Eating means culture in Italy, it is celebrated like a ritual. It’s never just a side issue, you never shovel heaps of noodles into your stomach just to get full. Never! For this reason there is an Italian cena (Dinner) also from a series of menu sequences: Start with a antipasto (the appetizer), followed by the primo platto, which is usually a pasta or rice dish, secondo platto – Meat or fish with vegetables or salad, topped off with a sweet dolce, as the name suggests, and a coffee, an Italian espresso.
In Italy it is not difficult to find a good trattoria or an excellent restaurant. You just have to follow the Italians who storm the place around 8 or 9pm. But how is it actually in Germany? We’ll tell you eight tricks that you can use to tell whether the Italian is worth a visit or whether you should rather turn your back on him. Some tricks and rules are of course meant with a wink. But remember the sentence: “Non si fa!” You do not do that! It’s very popular in Italy.
Eight tricks to spot a good Italian
Trick 1: Order simple dishes like spaghetti aglio e olio. Success depends on the best ingredients.
Trick 2: On insalata caprese, i.e. mozzarella and tomato salad, only includes olive oil and salt – never balsamic vinegar.
Trick 3: Antipasti must not be too sour, otherwise the natural taste of the vegetables will be masked.
Trick 4: Parmesan cheese should never be on a pasta dish with fish. You do not do that!
Trick 5: Scaloppine, the Italian schnitzel, is thin and made from veal.
Trick 6: Pineapple, lamb, peas or corn do not belong on a good pizza.
Trick 7: House wine must taste good and is not expensive.
Trick 8: Rule of thumb number 1: A cappuccino is a breakfast. After the meal, espresso is drunk.