Let’s talk about Italian Food!
May 6th, 2019, 07:06 PM
#1
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Let’s talk about Italian Food!
This is a multi part question... just for fun.
Where does everyone look for restaurant recommendations? I find myself creating mini spreadsheets and looking at various sources and placing stars next to places mentioned various times. I check Fodors, NYT, TA, Condé Naste etc. It’s a mini obsession. Anyone else out there doing this?
Do you plan your days around your meals and make some reservations before you go or just wing it?
I’ll be visiting Bologna, Parma, Tuscan near Sienna, Positano and Ravello ? Any restaurant/meal recommendations in these areas?
What one Italian meal meal will you never forget?
Where does everyone look for restaurant recommendations? I find myself creating mini spreadsheets and looking at various sources and placing stars next to places mentioned various times. I check Fodors, NYT, TA, Condé Naste etc. It’s a mini obsession. Anyone else out there doing this?
Do you plan your days around your meals and make some reservations before you go or just wing it?
I’ll be visiting Bologna, Parma, Tuscan near Sienna, Positano and Ravello ? Any restaurant/meal recommendations in these areas?
What one Italian meal meal will you never forget?
May 7th, 2019, 01:28 AM
#2
I just go to which ever restaurant is making the most noise.
My wife,pours over TA until she makes a choice, where upon she walks across the city to a disreputable street where the restaurant has clearly been closed for some years.
I don't find restaurant food especially good, I do find Italian fruit, vegtables and wine to be exceptional. Foccacia in Liguria with rosemary and sea salt is probably my best ever taste. My best wine a small place in Puglia where the wine manager knew his stuff.
My wife,pours over TA until she makes a choice, where upon she walks across the city to a disreputable street where the restaurant has clearly been closed for some years.
I don't find restaurant food especially good, I do find Italian fruit, vegtables and wine to be exceptional. Foccacia in Liguria with rosemary and sea salt is probably my best ever taste. My best wine a small place in Puglia where the wine manager knew his stuff.
May 7th, 2019, 02:55 AM
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I kind of agree with bilbo - I go to wherever looks the most inviting at the moment.
Almost never have lists of places to seek out. It's not that I don't care about food (though I care more about the other aspects of travel) but I really dislike 'stuffy' restaurants and don't find the food in those types of places any better than you can come across elsewhere. We'll wander around looking at places to think about coming back to later for dinner, or the following days, I don't just go into the first place I see, but I don't plan it out or rarely check reviews. I also find 'street' food, or food you can get from markets more to my liking that long multi-course meals. If we find a place we like and are in a town for several days we frequently return to the same place more than once. This usually pleases the staff (owner) who almost always recognizes a returning customer and we get treated well. The fact that my husband has learned a bit of Italian (more than most tourists) and is terrible at it but tries really hard also seems to really please them.
Almost never have lists of places to seek out. It's not that I don't care about food (though I care more about the other aspects of travel) but I really dislike 'stuffy' restaurants and don't find the food in those types of places any better than you can come across elsewhere. We'll wander around looking at places to think about coming back to later for dinner, or the following days, I don't just go into the first place I see, but I don't plan it out or rarely check reviews. I also find 'street' food, or food you can get from markets more to my liking that long multi-course meals. If we find a place we like and are in a town for several days we frequently return to the same place more than once. This usually pleases the staff (owner) who almost always recognizes a returning customer and we get treated well. The fact that my husband has learned a bit of Italian (more than most tourists) and is terrible at it but tries really hard also seems to really please them.
May 7th, 2019, 03:59 AM
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I agree with bilboburgler and isabel, seeing new places is more interesting to us than fine dining. Oftentimes our most enjoyable experiences have been picnic meals with a bottle of red, bread, cheese and quiches or other delicacies picked up from a local boulangerie. We also love the fresh produce and quite often rustle up simple meals at our apartment.
May 7th, 2019, 04:15 AM
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I think I'd need therapy if I needed spreadsheets to eat or obsessed over internet reviews.
No, I don't check websites before choosing where I eat. I follow my instincts and my nose.
No, I don't plan my days around restaurants or special meals, except on very occasional, very special occasions when I want to be sure to have a table.
The glorification of any meal, or restaurant, or foodie trend totally turns me off. I have a stove and a refrigerator and access to fabulous products year-round and can always eat well if I want to. I do like going out for a nice meal, but it doesn't send me into orbit.
The one Italian meal I'll never forget was buying a tripe sandwich in the Piazza Signoria in Firenze, and being so grossed out I spat it all over the ground in front of loads of onlookers.THAT was memorable!
No, I don't check websites before choosing where I eat. I follow my instincts and my nose.
No, I don't plan my days around restaurants or special meals, except on very occasional, very special occasions when I want to be sure to have a table.
The glorification of any meal, or restaurant, or foodie trend totally turns me off. I have a stove and a refrigerator and access to fabulous products year-round and can always eat well if I want to. I do like going out for a nice meal, but it doesn't send me into orbit.
The one Italian meal I'll never forget was buying a tripe sandwich in the Piazza Signoria in Firenze, and being so grossed out I spat it all over the ground in front of loads of onlookers.THAT was memorable!
May 7th, 2019, 05:42 AM
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More often than not, I have been very disappointed to go to a highly publicized, notoriously famous restaurant, and usually expensive restaurant and found myself extremely disappointed in my experience. I spent the last 20 years of my career in the food industry, with chefs developing recipes and flavors for the food industry. Maybe I expect too much. The food is often cold, when served to me, or seasoned in a way where you cannot tell what the protein is, or the texture of the food is masked in a way that you believe that you might be ingesting cardboard.
Usually the reviews are out of date. So I usually accept the recommendations of the locals to find out where they spend their money. The food is simple, the true flavors can be tasted and I have wonderful and satisfying experience. Simple food, simple flavor, simple experience.
So I save my time and wait until I arrive at my hotel or apartment and ask the owner or the staff where they would go to eat if it were their family. And I do value my food experience as critically part of my travel experience.
Usually the reviews are out of date. So I usually accept the recommendations of the locals to find out where they spend their money. The food is simple, the true flavors can be tasted and I have wonderful and satisfying experience. Simple food, simple flavor, simple experience.
So I save my time and wait until I arrive at my hotel or apartment and ask the owner or the staff where they would go to eat if it were their family. And I do value my food experience as critically part of my travel experience.
May 7th, 2019, 05:45 AM
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OMG I've done everything from the cross-referenced spreadsheet (actually worthwhile when one thinks THIS trip will be one's last in Paris, which of course, it never is) to winging it by having our then teens scour a street full of posted restaurant menus and make their choice for us. Most trips involve a mix of planned and unplanned now. And I find myself listing on my trip's Excel spreadsheet in the reservations per day: "Reserve", "Leave Open", "Ask About.....".
Certain locations are tougher than others: Venice we had found to be problematic because even bad food can be so expensive, so on return trips we did rather minimal "winging" it and far more solid planning.
Lately, when we've started incorporating food and cooking tours into our trips, I make sure I get the tour guide's favorites, which usually aren't, as Calvin Trillin once termed them, the idiotic "Casa de la Casa" types. We've had good luck via those conversations. Any guide who is a local not only tells us the place he/she would go but also what dishes to order. Those "make sure you try" discussions are gems.
Along that same line of thought, returning to the same place over and over again on a trip or follow-up trips pays off in more than the owner's attention, too. One gets to know what the restaurant does really well. For example, just this last weekend, we had a family celebration in Washington DC. None of the restaurants we reserved were "high end" and quite frankly, we've had bad meals at all three at some point. Yet my sister, a true foodie, was floored by her experiences, her first at all three. The secret? We had been returning to these places over and over again so many times over two years because of their convenient location that we knew the little things that were home runs--the pretzel bread at one restaurant; Atlantic char at another, tuna poke nachos at a third--and what were "don't order!".
Certain locations are tougher than others: Venice we had found to be problematic because even bad food can be so expensive, so on return trips we did rather minimal "winging" it and far more solid planning.
Lately, when we've started incorporating food and cooking tours into our trips, I make sure I get the tour guide's favorites, which usually aren't, as Calvin Trillin once termed them, the idiotic "Casa de la Casa" types. We've had good luck via those conversations. Any guide who is a local not only tells us the place he/she would go but also what dishes to order. Those "make sure you try" discussions are gems.
Along that same line of thought, returning to the same place over and over again on a trip or follow-up trips pays off in more than the owner's attention, too. One gets to know what the restaurant does really well. For example, just this last weekend, we had a family celebration in Washington DC. None of the restaurants we reserved were "high end" and quite frankly, we've had bad meals at all three at some point. Yet my sister, a true foodie, was floored by her experiences, her first at all three. The secret? We had been returning to these places over and over again so many times over two years because of their convenient location that we knew the little things that were home runs--the pretzel bread at one restaurant; Atlantic char at another, tuna poke nachos at a third--and what were "don't order!".
May 7th, 2019, 05:56 AM
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Most memorable meal: I was with a small tour group. We had spent the day at Pompeii and arrived back at our hotel in a Roman suburb rather late. A group of us walked the neighborhood and stopped at a small place called The Lighthouse. We were probably the only English speakers there. Lots of Italian families with children.
I had spaghetti carbonara that I remember to this day. I have never been able to replicate it at any Italian restaurant. (It was also my first time for Grappa, which enhanced the experience!)
I had spaghetti carbonara that I remember to this day. I have never been able to replicate it at any Italian restaurant. (It was also my first time for Grappa, which enhanced the experience!)
May 7th, 2019, 06:30 AM
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We have done everything from “follow the crowd” to making reservations a month in advance. In high tourist areas It is very easy to pay good money for bad food, and we have done that far too often. As a result, we now focus our planning on those areas with the caveat that any local suggestions jump to the top of the list.
Many of our best meals have come from trip reports on this site. In fact, I am still dreaming of the pistachio encrusted lamb chops at the Garden Restaurant by the bus stop in Ravello. I don’t have a clue who recommended it, just remembered the name as we were passing by at lunchtime. We would definitely eat there again. If you go, check whether you need reservations to enjoy the fabulous view from the terrace.
-Annie
Many of our best meals have come from trip reports on this site. In fact, I am still dreaming of the pistachio encrusted lamb chops at the Garden Restaurant by the bus stop in Ravello. I don’t have a clue who recommended it, just remembered the name as we were passing by at lunchtime. We would definitely eat there again. If you go, check whether you need reservations to enjoy the fabulous view from the terrace.
-Annie
May 7th, 2019, 06:54 AM
#10
Bologna - Da Cesari and Drogheria della Rosa. Yes, meals are important to me, especially in a food capital like Bologna. They are both chronicled in my 2018 Italy report.
On another note, I had read (a lot) about Bovio in La Morra (Piemonte) long before we traveled there. We were going at the beginning of white truffle season, so I reserved a table long in advance. One of my most memorable meals ever, and had we waited until we got to La Morra, we never would have been able to eat there as our host at the b&b said it sells out long in advance. I usually reserve about 75 percent of the places we travel. I do look at reviews (lots of them) and get information from people I know whose judgement I trust on restaurants. I have rarely been disappointed.
On another note, I had read (a lot) about Bovio in La Morra (Piemonte) long before we traveled there. We were going at the beginning of white truffle season, so I reserved a table long in advance. One of my most memorable meals ever, and had we waited until we got to La Morra, we never would have been able to eat there as our host at the b&b said it sells out long in advance. I usually reserve about 75 percent of the places we travel. I do look at reviews (lots of them) and get information from people I know whose judgement I trust on restaurants. I have rarely been disappointed.
May 7th, 2019, 07:19 AM
#11
Our most memorable meals in Italy have been serendipitous... circumstances that no amount of research or planning could have conjured up. I know the title of this thread is food talk, but, for me, there's the food, and then there's the total experience where the food isn't necessarily top-most in my memory.
While driving around the Dolomites, we looked for places with several touring motorcycles parked outside. Without fail, the bikers knew the best places for lunch.
While driving around the Dolomites, we looked for places with several touring motorcycles parked outside. Without fail, the bikers knew the best places for lunch.
May 7th, 2019, 12:40 PM
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>"I usually reserve about 75 percent of the places we travel. I do look at reviews (lots of them) and get information from people I know whose judgement I trust on restaurants. I have rarely been disappointed.<"
The above is from maitaitom, and it's what I do. It works for me and I enjoy the research.
May 7th, 2019, 12:54 PM
#14
I'm not food-centered and never do any research on restaurants or read reviews or anything. Definitely not plan around them. I just go where looks good when I'm hungry. I admit this method does not result in the best possible meals. But that's not important to me.
May 7th, 2019, 02:44 PM
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I second suze’s post. I never research restaurants simply because we usually have too many things to see, so I do not want to alter my plans and arrive to a certain restaurant at a certain time. We have pretty good food at home, mostly organic and fresh (despite my crazy work, I cook our dinners fresh and try not to reheat our meals), so we really do not care too much.
In Italy, I will never forget three restaurants where we were so fortunate to find:
1. Every meal at the restaurant of the loveliest Villa Grazianella in the vicinities of Montepulciano was a masterpiece. We dined there 5 times in a row (we stayed there too).
2. Ravioli alla Funghi at “Al Saraceno” in Taormina. This is the restaurant favored by the locals and Sicilians certainly know a thing or two about food
3. Two dinners at La Foresteria Planeta in Menfi, Sicily. In all honesty and after years of traveling, I was not sure that I will ever have meals more delicious in my life. That was until we arrived to Villa Grazianella and tried every meal on the menu at their superb restaurant.
In Italy, I will never forget three restaurants where we were so fortunate to find:
1. Every meal at the restaurant of the loveliest Villa Grazianella in the vicinities of Montepulciano was a masterpiece. We dined there 5 times in a row (we stayed there too).
2. Ravioli alla Funghi at “Al Saraceno” in Taormina. This is the restaurant favored by the locals and Sicilians certainly know a thing or two about food
3. Two dinners at La Foresteria Planeta in Menfi, Sicily. In all honesty and after years of traveling, I was not sure that I will ever have meals more delicious in my life. That was until we arrived to Villa Grazianella and tried every meal on the menu at their superb restaurant.
May 7th, 2019, 03:21 PM
#16
Plus I like simple things that other people might not find so amazing. I loved the little sandwiches in glass cases you'd find all around Venice. I loved how you could get an espresso or better yet a glass of cold white wine standing up at a marble counter along the sidewalk. I loved the wine store where they pulled wine from casks and into an empty bottle you bring in yourself. I loved buying produce and figuring out how I was supposed to weigh it at the grocery store. Those are my favorite food memories of a couple trips to Venice.
May 7th, 2019, 03:59 PM
#17
One place we found for lunch just by walking by it in Bologna was the fabulous Sfoglia Rina. A unique risotto with pear and bacon was one of the stars. Delicious. Lots of fresh pastas to choose from. Here's the post that has that restaurant and Da Cesari in it. Pretty good day of eating.
https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/cha...tling-bologna/
Sfoglia Rina Risotto ...
https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/cha...tling-bologna/
Sfoglia Rina Risotto ...
May 7th, 2019, 05:47 PM
#18
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What wonderful responses! Thank you all for sharing ��. I love to read different perspectives from fellow travelers.
I didn’t mean this was for just high end restaurants. I just like good food, even if it’s just pizza. I have sometimes found myself underprepared and “hangry” while traveling and end up eating bad expensive food in touristy areas. Sometimes by just turning a corner and stopping at a cozy place the meal and experience can be so much better. Because I’m going to be in Bologna which gets so much mention for the food I wanted to be a bit more prepared this time. I’m also traveling with my 5 year old so I’m actually looking for great food in not so stuffy restaurants (Unless I get a table at Osteria Francescana that I’m waitlisted for!)
My fondest food memoires are similar to others. I made myself the best Capreses sandwich in Tuscany after stopping at a local farmers market. I’ll never forget the freshness of the tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and balsamic. Divine!
And yes Suze! You reminding me of a time in Venice where I had delicious white wine poured right from the cask into a quart size juice jug. I took it back to my hotel room and my family was floored that it was so good and also only 2 Euro for the entire jug.
I also ate at a place in the Amalfi Coast after a boat tour from Positano that was top 3 meals of my life. It’s was an open air place, we had our feet in the sand. The boat tour guides were catching small fish (sardines maybe?) that they ended up frying at the restaurant and I ate whole. There was an abundance of good food and great company. If anyone knows the name of this place please tell me. It as 15 years ago so who knows if it’s still there.
I didn’t mean this was for just high end restaurants. I just like good food, even if it’s just pizza. I have sometimes found myself underprepared and “hangry” while traveling and end up eating bad expensive food in touristy areas. Sometimes by just turning a corner and stopping at a cozy place the meal and experience can be so much better. Because I’m going to be in Bologna which gets so much mention for the food I wanted to be a bit more prepared this time. I’m also traveling with my 5 year old so I’m actually looking for great food in not so stuffy restaurants (Unless I get a table at Osteria Francescana that I’m waitlisted for!)
My fondest food memoires are similar to others. I made myself the best Capreses sandwich in Tuscany after stopping at a local farmers market. I’ll never forget the freshness of the tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and balsamic. Divine!
And yes Suze! You reminding me of a time in Venice where I had delicious white wine poured right from the cask into a quart size juice jug. I took it back to my hotel room and my family was floored that it was so good and also only 2 Euro for the entire jug.
I also ate at a place in the Amalfi Coast after a boat tour from Positano that was top 3 meals of my life. It’s was an open air place, we had our feet in the sand. The boat tour guides were catching small fish (sardines maybe?) that they ended up frying at the restaurant and I ate whole. There was an abundance of good food and great company. If anyone knows the name of this place please tell me. It as 15 years ago so who knows if it’s still there.
May 9th, 2019, 06:26 AM
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I totally have a spreadsheet and I'm not ashamed to admit it! When we were planning our first trip to Italy in 2011, we were lucky to get a lot of notes and recommendations from a couple who spends 3 months a year traveling in Italy. Two of the restaurants on that list became favorites. I took those notes and started a google sheet which I have added to and edited over the years. When like-minded friends travel to Italy, I share the document with them and they see my notes and they add their own favorites restaurants, food stalls, etc. Some are fancy restaurants, some are places they/we stumbled upon, some are tried and true favorites of locals met along the way.
