals you have a lot of company.

Well I am getting really nervous about our month in Italy ..over on the trip advisor forum there was a thread on disappointment in the food in Italy..several similar comments to the one above.

We find that using the red Michelin guide usually gives us decent food. Of course, haven't tried that in Italy, only France. My huband can't eat pasta...and that makes me nervous.

I think my problem is that I am not sure whose recommendations to take. One man's disappointment is another's pleasure. Sorry to ramble on. Have any of you tried Frommer's recommendations?..or Fodor's...

Missypie - I'm sure you are right! Flat, brown and land-locked is sounding pretty good about now!

LoveItaly - Thanks for the tip on the interesting article. I guess the Romans don't have to worry about tourists going away due to bad food anytime soon, but it's really sad that some people choose to be that way.

Loisco - please don't get nervous about your trip to Italy. I'm sure there isn't one poster that wouldn't love to trade places with you or css! The food is good in Italy and sometimes it's great! But just like when you are at home you stand a better chance of having a good meal if a place comes highly recommeded. And just like at home, that is never a guarantee because everyone has different taste. However, by researching restaurants you will come across some places that almost everyone loves. These are pretty good bets.

For me when I think back on our trip to Italy the food just didn't play a huge part. Everything was an adventure and even the bad pizza was interesting and funny in it's own way. I admit however, that I do think about the best pizza that I ever had (a place across from the Hotel Davanzati in Florence) though That was second in line to David for my favorite things about Florence!

Also, to anyone wondering or concerned about all the courses in an Italian meal I agree with the other posters to order whatever you want and don't feel obligated to order more than that. There were times when my Mom and I had a salad and split a pizza or each of us had a pasta and a salad and it was perfect. No one seemed to care, but we also went for more casual dining.

Have fun with your planning. I miss it, along with being in Italy!

Thanks CVerga..your comments make sense..

We are in Italy frequently, return often, and spend most of our vacation time there. One reason is the food. I think it is very, very good.

Venice can be a disappointment, but you should be able to eat wonderfully well in Florence and Rome. I suggest searching here, and on Chowhound.com's International boards for your cities. The folks at that site are usually discerning and knowledgable.

In Venice, for a very wonderful meal, I suggest Da Carla. Reservations are a must as it is very small. This is an upscale place, but worth the price which isn't outrageous.

Please see all my restaurant reviews at Florencevillas.com, going to the past newsletters link. You will find some very intexpensive and very good places to eat. Very, very good.

I hope this helps. Me, I take a list of places with phone numbers and addresses. I plan ahead and we eat very well for not too much money.

Italy can be and should be a wonderful culinary adventure. It is worth a little planning to get the most out of that part of your trip, just as you would in other areas (hotels, sightseeing, etc.)

Missypie, could you share the names of the disappointing restaurants? They are obviously to be avoided.

And I might add the salads with dinner in Italy are generally not to American tastes. Unless I am dying for a bit of greenery, I never order one.

bookmarking, thank you

I'm with Lexma90 - just don't underestimate how hard it might be to actually find the restaurant you made a reservation at earlier in the day in either Florence or Venice! or to get your group together again in time for dinner if any of you split up to see different sights...

In Florence, we ate inside at Za-Za (reservations likely req'd for al fresco table) and we sat at a small outside table at Trattoria Al Trebbio (try to find Via Trebbio twice!) without prior reservations - both places the whole family will find good choices at. Lunch is wide-open for choices, but if pizza/salad fits the bill, try this one - once I got past the kooky name, the place kinda grew on me:
http://www.spleencafe.it/contatti.html
if you take the hike up to Palazzo Michaelangelo, try Enoteca Fuori Porta on the way back to the river on the Altrarno side of town. Plenty of outdoor seating with room for the four of you, and a superb-looking wine shop next door!

In Venice we ate at one of Franco's fav's, Osteria Alla Botte (read his review on his Venice food thread!), and at both the San Trovaso Giardina and Trattoria San Trovaso restaurants.

Eating outside at lunchtime in Italy was almost de rigeur, but for dinner it didn't seem so important. Hey, we live in No. Calif, and maybe we are a little jaded about al fresco dining ;-)

We did not have reservations anywhere we went and both agreed that we had more good meals on our Italian trip (Rome, Florence, Venice and Le Marche) than we've ever lucked into on trips before.

We started with a perfectly AWFUL pizza (believe it or not) in a little place near the Trevi fountain, but it was all uphill after that. Well, except for overpriced food and bad wine at 2 Venice canal-side places, but we knew not to expect much there.

We don't go for fancy, expensive, Michelin 3-star places. We ate cheap by ordering uno per due (splitting a plate) and not ordering every course. We never went hungry.

We ate at a wonderful place near the Vatican (not TOO near) and several very good places in Venice that we just happened on.

For particulars, click on my name and look for the Rome Cities trip report.

Vera

Well - its' always possible to get one bad meal anywhere (the chef is out sick or whatever). But there is an art to eating out.

Understand the price ranges.

Order what the locals eat. (Beef in europe tends to be very expensive and not very good. Because they reaise very few beef cattle - in Paris some steak re4staurants advertise Argentine beef.) We ate a lot of chicken, fish, seafood, some veal and lamb - but never beef except in Florence.)

Understand portions (way less than in the US), order of courses and how things are served (in many countries veggies and salads are ordered separately and the salad served as a separate course after the main course.

Avoid anyplace with menus in multiple languages nad those right near tourist attractions unless you have recos from someone you know.

(And please don;t compare this to chain mall restaurants in the US. There is simply no comparison between fresh local foods and packaged frozen micro-nuked stuff that focuses on quantity versus quality.)

And no - what you get in Olive Garden is not real Italian food. In Italy they don;t slop the pasta, chicken, shrimp and 3 sauces all over one plate with 500 pounds of breadsticks and sneezed on salad. Each couse is separate. Pasta rarely has any meat, chicken or seafood except for small bits in sauce since it is a first course before the main course. And the meat or chicken or whatever of the main course is it - order veggies with it if you want (and you'll get enough for 2 or 3 people).

And never in Italy have I seen any canned mushrooms, olices or anything of that type (perhaps they do this in real tourist traps).

nytraveler- I may be missing your point about comparing "real" Italian food in Italy to the Olive Garden in the U.S.. I don't think anyone on this thread would ever make the comparison and I don't think that the Olive Garden represents the many excellent Italian restaurants we have in the States. My favorite Italian restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area are owned by Italians with Italians in the back doing the cooking. They use fresh produce and have fantastic food. So where does the Olive Garden factor in when discussing where to eat in Italy?

Wow, amazing responses! Thanks so much. I will go thru old posts and make some notes to take with me and follow all the other great suggestions as well. Thanks!

I have to agree that we were a little disappointed with the food in Italy. I think we were expecting things to be more seasoned, especially with garlic, and most dishes were more on the bland side (to us, at least). We found the best meals in northern Italy - a simple dish like ravioli in sage and butter was to die for! We generally really liked the pizzas, though. And we nearly ALWAYS just ordered a pasta as our main course, never had a problem.

With the upcoming trip next year with grandsons, we're renting an apartment in Rome, so hopefully I can take advantage of the wonderful markets and prepare some simple evening meals for us most nights. We'll still do the pizza thing, of course, but it would break our bank to eat every meal out with those boys! I'm a little worried about our 3 nights in Venice, though, as we're staying in a hotel. But they can (and have) eat pizza 3 times a day and be happy, so there I think we'll stick to the 3 P's - paninnis, pizza and pasta, and try to get those off the beaten path. At least our hotel supposedly serves a very ample breakfast, so that should help.

Hagan,

Garlic isn't actually used like it is here in the U.S. Oftentimes here you get pasta dishes where all you can taste is the garlic.

In Italy, the red sauce that is usually served with pasta is most often just tomatoes, basil, salt and olive oil. If it has garlic or oregano, it is more likely going to be identified as marinara. Arrabbiata sauce also often has garlic in it (and spicy red pepper) if you're looking for it.

Not suprising that you like northern food more - the stuff we have "imported" to the U.S. is a bit closer to the northern model than the southern. Bologna in particular has a lot of the pastas we are familiar with.

Anyway, just figured I'd give you the heads up on garlic!

-Nicole

Nicole - thanks so much for that explanation! I couldn't figure out the lack of garlic - now I'll know what to order to get that zing!

I really enjoy seeing all these posts about Italian food. I can tell you having just returned from a year in Italy that I agree with both the bad and the good reviews of the food. It is really difficult to find what we foodies think is a good meal. I don't know about the rest of you but I expect something that I will remember eating-just like I do here at the restaurants in the U.S. And just like here in the U.S. staying away from the main piazzas or centers is key to getting a good meal. In Florence there are loads of great restaurants on the other side of the Arno if you just take some time and walk around. Trattoria Angelino's is a very good upscale for a nice dinner out and Ciro and Son's (near santa maria novella station)is great food for any meal. Great bistecca fiorentina, fabulous pastas and gnocchi and heavenly tiramasu. I can't remember the addresses for these but if you just write them down your hotel staff will direct you accordingly. Other than that, if you're looking to catch cheap lunch your best bet is panini or pizza which is all thats available at most places that aren't restaurants. Then again, there is the heavenly kebab which is never more than 4$ and will satisfy anyone's appetite. It may not be Italian but even when in Italy you can get sick of so much flour everyday.

missypie: yea Texas Roadhouse....they really do have excellent food y'all !

css: However "when in Rome", as the saying goes. Adapt to their food and there is a lot for teenagers to like, if you do some research first. I have seen trip reports of families traveling and they have good ideas of what kids might like.

CVerga: I "think" I know what you wrote, but you are l80 degrees off.
Central TX has loads of hills in the hill country area...steep, green and beautiful. (and Mts. to the far west) Also, landlocked we're not!
Miles and miles of lovely beachs along the Gulf Coast! Come visit sometime!

Well , back to Italy and the main topic.Have a great trip css,and I know you will. Let us know how it went. YOu won't need reservations...but the hotel can often give you suggestions (however they might give you "touristy" ideas!). Learn a vocabularly of foods in Italian. With teens I wouldn't think it necessary to go to fancy restaurants.....There's always pastas, pizzas, panini sandwiches, roasted chicken, or even McDonalds ONCE or so!!! Menus are usually posted in the window so you can choose that way beforehand. Some people go to Italy and eat a LOT of pizzas,and that is OK. no right or wrong.!
Have FUN.