Good sources for restaurant recommendations
 

We leave for Southern Italy next Friday, and one of the last things I attend to is to gather up some restaurant recommendations. What are some good online resources? I look at Fodors and Frommers and Lonely Planet etc., but what else is there? I look at Slow Travel, but a lot of that information seems very dated.

We'll be in Amalfi, Benevento, Capri and Naples, and doing various day trips from Amalfi.

Thanks much,
Alice

I have not read all the posts there, but this is a link to the Italy pages at chowhound.com

http://chowhound.chow.com/boards/58?tag=bd;main_body

I've used this website for dining in my US travels and found lots of good information. It helps if you read all the posts and then if you have specific question, post your query. I would not, for example, ask for "good restaurants in Naples."

For Napoli:

http://www.thefoodmaven.com/guide/index.html

A second on Chowhound. I always check them and usually find excellent reviews and good recommendations.

Oh and egullet.com is another good site for restaurant recs on a wide ranging number of places. probably not quite as active as chowhound and generally more into pricey spots, but good.

Those are good recommendations.

There are quite a few threads on Amalfi and nearby towns on Chowhound and Naples is very well covered, too. There are a few very reliable posters on CH but for Amalfi and around you may also turn up less-than-useful threads. You should probably plan at least one meal in Cetara while you are in the area.

The SlowFood Osterie guide and the Carla Capalbo Campania book are good resources.

Take a look at Katie Parla's site, too:



http://www.parlafood.com/category/naples-campania/

..I forgot: One more link for inland Campania, which includes Locanda di Bu in Nusco and others near Avellino:


http://www.mesali.org/

Good suggestions so far! And so quick! I don't know why I thought chowhound and egullet were for the US only. ekscrunchy, great links, you are always an expert when it comes to food. zeppole, thanks for the Naples link.

What else?

Alice

The Gambero Rosso website, though the restaurant part is in Italian only. But still good for locating restaurants.

Michelin, though I don't really like their Italian version, except for northwestern Italy (where the food is more French).

We love

Osterie & Locanda D'Italia

It's a Slow food publication in English

Amazon & Borders have it.

I looked for that Osterie & Locanda DiItalia book and you can get it used on Amazon for $240! Must be out of print at this point...

Alice

Alice: You can order the 2010 guide in Italian from SlowFood; I recommend writing to them and asking about the English language guide and if you can get it by express delivery.


http://store.slowfood.it/store_it/pa...=9788884991836

Also, in the past one could access the listings on their website, in Italian, for free. You may have to pay a nominal fee to join but it may be worth it. The entire listings are on the site.

Let me know exactly where you will be and I will post the names for those towns/cities. Note that the Italian guide has many more listings than the English guide, if I remember correctly.

...to get started, there are two trattorie listed in Benevento:

Cotton club--closed Tuesday

http://www.yubuk.it/ristorante-benev...b--113102.html


Nunzia--closed Sunday

http://store.slowfood.it/store_it/pa...=9788884991836


Cetara has three listings--Acquapazza; Il Convento; San Pietro (see details for the last two in my trip report from 2008 and check closing dates)


Cantina San Nicola is the only current listing in the town of Amalfi. IN Pogerola, Trattoria Da Rispoli sounds excellent; we had planned to go there last time but became too lazy to take the bus to Pogerola.

Hope that helps get you started.

Forgot to mention that I do not think that SlowTrav is a good site for restaurant reviews.

You can access the Michelin site online for free but I agree with Lexma90 about its usefulness in Italy.

Alice-nine
Sorry, I didn't know it was out of print.
I see used copies listed for under $30.
Where are you going in "Southern" Italy?

I think that Slowtrav is an excellent site for restaurant
reviews. Many posted by very frequent and seasoned travelers to Italy,plus some full and part time residents.

We leave next Friday, so I might not be able to order anything in time, but I'll take the suggestion to see if I can get one quickly.

We will be in Amalfi for 5 nights, but we have a car and will be traveling about. Then Benevento for 2 nights (still with a car), then we ditch the car and will be in Capri for 2 nights and then Naples for 3 nights. Thanks for the offer, ekscrunchy.

Alice

Ah! Naples
I can smell the fresh buffalo mozzarella on the top of a perfectly baked pizza margherita coming out of the woodburning oven.
3 nights in naples for me = 3 great pizzas.

A9 - Best wishes for a great journey.

..I know that you already know about the delights of eating in Cetara. And with a car, you will not be bound by the bus schedules as we were.

We had two meals at A Paranza in Atrani last time and I am surprised to see that the place is no longer listed in the SlowFood guide. But that often means that they no longer meet the price criteria for SlowFood. I think it would be an excellent choice for you for one of your Amalfi nights.

Since you have a car, you might want to check out Barilotto di Nonno outside Positano, too. I've not been but have it on my list.

I have nothing against SlowTrav and often look at the site but they list less than 20 restaurants in all of Campania--only two in Naples--so I just do not find it all that useful for restaurant reviews.

Here is the rather predictable Campania list from L'Espresso, with La Caravella the lone entrant in Amalfi:


http://temi.repubblica.it/espresso-r...iori-campania/

Yes, Cetara is on our list and Atrani as well. I think I can put together a pretty good list of possibilities with all these resources!

My younger son said that when he was in Naples he ate pizza 3 times a day.

Thanks so much for your help, everyone, especially ekscrunchy, you are apparently a foodie of the highest order! I do love eating in Italy, only a little over a week to go. Trip reports, I promise, and I'll keep notes on the restaurants.

Alice