LoveItaly

And again, Indy I just saw your other thread where you wrote that you two will be sharing a villa with some friends while in Tuscany and that you will have a car. That should be a tremendous help as you will have a kitchen and you will be able to shop at stores and hopefully there will be some Farmer Markets with their wonderful produce.

ira

Hi IR,

If DH can eat out in the US, he can certainly eat out in Italy.

nytraveler

Will not comment on your husband's "problem". It's yours and his to deal with or not as you please.

To make eating out in Italy easier suggest:

A good menu reader so you can easily red the menus outside every restaurant (do not make the mistake of going into ones wiht pictures of food or menus in 8 languages - these are tourist traps and the food will be awful - and probably expensive)

Learn and write down the words for "no sauce", "no dressing" and Lettuce only salad and potatoes

I have never seen corn in Italy (I know in some places it;s grown only as pig food)

You can get plain pasta - but be sure no say no sauce and no oil/garlic (but it must taste awful)

Bread is good everywhere - and wine - and you can get plain grilled meats in many places

How does he do with seafood? Very popular in many places -esp in Venice

Jean

I agree with Ira.

AnaBelen

I think you have a lot of helpful advice here, but I am not so sure about giving the waitstaff instructions on how to prepare a dish. Based on admittedly limited experience in Italy, I do not think that it will be well received in most restaurants.
Some background..... a couple of weeks before our trip to Italy last year, I had a serious injury to my jaw and could not chew anything. No way in hell was I going to postpone our trip because I got bashed on the chin. We stayed in hotels, so we went to restaurants, of course. Why should DH suffer along with me? I had lovely wine and whatever I could find off the menu. I make a special request a few times, but it was clear that it was not the norm, and two out of three times the response was a very polite version of "that's not how we make it". Fair enough. I found it was better to just eat what I could and supplement it with stuff from the market when I got back to our room. Maybe your husband could do the same? Perhaps an apartment would be better, but you should still go out to restaurants. You would not want to miss the food in Italy (or so I hear!) due to his problem. I'm guessing you make many concessions for him regarding food, he should not mind returning the favor.

ellenem

An American friend lived in Italy for 15 years. To remember her homeland, she would celebrate U.S. Thanksgiving every year, making the traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings. All her Italian friends were dumbfounded by the turkey roasted whole, and also by their first bite of corn served as a side dish. The majority of corn grown in Italy is of a grade best for grinding into meal or used a pig feed as mentioned. It would be incredibly unusual to find corn on a menu in Italy.

Trying to think of "siple" meat preparations found on many menus in Italy . . . You mentioned that your husband will eat plain meats. . . what about a breaded, lightly fried cutlet? Cotoletta Milanese is typically found on menus. For this dish, a veal cutlet is pounded very thin, breaded, and simply fried. It is not sauced, though sometimes a slice of lemon is provided to squeeze over it if one likes. Often it is served with arugula and tomatoes on the side. I've also seen chicken and pork prepared this way. In this photo, it is shown served with potatoes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotoletta

One thing to keep in mind: Italian food is VERY regional so as you travel from place to place you will find different regional specialties.

LoveItaly

Ana, the OP is staying in a villa in Tuscany per her other thread that I mentioned in my above post. So they will have a kitchen of course.

Now about not having a good experience in Italy regarding food issues. I have had serious food allergies for ages and have been in Italy many times since the 1970's. Be it the major cities, small towns or small villages I have never had any problem with food servers regarding what I cannot eat. I only had one problem out of all the times I have been in Italy and that was because the chef added cream to the tomato sauce that day and the server was not aware of that. I have always found that Italians are very kind regarding food issues and believe me, many Italians have food issues also.

nz101

I'm sure there will be plenty of things for your husband to eat, try not to worry. I hope you both have an absolutely fantastic time.

di2315

Hi IndyRita

I think some people on this board start hitting the keys before their brain is really in gear - otherwise they'd think before they type and not cause angst.

I have to be careful with foods, and also was very concerned with travel to Europe the first time I went (even to the extent of 'posting' myself food parcels before we left).

As many have said already, eating in Italy (and France) is no problem; in fact I find it easier than at home - and that's without being able to speak any other languages.

Enjoy your travels, Di

k9korps

How weird is it that Gretchen felt obligated to unsympathetically post twice about what an ogre your husband must be.

Think she's got man problems?

Gretchen

OK, I NEVER said he is an ogre. I am encouraging this lady to have a great trip on her basis since she obviously has taken care of these needs for her husband for decades and not have to cook for him on vacation. I did NOT say he was controlling of HER. He is controlling of himself--and I think it is too bad. But he seems to be able to cope when out of the house--so on a trip, you are out of the house, and he can find plenty to satisfy his phobias. Let her have a vacation from it.

Gretchen

AND k9korps, how weird is it that YOU say he is an ogre. How did that pop in your head?

alihutch

two out of three times the response was a very polite version of "that's not how we make it".

In Italy there's only one way to make something and then it's 'giusto'

Sounds like you should be able to work around what your hubby can and can't eat...although an apartment would give you more flexiblility.

IndyRita

We are both so much less concerned now than when I first posted this comment. Thank you all so much for your helpful tips....I think he and I both will be just fine. My quest now is to find an apartment, mostly from an expense standpoint, but also just to have a bit more flexibility from this perspective.

IndyRita

To: LoveItaly, I am also passing on the information you provided on the "Dietary Card" to a good friend who has a very serious form of Celiac disease. He's already had 2 surgeries for this and struggles so much with eating out. They have a difficult time even eating in US restaurants. Mile Grazie!

k9korps

Gretchen: It's in the dictionary under "O." Do you know what "unsympathetic" means, too?

LoveItaly

You are most welcome, Indy. It is strange but these last years it seems more and more people have "food issues". A friend who does also and I were talking about this just the other day. I commented that maybe we are more aware because people never use to discuss their problems but she is a retired Nutrionist, worked at a hospital, and she said in her opinion and from her experiences more people do have problems starting some years ago.

Anyway, I just wanted to say that I think the first visit to Italy is the most wonderful! Hoping all of you enjoy every precious moment.

kfusto

Just a note that Bistecca Fiorentina in Tuscany is served very rare so if that is an issue, be forewarned.

AtlTravelr

My 10 year old son was just a normal "picky eater" when we went to Italy. However, he found out he liked proscuitto & melon (maybe because it is very "plain" - just sliced fresh melon with slices of proscuitto alongside, nothing else). He ate that, bread & "pasta bianco" which we were told was the way to order pasta without sauce. Thinking now, it is possible it had olive oil on it, but nothing else. He would add cheese. He ordered the same thing for lunch and dinner at almost every meal in almost every restaurant we were in. Breakfast was even easier with plain bread and plain meats, cheese, maybe a hard boiled egg. Bottom line is he did find something that was easy to order everywhere - and no one looked at us too odd when he ordered the pasta without sauce.

Getting some of the Italian phrases right & smiling a lot when you ask for "special" treatment will go a long way.

AnaBelen

LoveItaly, Lucky you to have traveled so much in Italy. We loved our time there and look forward to more trips in the future. I am happy to hear that in your experience special requests are not a problem in Italian restaurants.
IndyRita, Seems everyone is in agreement that you do not need to worry. I am sure you will have a wonderful time.