To write a blog about Italy without mentioning food would verge on being outright illegal. Food is part of the Italian culture, the fabric that binds everything together. Food is not eaten, it is experienced. The biggest difference that I noticed right away was that dinner starts late and lasts long. We would often show up to a restaurant at 8:30 and open the place, will the Italians joining around 9:30. And a 3 hour meal is not hard to achieve, which leads to some very late nights.
The Italian dinner experience starts with an apertivo course. This usually consists of cured meats, cheeses, and vegetables. Some restaurants bring several plates to share, while others have an apertivo buffet. This course usually also includes a light alcohol to wet the palate. After the apertiveo course, the Italians usually say “now we can eat”, whereas I’m usually already feeling full. The next course is the Primo, which always consists of pasta. I have tried at least 20 varieties of pasta here and have only begun to scratch the surface of the possibilities. Italians take their pasta seriously! The Primo course can also include soup. Next up is the Secondi course, which is the main meat dish. Italians heavily favor pork, but you can often get beef or seafood as well. Some fancy restaurants offer the premium meats of buffalo and horse (cabello). The meat is usually accompanied by a few sides of vegetables and potatoes. After the Secondi, there is an option for dessert. I have seen this range from fresh fruit platters to exotic chocolate confections. Once the food is done and everyone is thoroughly stuffed, the digestivo course is served. This consists of alcohol like limoncello (my favorite) or grappa. The alcohol is supposed to help the digestive process, which from experience does appear to work. As I write this, the Air France crew is starting to serve dinner which is a good thing because this section has made me hungry!
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