Italian culinary stereotypes & gastronomic misconceptions
The American versions of Italian cuisine—whether brought over by immigrants years ago or recently imported by California chefs—usually take a number of liberties with their inspiration.
For instance, several foods you won't find in Italy are: spaghetti and meatballs, hoagies (grinders, subs, torpedoes, or whatever they call them where you live), Italian ices, and deep-dish pizzas (Italian ones are usually very thin and very crispy; if you want deep dish, go to Chicago, where they have raised it to an art form).
The common stereotypes of Italian cuisine are often off the mark as well. The Italians don't eat only pasta—in the north you're more likely to find risotto and polenta.
Sure, you'll find a McDonald's in the heart of every city, and you'll probably find yourself ordering il Big Mac on occasion (Mickey D's almost always has great clean bathrooms), but I'd recommend sticking to local restaurants.
Search out restaurants with the most authentic food and atmosphere. Be daring—order what you don't recognize on the menu, lubricate your meal with copious amounts of local wine or beer, and have a grand old time.
So what's so different about an Italian restaurant?
Italian restaurants differ from American restaurants in several ways. Most differences are tiny and even petty; I only point them out because even little changes can put one off, and I would hate unprepared folks to start getting cross when the waiter doesn't bring them free glasses of water when they sit down. If you know to expect the little differences, you can start to revel in them.
- The interior design is not a good indication of food quality. Some of the very best restaurants can look much the worse for wear.
- Water does not come to your table automatically. When you order water, you get to choose between fizzy or non-fizzy bottled mineral water. (You can also order water from the tap, but the bottled stuff tastes better.)
- Italians hardly ever use ice in their drinks, nor do they usually butter their bread (it tastes good enough on its own).
- Service is much more professional, but still very friendly. Waiters don't rush up to introduce themselves by first name and then interrupt every time your mouth is full; rather they appear when you need them and are very helpful.
- Portions are often smaller, but it's because you're expected to order more courses.
- Every dish ordered is served on a separate plate, so don't expect a little pile of vegetables to come automatically next to your steak. You have to order any contorno (side dish) separately, if you want one. (Note: A few Italian restaurants have started experimenting with pairing a contorno and a main and serving them together, and they may make a big deal out of this—it may seem normal to you, but it's a revolution in Italy,)
- The salad (insalata) comes at the end of the meal, before dessert (which makes a lot more sense, digestively).
- You can't take it with you. Italians don't do the doggy bag thing, and many will be highly confused if you point to your half-eaten plate and ask for the balance of your meal to go—especially if you use the term "doggy bag." I've seen many comical exchanges between American diners and Italian waiters who either are (a) dumbfounded as to why you don't wish to finish your dinner in the restaurant, (b) insulted when they mistake your intentions to be a belief that their fine cooking is only good enough for your dog, or (c) horrified and disgusted as they hasten to assure you that "Eet is veal, veal! Eet come from cow, not from dog!"
- The tip (call it the "servizio") is often included in the bill, so always ask. Many restaurants include the servizio (service charge) of 10–15%. This fact—and the precise amount—is usually printed somewhere on the menu (look for some fine print–style, italicized text near the bottom or on the back). It will either say servizio incluso or servizio compreso, sometimes with a percentage. If it says servizio non incluso or servizio non compreso, tip is not included and you should leave the usual 10%–15%. (In some cases coperto and servizio are both inlcuded. Sweet!)
You can also always just ask the waiter: "É incluso il servizio" ("Is service included?"). If the answer is yes, that covers your tip—though it's customary to leave behind an extra Euro per person if service was extra-good. If the answer is no, tip 15% or so as you usually would.
- Slowfood.it
- Yelp.com - Though not as thorough abroad as it is in North America, this crowdsource review site remains useful.
- Tripadvisor.com - The Big Daddy of crowdsourced travel user reviews, offering reviews on hotels, restaurants, sights, activities, and more—though with so many millions of reviews, there are plenty (experts say 1/3 to 1/2) of fake ones, so take it all with a grain of salt.Partner
- Scattidigusto.it
- Localistorici.it - A constorium of historic hotels, restaurants, and caffès.
- Chowhound.com - Good reviews.
- Slowtrav.com - Dedicated to life (and travel) in the slow lane, with a focus on tradition.
- Buonricordo.com - Consotrium of Italian restaurants. Order the "Buon Ricordo" house specialty at each and you get a commemorative hand-painted Vietri plate
- Gamberorosso.it - Italy's premier restaruant guide and rating service—think of it as an Italian version of the Michelin Red Guide
- Msadventuresinitaly.com - Blog focused mainly on Italy and its food.
- Timeout.com - Good, thorough restaurant reviews that really keep on top of the latest and greatest on the local dining scene.
- Timeout.com - Good, thorough restaurant reviews that really keep on top of the latest and greatest on the local dining scene.
Tips
You will notice that all restaurants (and sights and hotels) on this site have a ReidsItaly.com star designation from ☆☆☆ to ★★★.
This merely indicates that I feel these eateries offer a little something that makes them special (or extra-special, or extra-extra special, etc.).
These star ratings are entirely based on personal opinion, and have nothing to do with any official local restaurant ratings or grades.
In general, a pricier restaurant has to impress me that it is worth the added expense.
This is why I give ★★★ to some inexpensive eateries or sandwich shops that happen provide amazing value for the money—and similarly have ranked a few fancy but notable restaurants just ★★☆.
Here at ReidsItaly.com we simply provide a general price range indicating the general amount you should expect to pay for a full meal in the eatery.
Each eatery is rated into a price category, which indicates—very roughly—what you could expect to pay, per person, for a standard full meal: Three courses—primo (first course), secondo (main course), and contorno (side) or dolce (dessert)—plus something to drink.
There are three price ranges, giving you a sense of which restaurants are budget, which are moderate, and which are splurges:
€ | under €15 |
€€ | under €40 |
€€€ | over €40 |
Useful Italian for dining
English (inglese) | Italian (italiano) | Pro-nun-cee-YAY-shun |
Where is? | Dov'é | doh-VAY |
...a restaurant | un ristorante | oon rees toh-RAHN-tay |
...a casual restaurant | una trattoria un'osteria |
oo-nah trah-toar-RHEE-yah oon ohst-air-EE-yah |
I would like to reserve... | Vorrei prenotare... | voar-RAY pray-note-ARE-eh |
a table for two | una tavola per due | oo-nah TAH-voal-lah pair DOO-way |
...for 7pm | per le sette | pair lay SET-tay |
...for 7:30pm | per le sette e mezzo | pair lay SET-tay eh MET-tzoh |
...for 8pm | per le otto | pair lay OH-toh |
I would like | Vorrei... | voar-RAY |
...some (of) | un pó (di) | oon POH (dee) |
...this | questo | KWAY-sto |
...that | quello | KWEL-loh |
chicken | pollo | POL-loh |
steak | bistecca | bee-STEAK-ah |
...rare | al sangue | ahl SAN-gway |
...medium | rosato | ro-ZA-to |
...well done | ben cotto | ben KO-to |
veal | vitello | vee-TEL-oh |
fish | pesce | PEH-shay |
meat | carne | KAR-neh |
I am vegetarian | sono vegetariano | SO-no veg-eh-tair-ee-YAH-no |
side dish [veggies always come seperately] | cotorno | kon-TOR-no |
dessert | dolce | DOAL-chay |
and | e | ay |
...a glass of | un bicchiere di | oon bee-key-YAIR-eh dee |
...a bottle of | una bottiglia di | oo-na boh-TEEL-ya dee |
...a half-liter of | mezzo litro di | MET-tzoh LEE-tro dee |
...fizzy water | acqua gassata | AH-kwah gah-SAHT-tah |
...still water | acqua non gassata | AH-kwah noan gah-SAHT-tah |
...red wine | vino rosso | VEE-noh ROH-so |
...white wine | vino bianco | VEE-noh bee-YAHN-koh |
...beer | birra | BEER-a |
Check, please | Il conto, per favore | eel COAN-toh pair fah-VOAR-eh |
Is service included? | É incluso il servizio? | ay een-CLOU-so eel sair-VEET-zee-yo |
Basic phrases in Italian
English (inglese) | Italian (italiano) | pro-nun-see-YAY-shun |
thank you | grazie | GRAT-tzee-yay |
please | per favore | pair fa-VOHR-ray |
yes | si | see |
no | no | no |
Do you speak English? | Parla Inglese? | PAR-la een-GLAY-zay |
I don't understand | Non capisco | non ka-PEESK-koh |
I'm sorry | Mi dispiace | mee dees-pee-YAT-chay |
How much is it? | Quanto costa? | KWAN-toh COST-ah |
That's too much | É troppo | ay TROH-po |
Good day | Buon giorno | bwohn JOUR-noh |
Good evening | Buona sera | BWOH-nah SAIR-rah |
Good night | Buona notte | BWOH-nah NOTE-tay |
Goodbye | Arrivederci | ah-ree-vah-DAIR-chee |
Excuse me (to get attention) | Scusi | SKOO-zee |
Excuse me (to get past someone) | Permesso | pair-MEH-so |
Where is? | Dov'é | doh-VAY |
...the bathroom | il bagno | eel BHAN-yoh |
...train station | la ferroviaria | lah fair-o-vee-YAR-ree-yah |
to the right | à destra | ah DEH-strah |
to the left | à sinistra | ah see-NEEST-trah |
straight ahead | avanti [or] diritto | ah-VAHN-tee [or] dee-REE-toh |
information | informazione | in-for-ma-tzee-OH-nay |
Days, months, and other calendar items in Italian
English (inglese) | Italian (italiano) | Pro-nun-cee-YAY-shun |
When is it open? | Quando é aperto? | KWAN-doh ay ah-PAIR-toh |
When does it close? | Quando si chiude? | KWAN-doh see key-YOU-day |
At what time... | a che ora | a kay O-rah |
Yesterday | ieri | ee-YAIR-ee |
Today | oggi | OH-jee |
Tomorrow | domani | doh-MAHN-nee |
Day after tomorrow | dopo domani | DOH-poh doh-MAHN-nee |
a day | un giorno | oon je-YOR-no |
Monday | Lunedí | loo-nay-DEE |
Tuesday | Martedí | mar-tay-DEE |
Wednesday | Mercoledí | mair-coh-lay-DEE |
Thursday | Giovedí | jo-vay-DEE |
Friday | Venerdí | ven-nair-DEE |
Saturday | Sabato | SAH-baa-toh |
Sunday | Domenica | doh-MEN-nee-ka |
Mon-Sat | Feriali | fair-ee-YAHL-ee |
Sun & holidays | Festivi | feh-STEE-vee |
Daily | Giornaliere | joor-nahl-ee-YAIR-eh |
a month | una mese | oon-ah MAY-zay |
January | gennaio | jen-NAI-yo |
February | febbraio | feh-BRI-yo |
March | marzo | MAR-tzoh |
April | aprile | ah-PREEL-ay |
May | maggio | MAH-jee-oh |
June | giugno | JEW-nyoh |
July | luglio | LOO-lyoh |
August | agosto | ah-GO-sto |
September | settembre | set-TEM-bray |
October | ottobre | oh-TOE-bray |
November | novembre | no-VEM-bray |
December | dicembre | de-CHEM-bray |
Numbers in Italian
English (inglese) | Italian (italiano) | Pro-nun-cee-YAY-shun |
1 | uno | OO-no |
2 | due | DOO-way |
3 | tre | tray |
4 | quattro | KWAH-troh |
5 | cinque | CHEEN-kway |
6 | sei | say |
7 | sette | SET-tay |
8 | otto | OH-toh |
9 | nove | NO-vay |
10 | dieci | dee-YAY-chee |
11 | undici | OON-dee-chee |
12 | dodici | DOH-dee-chee |
13 | tredici | TRAY-dee-chee |
14 | quattordici | kwa-TOR-dee-chee |
15 | quindici | KWEEN-dee-chee |
16 | sedici | SAY-dee-chee |
17 | diciasette | dee-chee-ya-SET-tay |
18 | diciotto | dee-CHO-toh |
19 | diciannove | dee-chee-ya-NO-vay |
20 | venti | VENT-tee |
21* | vent'uno* | vent-OO-no |
22* | venti due* | VENT-tee DOO-way |
23* | venti tre* | VENT-tee TRAY |
30 | trenta | TRAYN-tah |
40 | quaranta | kwa-RAHN-tah |
50 | cinquanta | cheen-KWAN-tah |
60 | sessanta | say-SAHN-tah |
70 | settanta | seh-TAHN-tah |
80 | ottanta | oh-TAHN-tah |
90 | novanta | no-VAHN-tah |
100 | cento | CHEN-toh |
1,000 | mille | MEEL-lay |
5,000 | cinque milla | CHEEN-kway MEEL-lah |
10,000 | dieci milla | dee-YAY-chee MEEL-lah |
* You can use this formula for all Italian ten-place numbers—so 31 is trent'uno, 32 is trenta due, 33 is trenta tre, etc. Note that—like uno (one), otto (eight) also starts with a vowel—all "-8" numbers are also abbreviated (vent'otto, trent'otto, etc.).