Marling Menu Master or Eating and Drinking for Italy?!
 

Well, the title says it all. Which menu translator should I buy for Italy. I plan on doing A LOT of eating so don't want to go wrong here!

(Also, if you want to add your favorite guidebook for Rome, I would appreciate it.)

We used Marlings in France and Germany. We found them useful, but Rick Steves Menu Decoder was easier to use.

Marling gets much better reviews at amazon.com than Eating and Drinking in Italy does.

Rick Steves' Menu Decoder is part of a one-book-does-it-all phrase book; if you don't want to know how to look for a laundromat, it's not what you are looking for. Besides, I would never, ever trust Rick Steves on food.

For an all-purpose, quick-visit guidebook to Rome, I would suggest Access Rome. It's organized by neighborhhods and gives you restaurant and shopping suggestions in addition to sightseeing information.

P.S. One thing that no menu translator will give you is information about *regional* Italian cooking, and *all* Italian cooking is regional. In Rome, you are well advised to eat Roman cuisine, ditto anywhere else in Italy.

You can read up on >regional Italian cooking< on the Internet. Just Google it.

Thanks everyone. I had the Rick Steves Menu Decoder for France and didn't really like it. I have the Marling for France, but haven't been back to use it yet. I guess I'll get the Marling for Italy. One advantage is that it doesn't look like a guide book. Thanks!