Let’s talk about Italian Food!

Old May 9th, 2019, 08:12 AM
  #21  
 
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>>>I also ate at a place in the Amalfi Coast after a boat tour from Positano that was top 3 meals of my life.<<<

Was it something like Santa Maria della Grazia?
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Old May 10th, 2019, 04:22 AM
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I noticed you are going to Bologna. Simple food, simple restaurant, recommended by locals in Bologna is Trattoria Serghei. Suggest you reserve as people are turned away. We ate there 3 times in 4 days. On our third visit, Serghei set a table in the entrance for us as we showed up without a reservation.

I called for a table on a subsequent visit before I left for Italy but the restaurant was closed for the month. Food was cooked by Serghei's mother.

My most memorable meal, not in a restaurant in Italy, was on a farm, south of Florence in an apartment rental, twenty seven years ago. The meal featured rabbit, cooked by the owners wife on a Sunday afternoon in March. The owner served seven different wines, all made on his farm. Unfortunately both have passed several years ago. The simplicity and kindness of the couple stand out as we correspond for a few years. He was a retired lawyer and she, a concert pianist. The meal grastis as was the night after we had spent a seven nights' in that rental.

FYI, Dukey1 asked about dining in Bologna in the forum in July of 2017.

Huggy
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Old May 10th, 2019, 07:03 AM
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I never plan my day around restaurants when I'm travelling. If I feel like lingering in an interesting museum, I don't want to be tied to a dinner reservation on the other side of town. I look for a restaurant when I get hungry. At that point, I might check some reviews.

My most memorabile meals have been close to where I live, in Le Marche. There, I know the best restaurants, and will make reservations. I travel for other reason.
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Old May 10th, 2019, 05:54 PM
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Originally Posted by Jean
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.
As I was reading this thread I was thinking of the most delicious pasta with a creamy radicchio sauce (I’ve never quite replicated it) at a roadside restaurant enroute to the Dolomites. We stopped there because of the lively parking lot scene - cars & motorcycles-
and figured they all must know something!
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Old May 11th, 2019, 06:57 AM
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Great thread, we’re leaving for Venice and Sicily in three weeks. I’m even more excited.

I’m on my smartphone so excuse typos and my poor memory for my brief list below:

San gimignamo: Quattro gato(?). We ate there both nights during our stay. Beautiful terrace, nice food, gracious hosts
Rome: no idea which resto 😄 Lovely side street, nice food, great people watching. Stayed for a few extra glasses of wine
Rome: close to Termini train station. No idea of the name again. Followed a group of locals, probably the only non-Romans there that evening. Very nice, simple meal
Tivoli: no idea which resto. Lunch in a terrace in the middle of a small street, ravioli in a butter sauce 😄

We’ve been to Italy 5-6 times and have great memories of our food experiences. Like many others in this thread, we rely on local recommendations (staff at the hotels primarily) and just walking around.

Mike
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Old May 12th, 2019, 11:04 AM
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We've had some really bad recommendations from hotel staff, although also some good ones. Sometimes it's just the place where the son-in-law works. Sometimes it's a super-touristy place, because they assume that's what you'd enjoy.

I tend to follow my nose, and some other indicators. Do the other diners look happy or grumpy? Does it look as though a lot of them have been waiting an inordinately long time for their food to arrive? Do the plates you can see on the tables look appetizing?
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