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I was lucky enough to
find myself roaming the Italian countryside this summer. Besides the scenery
and history, there was one thing on my mind: Italian food & wine. While
it's hard to go wrong with any kind of Italian food, some cities are known for their
specialties, and that’s what I was on the hunt for.
When
in Rome...
When it comes to food, culture and history, the capital city of Italy can do no wrong. While I knew any menu item here would most likely be bellissimo, Rome is where I indulged in the 'traditional' Roman plates such as spaghetti carbonara, lasagna bolognese and insalata caprese. The list could go on for days but if you only have one meal in Rome, make it carbonara at Da Cesare in Trastevere. As for the wine scene, Latium is the wine region around Rome. Most of the wine made here is white from the Trebbiano grape, and it happens to go perfect with carbonara. Funny how that works!
When it comes to food, culture and history, the capital city of Italy can do no wrong. While I knew any menu item here would most likely be bellissimo, Rome is where I indulged in the 'traditional' Roman plates such as spaghetti carbonara, lasagna bolognese and insalata caprese. The list could go on for days but if you only have one meal in Rome, make it carbonara at Da Cesare in Trastevere. As for the wine scene, Latium is the wine region around Rome. Most of the wine made here is white from the Trebbiano grape, and it happens to go perfect with carbonara. Funny how that works!
A Little Taste of Florence...
Gelato anyone! While this dessert is done well all over Italy, it seems that Florence has found the secret to perfecting this delicious, creamy and sweet treat. My daughter and I tried almost every local gelateria. Our favorite was right off the Ponte alla Carraia (second bridge west of Ponte Vecchio, on the Oltrarno side), Gelateria Carraia. In our expert opinion, the gelato here was super creamy and most delicious. The Tuscany wine region extends from the city of Florence to the south. Some of the best-known Italian wines come from this region. Notable are the Chianti wines, and Brunello di Montepulciano. The rising trend to create Cabernet Sauvignon based, or blended wines, has led to the unofficial designation “Super Tuscans” for these expensive and much sought after wines. Sangiovese (or Brunello as one of the clones is called) is the important red wine grape of the region. Gelato and wine…why not!
Gelato anyone! While this dessert is done well all over Italy, it seems that Florence has found the secret to perfecting this delicious, creamy and sweet treat. My daughter and I tried almost every local gelateria. Our favorite was right off the Ponte alla Carraia (second bridge west of Ponte Vecchio, on the Oltrarno side), Gelateria Carraia. In our expert opinion, the gelato here was super creamy and most delicious. The Tuscany wine region extends from the city of Florence to the south. Some of the best-known Italian wines come from this region. Notable are the Chianti wines, and Brunello di Montepulciano. The rising trend to create Cabernet Sauvignon based, or blended wines, has led to the unofficial designation “Super Tuscans” for these expensive and much sought after wines. Sangiovese (or Brunello as one of the clones is called) is the important red wine grape of the region. Gelato and wine…why not!
Seafood
in Positano (duh)
This one may seem quite obvious considering this small town is the jewel along the famed Amalfi Coast. With that said, I did not miss the opportunity to sample some of the world's finest seafood; from mussels and clams to shrimp, there are few wrong choices you can make. I currently hold the family record for ordering Linguini con Vongole. Campania is the wine district around the town of Naples. The wines are not well known outside of the region, but visitors to the region usually run across some examples in the local eateries. Many of these wine pair beautifully with the seafood of the region.
This one may seem quite obvious considering this small town is the jewel along the famed Amalfi Coast. With that said, I did not miss the opportunity to sample some of the world's finest seafood; from mussels and clams to shrimp, there are few wrong choices you can make. I currently hold the family record for ordering Linguini con Vongole. Campania is the wine district around the town of Naples. The wines are not well known outside of the region, but visitors to the region usually run across some examples in the local eateries. Many of these wine pair beautifully with the seafood of the region.
No matter where we found
ourselves in this great country, we made sure to indulge in a bottle of vino
and preferably a local one. We had no bad meals in Italy but our mantra was,
“If we get a bad meal in Italy, it’s still a meal in Italy.”
Ciao Bella!
