Italy - where's the best food?
 

I'm leaving in a month for my first ever trip to Europe and probably passing through Italy. I remember hearing something from my neighbor awhile back about the different between northern and southern Italy food...about one region's being better or much different, or something to that effect. Can someone clue me in?

Food in Italy, like food in any European country, varies considerably from region to region, with northern cuisines in very general terms relying more on cream and butter and southern cuisines relying more on olive oil. But all European cuisines take advantage of whatever is fresh and local and in season, so no matter where you go in Italy or elsewhere in Europe, you should be able to find wonderful food based on whatever is grown locally.

Very generally speaking, Italian cuisine can be divided between the north, where dishes are more Germanic or Swiss and use cream and cheese and butter, and the South, where dishes are based on pasta and olive oil and tomatoes and eggplant and peppers and capers and such, and of course fish dishes, the closer you get to the Mediterranean.

Bologna is considered the gastronomic capital of Italy. The best restaurant in all of Italy (some say the world) is San Domenico in Isola, a small town about 20 miles southeast of Bologna. I ate there in 1996--it was the second- best meal I have ever eaten in my life.

I've been periodically visiting Italy since 1963. The trips got intense in the last 5 years due to retirement and the same quest you mention, "Where in Italy is the best food?" Section it out to sea, land, borders, influence. SOUTH-NORTH.Big competition and prejudice Italy regionally and don't doubt it!
Arabic influence and dry lands but sea access, south. Mid areas, better climate (more rain and top soil), sea, lakes appearing = various fish and veggies and fruits.. Islands= fish and imported veggies and fruit-citrus. north= Swiss and French influence, lighter palate and less garlic and heavy spice.
Often creamy sauces appear in Milan and other northern areas as well as lake fish. Kind of sounds like the old USA but with much more style, history and class.don't look for spagettios and meat balls anywhere! We have great traditions here in the US but if you really want a great meal...look to your ancestors/ALL OF THEM INTERNATIONALLY!!!!Then see what we have here in the USA, but the best of each source is in the mother country.
Bon appetit and eat your way around the world for knowledge!!

Hey thingorjus,

Where was the best meal you ever had?

Seafood lovers would prefer Sicilian or Neapolitan dishes.. but I am partial to Bologna's (and Emilia Romagna in general) cuisine. Best I've found in Italy. It's the home of lasagna, tortellini, ragu, crescentina, prosciutto crudo, parmesan, gamiglia con salsicca, and more :)

There are at least a dozen distinct regional cuisines in Italy--each having its own appeal. I am somewhat partial to the Sicilian. The classification of "north versus south" is a gross over simplification that is more a USA marketing ploy than reality.

Check your local library in the Italian cook book section and you should find some good insights (or just go browse Borders!) While you may have preferences (butter over olive oil, etc)it is all tasty.

I have to admit, I've never had a bad meal in Italy. Rosticceria, Trattoria, ristorante...mmm. They do pasta like nowhere else!

An aside: As a youngster I read up and had my heart set on the specialty, "frito misto" (mixed deep-fried seafood). We were in the most picturesque, romantic restaurant in Venice when I ordered it. I can still remember almost "losing my cookies" when they set that huge plate down in front of me with all those little calmari beady-eyes staring out at me!! I've since gotten over this squeamishness, but what a shock at the time!

Have a wonderful time!

Yes, the "frutta di mare" definitely comes in its natural state :P

And it's gramigna con salsicca. Ugh shows I still have much to learn :p

I've only been to Venice and to Sicily thus far, but out of the 3 nights in Venice there was only one night we had a good meal. Sicily, for 10 nights, every meal was delicious. The Frutta di Mare was always perfectly marinated and tender, the seafood was so FRESH I couldn't believe it. I had never tasted such shrimp like I did there. It melted in my mouth. The cannolis and cassata- oh my god. I literally did an eating tour of Sicily because that was the major activity besides the sightseeing!

Italian food is Great not matter in which region you go...just enjoy and try to have the specialities of the area that you are visiting..It is very hard to say which region is best, also because it is a matter of personal taste and upbringing..
Buon Appetito,
kismet

To AP6380, Venice is a difficult city; I have had my worst meals there. But also some of the best.

I mostly follow Fred Plotkin's Gourmet's Guide to Italy, although admittedly out-of-date, or references from friends. I avoid overly touristy places, and I must be the only person on the planet who is not enchanted with Cumpa Cosimo in Ravello.

Bologna and Emilia Romagna food is delizioso, but I prefer the simpler food of
Tuscany. As someone said, it's the freshness that counts.

Now, having said, that I just had one of the best lunches of my life today in a simple trattoria in Bologna: a timbale of pheasant and white truffles with a side of peas cooked with pancetta.

I am not sure what BobTN meant when he said the difference between the north and south was a mere U.S. marketing ploy. Certainly a difference exists. This is not a judgment but a fact.

Spent last in Rome,Tuscany and Venice. Without a doubt I preferred the food in Tuscany. The steaks there are beyond description.

I had a cassata in Agrigento that I can't forget! (Light... not the cheesecakey kind) I know this isn't a receipe forum, but does anyone know where I could find an authentic receipe?
(I live in NYC and tho cannoli abound... can't find a real cassata!)
PS This was not a good question to explore just before dinner!!

Grandma, the closest I have found to a real cassata is at Villabate in Brooklyn. 7117 18th Ave, I think it's the Bensonhurst area. I personally did not love it, it had a strong liquor taste. My boyfriend did though. Everything else there I love, and I think they have the best cannolis. The owners are from Sicily. They also make their own gelato.

I have a theory-I've never had bad food where they have cute/nice curtains or where you can see the kitchen.

You go gb!
Challenge, everyone! In September let's all check back with the Italian trips and see if there was any place Italian with awful food! Then tell where you went and 1 restaurant with the best!!!
July, I go to Rome, Siena and Bologna!
Bets are on!!! Mac Donalds and Pizza Hut don't count!
Buon viaggio

After 8 months of living in Italy I can say that I was never served bad food, although on occasion it was food I would consider average. In other words it's hard to go wrong :)

Thanks, AP6380! I have made a note of the address... perhaps someday I can lure a friend with a car to Brooklyn.
(I had a friend in Bensonhurst years ago, but now I'm stranded in Manhattan w/o wheels. With at least a 2 hr. subway ride to Bensonhurst, I could probably get back to Agrigento faster
-:) -:)