Italy: A Closer Look - Italy - page 589

THE CHOICE OF RESTAURANTS
So where to go? The major categories of Italian restaurants are the bar, the tratto-
ria, the osteria, and the ristorante. An Italian bar is more of a cafe (not to be con-
fused with a pub), which serves coffee, sodas, and sometimes ice cream and
snacks. Stop at a bar for a quick panino and a drink. But be careful: The prices
usually double if you sit at one of their tables; if you're counting euros, it's best to
chow down at the bar, or to wander off to eat in the shade.
The differences between osterie, trattorie, and ristoranti are less distinct than
they once were. Traditionally, an osteria was a rustic and rudimentary open kitchen
in which travelers could grab a plate of pasta and a glass of wine. A trattoria rep-
resented a step up the food chain, so to speak, offering multicourse meals with a
selection of wine in a traditional setting. And a ristorante had a formal atmos-
phere, with linen tablecloths, wine lists, professional waitstaff, and a bit of cere-
mony in the presentation. But now ristoranti have added the words “osteria” or
“trattoria” to their titles to seem more authentic, while the osterie and trattorie have
been passing themselves off as ristoranti in an effort to jack up prices or draw a
richer crowd. Regardless, the quality of food can be first class at any of these; try
them all and reach your own conclusions.
An alarming development in dining in Italy is the insidious rise of the cover
charge, the coperto, aka pan e coperto (bread and cover). This initial expense
ranges from € 1 to € 3 at many places. Look at the menu displayed at the door,
where the charge is often disclosed (along with a service charge of up to 15%) or
else you'll find that your cheap snack of pasta and tap water has nearly doubled in
price. Unless it's a particularly famous restaurant, try to avoid any place with more
than a € 1.50 coperto. A service charge of 10% to 15% (instead of a tip) is usual.
Let the waiters keep the change for an extra tip, or add a couple of euros if the
service has been particularly good. Request “il conto, per favore” to get the check
at the end of the meal.
THE CHOICE OF PLATES
So now that you've found the restaurant and learned about paying, it's time to
decide what to eat. In the countryside, you can't help being overwhelmed by
regional specialties. In the bigger cities, you'll have more of a taste of the nation,
with an increasing selection of Asian and European dishes. But you haven't come
to Italy to try won-ton soup, so here's a quick review of Italy's regional specialties,
moving from north to south.
Northern Italian cuisine has a strong flavor of the French, German, and
Austrian traditions. Piedmont, to the northeast, serves Swiss-like fonduta (fon-
due), a concoction of melted cheese mixed with butter, milk, and egg yolks.
Bagna cauda is a vegetable-dipping variation made with the addition of olive oil,
garlic, and anchovies. Just west of Piedmont, in Lombardy, the locals like their
cotoletta alla milanese, veal cutlets in egg and olive-oil batter. It took awhile for
Marco Polo's pasta to make it up to these parts, so polenta (cornmeal) and risotto
(rice) often serve as the starches for a meal. Trentino carries on the Austrian-
German traditions of its neighbors to the north, with heavier meat-and-potato
dishes, along with an endless selection of strudels.