Italy!

[explanade]

With DOP tomatoes and cheese, Neopolitan pizza uses quality ingredients but Americans may be used to American style pizza loaded with toppings.

I like both, though I'm trying to minimize consumptions of cold cuts due to nitrites.


There are actually fancy pizza places in NY and other US cities which specifically specialize in Neopolitan pizza and charge a hefty penny for them.


Trader Joe imports a couple of frozen organic pizzas from Italy, 3-cheeses or Roasted Vegetables which are both pretty good.


I heard Starbucks was popular in some European places because they offered large cafes with sofas like in the US and also popularized taking the drinks to go, which was unknown in Europe before.

In Italy, people take their coffee fast, often at the counter, where it's cheaper than if you sit down and take a table.

 

[oiseux]

I went to a place in Vevey offering tacos or burritos.

Forget what exactly I ordered but they put in chicken, vegetables and cheese in a wrap and then put the thing in a panini press and melted the cheese and toasted the wrap. It was all enclosed.

It wasn't bad and the place had good reviews which is why I went there.

Other thing is one of the first times I went to Paris, there was a chain of a few restaurants, which I've only seen in Paris, which was called Indiana. Never tried it but as I understood it, it was offering Tex-Mex type of foods.

Yes, sounds like you had a version of a French Tacos. They were invented not far away, I think, near Lyon and have taken French-speaking areas by storm.

I had to look up Indiana Cafe --- and yup, they have 21 locations. A mix of western US and Mexican foods -- probably not the first thing you think about when Indiana comes to mind.

 

[Gumby]

I’m sure I’m in the vast minority here but having spent almost 3-4 months visiting Italy over the years I’ve yet to meet an Italian pizza that impressed me. There’s one in Florence that has lines outside it and is mentioned in tourist guides, so I tried that when I was there this summer. Waited my (long) turn. It was really just meh. I would prefer a decent American pizza any day.

With respect to Starbucks, what’s missing in Italy is a LARGE cup of latté or mocha or even drip coffee. Americanos are nasty. Just watered down espressos. You get wonderful espresso, cappuccino, lattés, doppios etc., but if it’s a chilly day and you want a large hot drink, it’s impossible in my experience.

But yes they do have some of the best food in the world, and am always grateful for being introduced to Aperol and Campari Spritzes!

I have only eaten pizza once in Italy, in Ercolano near Naples. It was not good. IMO, the best pizza is in the New Haven, Connecticut area.

 

[bmcgonig]

With DOP tomatoes and cheese, Neopolitan pizza uses quality ingredients but Americans may be used to American style pizza loaded with toppings.

I like both, though I'm trying to minimize consumptions of cold cuts due to nitrites.


There are actually fancy pizza places in NY and other US cities which specifically specialize in Neopolitan pizza and charge a hefty penny for them.


Trader Joe imports a couple of frozen organic pizzas from Italy, 3-cheeses or Roasted Vegetables which are both pretty good.


I heard Starbucks was popular in some European places because they offered large cafes with sofas like in the US and also popularized taking the drinks to go, which was unknown in Europe before.

In Italy, people take their coffee fast, often at the counter, where it's cheaper than if you sit down and take a table.

Yes. €1 for the coffee and €1.25 for a delicious croissant. Their pastries are magical and dirt cheap. Although to enjoy it I do have to sit down. But then the locals are probably on the way to work and I’m just vacationing!

 

[MichaelB]

Pizza around the world, and around the US, is so different it’s impossible to compare. For some unfathomable reason, most people tend to prefer their local style.

 

[bmcgonig]

Pizza around the world, and around the US, is so different it’s impossible to compare. For some unfathomable reason, most people tend to prefer their local style.

Impossible to compare but easy to contrast [emoji851][emoji851]

 

[Gumby]

Impossible to compare but easy to contrast [emoji851][emoji851]

Some may find this Conde Nast article of use in that compare and contrast endeavor.

https://www.cntraveler.com/galleries/2016-04-05/best-pizza-in-the-world-top-cities

I do note that New Haven, CT is indeed on the list.

 

[MichaelB]

Impossible to compare but easy to contrast [emoji851][emoji851]

Well said!

 

[MichaelB]

Some may find this Conde Nast article of use in that compare and contrast endeavor.

https://www.cntraveler.com/galleries/2016-04-05/best-pizza-in-the-world-top-cities

I do note that New Haven, CT is indeed on the list.

Thanks, Gumby. I’ve seen a couple of lists ranking cities with tasty pizza and New Haven does figure on many of them.

I’ve had pizza in many cities around the world and enjoyed most of them.

 

[braumeister]

Where I grew up in Brooklyn (back in Paleozoic times), it seemed like there was a pizzeria on practically every block. Just plain, no toppings, and many of them had a window on the sidewalk where they sold it by the slice. It was always fascinating to watch the guys (always guys) kneading and tossing them. They had the most muscular forearms you could imagine.

To this day, I greatly prefer the thin crust NYC style, while DW likes the deep dish type. To each their own, so we always get two small ones instead of trying to share one.

A big surprise to me was that when I lived in Rio de Janeiro the pizza was identical to what I grew up with.

 

[Chuckanut]

I
With respect to Starbucks, what’s missing in Italy is a LARGE cup of latté or mocha or even drip coffee. Americanos are nasty. Just watered down espressos. You get wonderful espresso, cappuccino, lattés, doppios etc., but if it’s a chilly day and you want a large hot drink, it’s impossible in my experience.

But yes they do have some of the best food in the world, and am always grateful for being introduced to Aperol and Campari Spritzes!

A big +1 on the Spritzes!!! I found Aperol at Costco a while back and bough several bottles. But, I am running out. So far I have not seen it again.

Amerifan coffee in Italy? Like you I miss the opportunity to linger over a few mugs of good coffee. Italians do the quick shot of espresso down the hatch. Not much time for lingering. Ordering multiple cappuccinni can get expensive.

Here is what I discovered to help me around this problem. If your hotel/restaurant has breakfast and they offer you a choice of whatever coffee drink you want, order the coffee with hot milk. You get a pot of coffee (made in a Mocha machine if they did it right) and a pot of hot milk. I suppose you can leave the milk if you drink your coffee black. But, that might be considered insulting and wasteful. That's about as close I have have come to an American style pot of coffee.

FWIW, I tend to avoid restaurants that advertise "American Breakfast". They are not so good.

 

[Gumby]

Thanks, Gumby. I’ve seen a couple of lists ranking cities with tasty pizza and New Haven does figure on many of them.

I’ve had pizza in many cities around the world and enjoyed most of them.

Just a little side note - Connecticut is the most Italian state in the USA (percentage of population with Italian heritage is 16.54%), neck and neck with Rhode Island. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Americans#Demographics

 

[explanade]

Yes, sounds like you had a version of a French Tacos. They were invented not far away, I think, near Lyon and have taken French-speaking areas by storm.

I had to look up Indiana Cafe --- and yup, they have 21 locations. A mix of western US and Mexican foods -- probably not the first thing you think about when Indiana comes to mind.

People running it were either Mideastern or Turkish immigrants, it looked like.

 

[explanade]

Just a little side note - Connecticut is the most Italian state in the USA (percentage of population with Italian heritage is 16.54%), neck and neck with Rhode Island. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Americans#Demographics

But is there really a lot of overlap with Italian and Italian-American cuisine?

 

[Gumby]

But is there really a lot of overlap with Italian and Italian-American cuisine?

I believe that most of the Italian American families in Connecticut trace their roots back to the Mezzogiorno (Naples/Campania/Puglia/Calabria/Sicily). So that is primarily the cuisine served in Italian restaurants around here (it's certainly how we got great pizza). But, as you know, Italy has many different cuisines around the country. So, for example, you'll not see much of the specialties of Piemonte or Veneto around here.

 

[explanade]

I think most Italian immigrants came from Campania and Southern Italy.

But I don't think they have things like spaghetti and meat balls, chicken parmesan, broccoli rabe.

At least I haven't seen it in any menus in Italy.


I just watched this show called The Bear, based in Chicago. The main guy is someone trained in fine dining, was running a high end restaurant in NY.

But he comes back home after the death of his older brother to take over the family restaurant. The specialty is Italian beef sandwich, again, something I don't think you'd see in many places in Italy.

He cooked it like a chef though, braised it for hours and then made his own giardinera, which like the beef sandwich seems like a Chicago thing.

You sometimes hear about Italian-Americans going to Italy and not liking the food there much.

 

[bmcgonig]

Some may find this Conde Nast article of use in that compare and contrast endeavor.



https://www.cntraveler.com/galleries/2016-04-05/best-pizza-in-the-world-top-cities



I do note that New Haven, CT is indeed on the list.

Just looked at these and for what it’s worth the New Haven one was the one that looked the most appetizing to me.

And I’ve never been to CT..

 

[oiseux]

Interesting that in the Conde Nast article, the pizza that appealed to me the least were the ones from Rome and New Haven. There is good pizza in Rome, and I actually quite like a good pinsa (the local pizza-like variant made with rice flour in the crust)

I've had many pizzas in Italy, and yes, not all are good. It really is about the pizzaiolo and their skill. I've had pizza all over the US and can honestly say I appreciate the varieties and forms, but I just tend to prefer some more than others. People used to loaded pies are sometimes shocked by the sparse pies of Italy.

A few blocks from me is a guy who trained in Italy (and great kitchens) and now begins the pizza process 3 days before, with a naturally raised crust. When he is out of dough, they close. The crust is incredible and the toppings, top notch. In our place in French side of Liguria, the restaurant is owned by a family from the Napoli area, and they churn out excellent pies as well.

I'm not certain about italy (as I tend to grab my expresso at the counter), but I do see artisinal coffee with filter drip and cold brews making inroads in Europe. And in France, "le brunch" is quite trendy, with a mix of American and French foods in dedicated restaurants.

 

[grasshopper]

Maybe not the finest pizza, but best experience. Pizza on Via Partenope in Napolis, with my sweetie and a bottle of prosecco on a beautiful fall evening.

 

[NW-Bound]

Maybe not the finest pizza, but best experience. Pizza on Via Partenope in Napolis, with my sweetie and a bottle of prosecco on a beautiful fall evening.

+1

I don't usually remember exactly what I ate in my travel, but I often remember the occasion.

Regarding Italian pizza, I still remember my first occasion in a trip in 2003. To get away from the crowd in Venice for a bit, we took the vaporetto to Lido, and wandered the streets which seemed deserted compared to Venice. We ran across a pizzeria, and stopped for a quick lunch.

Then, on the way back to the vaporetto dock, went into a grocery store to get some snack. I practiced my few Italian words I just gleaned from a carried phrasebook, and was pleased to see the clerk actually understood me.

Back on pizza, I have had deep dish pizza only once, and at a Chicago place famous for it with a long line out front. I had to say, it was not for me. It was more like a casserole than a pizza.

 

[Chuckanut]

Not everybody is happy with the new campaign to promote travel to Italy. Besides the obvious question of why travel to Italy needs a campaign at all, the method of encouraging travel has been questioned.

https://www.italymagazine.com/featu...es-better?mc_cid=51b0b6fa89&mc_eid=8726ffd444

But thematically, everything takes root on social media, and revolves around Open to Meraviglia’s star, @venereitalia23, a digital paper doll-like rendering of Botticelli’s Venus, reimagined by the marketing minds at Armando Testa Group as a chirpy, elder-millennial Instagram influencer with a ramped-up contouring routine.

No, the “Positano problem” is more sinister, rooted in the growing Instagram feed- and “definitive guide”-driven encouragement to scale one’s inherently personal, small travel experiences and maximize them to Full Market Potential or even Optimum Authenticity. “Too many people [are] wanting to experience the exact same thing because they all went to the same websites and read the same reviews,” Jennings explains, which has created a mistaken belief “that if you do not go to this specific bar or stay in this exact neighborhood, all the money and time you spent on being here has been wasted, and you have settled for something that is not as perfect as it could have been.”

 

[audreyh1]

Pizza around the world, and around the US, is so different it’s impossible to compare. For some unfathomable reason, most people tend to prefer their local style.

I found the pizza we tried in Italy (Florence) to be a revelation. Super thin crust and delicious toppings. We discovered the “Quattro Stagioni” (four seasons) pizza - 1/4 each mushrooms, olives, artichokes and prosciutto. I think we ordered it several different times, ha ha.

Oh yeah, and they ate their pizzas with knife and fork.

 

[audreyh1]

Not everybody is happy with the new campaign to promote travel to Italy. Besides the obvious question of why travel to Italy needs a campaign at all, the method of encouraging travel has been questioned.

https://www.italymagazine.com/featu...es-better?mc_cid=51b0b6fa89&mc_eid=8726ffd444

Well that’s just depressing. But since I don’t travel like that let alone use instagram, I don’t worry about it.

 

[Gumby]

...
Oh yeah, and they ate their pizzas with knife and fork.

Doesn't everyone?

 

[audreyh1]

Doesn't everyone?

Ha ha