Italy: Foodie Paradise

If you are a foodie like I am, Italy is the place to go. The cuisine is more than just pizza and pasta. You will discover a whole lot more. You will be forgiven for thinking eating was a simple and straight forward affair in Italy. There are rules and etiquettes, and  you have to know them. Or you will get a “glance” of disapproval from the locals – that is if you are not in the tourist restaurants. For example – bread is bread and you should not butter it. In fact, you won’t be given any butter and if you asked for some, you will get the “glance”! 

Ravioli with shaved truffles-I loved this dish -
Wild boar and tagliatelle - chunks of slow cooked pieces of boar -yummy!

I am used to cutting up my pasta to make it manageable to eat. But this is not the right way. You should use your fork and learn to twirl the pasta. I am talking about foods such as spaghetti or tagliatelle.  It is best to order the wine by half carafe at a time  – you rarely see a drunken Italian!! 

Tastiest seafood ever, no kidding -made with fresh and high quality ingredients! (I did not put parmesan cheese on it so did not get the 'glance'!!)
Mollywozhere photo - enjoying my wild boar with tagliatelle
Steak tartare - one of the best I'd eaten!

As you can guess, there are different courses from ‘antipasto’ (starter), ‘primo’ which is in two parts (pasta, gnocchi, risotto or soup dish) and , ‘secondo’ which is your fish or meat dish. And you take your time to eat – savouring every bit of your food – heaven!

Antipasti - Italian style (for two I might add)- delicious!

The famous Bistecca all Florentina dish came highly recommended. This is simply a huge amount of T-bone steak cooked to perfection. The steak was too much for one person and so we  skipped the starter so as to leave room for this huge steak.  When the steak arrived, my friend and I looked at it and wondered how on earth would we  get through it – a lot of meat!  We made sure we did. The steak was amazing.

It is suffice to say that the ‘separate stomach for desert’ was full!  Deserts are also served in two parts – ‘formaggio e frusta’ (cheese and fruit course). This is a great end to an Italian meal. And ‘dolci’ (sweet course like tiramisu, cakes, ice creams).

Bistecca alla Florentina (Florentine steak)
Happy mollywozhere!

One of the things that surprised me was that at the end of the meal, restaurants often came with a small glass of a drink (not a bottle)  called Limoncello, one of the most recognised Italian liqueurs or grappa which was like brandy. We accepted and enjoyed both.

Art food - simply gorgeous - did not want to eat it!
Another delightful starter in Venice.
Frittella (Italian doughnuts) - Venice Carnival speciality
Mollywozhere enjoying a large glass of red wine in Burano.

2 Replies to “Italy: Foodie Paradise”

  • Mpllywazhere you have surpassed yourself and transcended food. Lucky you. Lucky us to read all about it. A travel fan.

    • Thank you very much. I am glad you enjoyed my blog. I had a great time. And I plan to return to explore more of what Italy has to offer.

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