Eating out in Italy - Part 1

I say part one, because I haven’t had too much experience with eating out yet, but I’ve already learned so much! I’m sure there’s much more to know and that is why I feel confident I can entitle this post “Part 1”, as more will follow.

I’d like to start by saying; we have an awesome sponsor family! When a military member or family moves to a new base, they are assigned a sponsor, someone who is already at the base and can assist them with questions and in-processing. As I mentioned in a previous post, arriving was a whirl wind, I was massively sleep deprived, still overcoming a cold, and super sore from general pregnancy aches emphasized by too many hours on various planes. After some rest I was doing much better and ready to take on tasks.

Yesterday evening our sponsors offered to take us out to dinner. We were excited to get off base and into the town and to get some real food, as we only had snacks in our fridge. They drove all the way to base to pick us up (as we don’t have a vehicle oor the ability to drive yet) I don’t recall the name of the place they took us to, but it was yummy!

It was most definitely a different eating experience than the ones I’ve experienced in the states, and I’ll highlight the differences here and hopefully give you some handy tips in case you get the chance to eat in Italy.

Firstly, Italians generally eat later than the average American, or at least, earlier than what I have been used to. The restaurant was just opening at 6 pm and stayed fairly empty while we were there. When we were leaving around 9 pm families were coming in with their small children, only just starting dinner! You may have noticed the time difference. We were there for a few hours. Italians generally have courses, and expect you to sit down, take your time, relax, and socialize while working your way through the courses. The menus I’ve seen generally have the appetizers, options for first course, options for second course, and then desserts.

At this restaurant (though I don’t know if this is common practice in Italian restaurants or just the one we went to) the owner and head chef, Mario, came out to give us his specials. In the states, specials were items already on the menu that had simply been marked down for the evening, however, here they seemed to be items he had invented for the day, as I wasn’t able to find them on the menu. He had come up with specials for each course and we could accept one, all, or none. Several of us at the table opted for his specials, and Troy and I got his appetizer special, which was eggplant with tomato and mozzarella cheese. 

After taking our order and returning to the kitchen, a waitress came to take our drink order. In the states, water is generally free. I believe it is law in many places to give people water. Here water costs, and if you ask for a water they will usually give you carbonated water. If you want un-carbonated water, you must specify your desire for “acqua naturale”. Water, both carbonated and un-carbonated alike, come in large sealed glass bottles. They gave me an entire liter, opened it in front of me, poured some into a very small glass, and then left the bottle at the table. Despite the tap water being perfectly fine and delicious, it is customary to serve bottled water.

         Bottles of both carbonated and natural water.                   

A full liter of water.                  

           

Also, there is really no such thing as “take-out” or “doggy bags”. I’m told that in more touristy towns they will oblige, and that Aviano, as it is close to base with so many Americans, is more understanding and won’t be offended if you ask, however, most places will get offended that you did not finish your food in the restaurant. Our sponsor family shared stories of this happening to their friends, and one woman even got kicked out and basically asked not to come back after she asked to take her wine and food home with her. In short, do not ask to take your food home, and do your best to clean your plate regardless of whether you like it or not. To leave food behind is considered rude and they may get offended then as well.

When I asked my DH for things to add to this post, his bit of advice was, "Share pizza". haha, short and to the point. Keep in mind that if you order a pizza, they generally come in one size only. The size seems about the size of a medium pizza in the states as you can get 8 large slices out of it. You can ask to share your pizza and they will give you split plates. (thankfully! Conquering one by yourself is rather a lot of pizza)

They do not bring a bill to your table or have you pay from your seat. Instead, at the end of the meal you go up to a cash register to pay. If they did not write it down, you inform them what you order. Also, you do not tip. Gratuity is generally already included in the bill. The only times when one might tip, is if it’s a restaurant or location that you visit often and are very familiar with, and you were provided exceptional service. In that case if you wish to tip you give the money directly to the person you wish to tip (and you’d likely be on a name basis with them as you frequent that restaurant).

At the end of our eating experience Mario came out and asked how we liked the food and if we’d like some Sgroppino. Sgroppino is a very common dessert drink in Italy. They are generally served in small glasses and are a very thick foamy white. Being pregnant I couldn’t have one, but Mario whipped me up something similar, just without the alcohol. However I did sneak  a small taste of the original, and it is quite delicious! It's got a lemon and light minty flavor, with a consistency as light as drinking cool whip. I can’t wait till the kid comes out and I can order them after dinners! Sorry I didn't get a picture, I will get one soon! In the meantime, if you go to google images you'll get an idea of what they look like. 

Hope that gave you some insight into eating customs in Italy =)