Looking at these pictures at 7am in the morning and wow I’m hungry!
I’ve never been to Italy and whenever I go to Italian restaurants the food feels heavy and unhealthy. From where you’re living, do you feel like you have to actively make good choices or do they not use that much butter in real Italian cooking?!
Hi Istiaq, It's the regional cuisine of Italian-American food that is very butter and cheese heavy, most of the regions of Italy don't even traditionally use butter as it wasn't available there in the past. Even now, many of my friends from further south don't even have butter in their refridgerators. I started my Substack Weeknight Past in Italy to bust these myths and show how Italians actually cook and eat if you want to take a look :-) Have a great day!
I want to lick the cheesy goodness off your photos! I agree, I love the hyperlocal food culture in Italy. The hyperlocal everything culture, actually, from the dialects that differ from town to town to the city festivals. You could spend your whole life exploring Italy and still be surprised every day.
I just arrived back in the US last night after spending two months in Italy, eating up as much delicious food as I could along the way! It really appreciate how each region has it's specialties and I have favorites from every region that I visited. Also, I never get indegestion or stomach aches when eating in Italy...I don't know if it's the lack of perservatives, the fresh ingredients, smaller (but perfectly sized) portions, or maybe it's a combo of all. Italians do it right! And the wine....gah...don't even get me started on how incredible the wine is! Some favorites from my recent travels: spaghetti all'sssassina in Bari, caffe leccese and pasticciotti in Lecce, sfogliatella and sugo alla Genovese in Napoli (and the pizza I had at 50 Kalo in Napoli was soooo good - thank you for that reco from your Thatch guide, Brenna!), tortellini in brodo and Lambrusco (definitely a new favorite wine of mine!) in Parma and cacio e pepe and amatriciana in Rome. Take me backkkkkk 😭
oohhh Sara I still haven't tried spaghetti alla'assassina yet! Does it still seem like you're eating pasta? So curious! I heard from a local Napolitana friend that 50 kalo is insanely delish. Dying to get back there to go. We drink our share of Lambrusco here in Lake Como too. I'm a huge fan of your list!! x
Spaghetti all’assassina was delish and yes, it very much felt like I was still eating pasta! I had it in Bari at the restaurant Stanley Tucci visited in his show and the vibe in there was very cool! They specialize in Spaghetti all’assassina and they have different varieties to choose from. I went for the classic. 😄 Ah yes, you must go to 50 Kalo when you’re back in Napoli! So jealous that you get to drink lots of Lambrusco in Como. How dreamy! I am going to do my best to find some here in Seattle. I already finished the bottle I brought back with me from Reggio Emilia! Guess it’s time to go back 😉
Did you take all those photos yourself? Because YUM.
"In Rome, they specialize in cacio e pepe, and I lick my plate with this cheesy goodness." I will think of you tonight, as we attend a Thanksgiving dinner with alumni of my husband's university. We called ahead to let the restaurant know siamo vegetariani, and they said, "Okay, mah, I guess you can have cacio e pepe." LOL, it'll be a Thanksgiving to remember.
It was good, but I'll admit I missed all my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes. I was fine skipping the turkey, but oh for green bean casserole and sweet potatoes and stuffing and mashed potatoes! Next year I won't compromise. :)
So many different pasta types, colours and tastes... I wouldn't mind trying everything in the photos 🙂 I adore Italian food from all around the country, it is literally seasoned with love. Croatian food is similarly made with love, but those pastas are incomparable.
I prefer it al dente, and just plain with some olive oil and fresh herbs, but I'm not picky 🙂
Looking at these pictures at 7am in the morning and wow I’m hungry!
I’ve never been to Italy and whenever I go to Italian restaurants the food feels heavy and unhealthy. From where you’re living, do you feel like you have to actively make good choices or do they not use that much butter in real Italian cooking?!
Neapolitan dishes are not that heavy. Fresh pasta and seafood. I always leave the table feeling satiated but not stuffed. And it’s so yummy 😋
Today we are in como area and I had pumpkin lasagna with cheese as a starter and I felt a bit stuffed!
I don’t know if Italian restaurants in the US use too much butter and cheese or the portions are bigger or what? But Italian food is so good 😊
Thanks for the perspective!
Hi Istiaq, It's the regional cuisine of Italian-American food that is very butter and cheese heavy, most of the regions of Italy don't even traditionally use butter as it wasn't available there in the past. Even now, many of my friends from further south don't even have butter in their refridgerators. I started my Substack Weeknight Past in Italy to bust these myths and show how Italians actually cook and eat if you want to take a look :-) Have a great day!
Oh very cool! Thank you for educating me!!
I want to lick the cheesy goodness off your photos! I agree, I love the hyperlocal food culture in Italy. The hyperlocal everything culture, actually, from the dialects that differ from town to town to the city festivals. You could spend your whole life exploring Italy and still be surprised every day.
Another splendid piece of writing and now I'm hungry! 🧡
I just arrived back in the US last night after spending two months in Italy, eating up as much delicious food as I could along the way! It really appreciate how each region has it's specialties and I have favorites from every region that I visited. Also, I never get indegestion or stomach aches when eating in Italy...I don't know if it's the lack of perservatives, the fresh ingredients, smaller (but perfectly sized) portions, or maybe it's a combo of all. Italians do it right! And the wine....gah...don't even get me started on how incredible the wine is! Some favorites from my recent travels: spaghetti all'sssassina in Bari, caffe leccese and pasticciotti in Lecce, sfogliatella and sugo alla Genovese in Napoli (and the pizza I had at 50 Kalo in Napoli was soooo good - thank you for that reco from your Thatch guide, Brenna!), tortellini in brodo and Lambrusco (definitely a new favorite wine of mine!) in Parma and cacio e pepe and amatriciana in Rome. Take me backkkkkk 😭
oohhh Sara I still haven't tried spaghetti alla'assassina yet! Does it still seem like you're eating pasta? So curious! I heard from a local Napolitana friend that 50 kalo is insanely delish. Dying to get back there to go. We drink our share of Lambrusco here in Lake Como too. I'm a huge fan of your list!! x
Spaghetti all’assassina was delish and yes, it very much felt like I was still eating pasta! I had it in Bari at the restaurant Stanley Tucci visited in his show and the vibe in there was very cool! They specialize in Spaghetti all’assassina and they have different varieties to choose from. I went for the classic. 😄 Ah yes, you must go to 50 Kalo when you’re back in Napoli! So jealous that you get to drink lots of Lambrusco in Como. How dreamy! I am going to do my best to find some here in Seattle. I already finished the bottle I brought back with me from Reggio Emilia! Guess it’s time to go back 😉
Did you take all those photos yourself? Because YUM.
"In Rome, they specialize in cacio e pepe, and I lick my plate with this cheesy goodness." I will think of you tonight, as we attend a Thanksgiving dinner with alumni of my husband's university. We called ahead to let the restaurant know siamo vegetariani, and they said, "Okay, mah, I guess you can have cacio e pepe." LOL, it'll be a Thanksgiving to remember.
Oh give us the post T day debriefing, Michael! How was it??
It was good, but I'll admit I missed all my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes. I was fine skipping the turkey, but oh for green bean casserole and sweet potatoes and stuffing and mashed potatoes! Next year I won't compromise. :)
haha! Got it. My son just made a presentation for school with all those classic dishes on it. He asked me "mamma, what's a casserole?" hee hee
So many different pasta types, colours and tastes... I wouldn't mind trying everything in the photos 🙂 I adore Italian food from all around the country, it is literally seasoned with love. Croatian food is similarly made with love, but those pastas are incomparable.
I prefer it al dente, and just plain with some olive oil and fresh herbs, but I'm not picky 🙂
I’m thinking about moving back to Italy purely for the food. It’s unlike anywhere else!