Ok, I have been promising a blog about the food we have been eating, so I think it is time. One of the things I enjoy about Diane is that while we have similar adventurous palates, we often order the two things that sound the best on the menu and share them. So, especially when we travel, we get twice the tasting opportunities.
One of the things we have done in every location is ask the locals where they would recommend. We have yet to be disappointed with a single recommendation. In Pompei, our innkeeper recommended a place called Kobe that had some of the most incredible steaks! Tasty, juicy and plentiful. And, we also enjoyed a nutella dessert.
We also took their advice and stopped at Zi Catherinas for lunch one day. There we both ordered a pizza...Diane got anchovies and I got a spicy sausage. Because the pizzas were so inexpensive we thought they would be like a personal size pizza in the U.S. These things were huge! And the thing was, even the locals order them like a personal pizza and sit and eat the whole thing! It was a lot of pizza.
On the day when we were walking through Naples, we had no recommendations so we wandered into a back alley. The owner practically pulled us into his restaurant. While we were looking over the handwritten menu almost illegible and with no prices or explanations, I decided I wanted spaghetti, but not the seafood with mussels version. Turns out there were not a lot of options. Before we ordered anything the owner brought us a vegetable plate for an appetizer. Then he asked whether we wanted spaghetti or meat. We both ordered the spaghetti. The result was that we got the spaghetti with mussels. And it was incredible. Not a big meal, but very tasty and very filling. We were ready to leave when he brought dessert (which we had not ordered)...a tiramisu. Again thinking we are done, he brought us the famous limoncello (a lemon alcohol drink served in an iced shot glass). I think Diane is trying to figure out how to bring some of this back to the states! But all of this was incredibly filling and cost next to nothing.
In Rome we stumbled onto a restaurant outside the town near the catacombs. This has been one of Diane's favorite meals. She had gnocchi with calamari while I had a spinach ravioli. The pastas have all been incredible.
Last evening, here in Florence, our innkeeper recommended a place nearby famous for their pastas and steaks. I was considering getting the pasta with truffles when Diane suggested the famous Steak Florentine. It was for two or more. We decided on this. We ordered an appetizer of a soft cheese served with marmalade, honey, pine nuts and grape fruit. I could have made a meal out of this! Then the owner sent a complimentary selection of appetizers to us. There was so much food and it was so good!
Steak Florentine is served rare. If you ask for it cooked more thoroughly they will not serve it to you. It is seared on each side and then warmed on the inside. It is kind of like a t-bone. But the serving was humongous (I'm running out of adjectives!) and was at least three inches thick. It was tender and flavorful. And it was to die for. The meal was so plentiful that we were both suffed...so much so that we couldn't even imagine sharing a dessert. We had to go for a long walk afterward to try to work off some of the meal.
Tonight we took a cooking class on Tuscan foods. We began by making a brocolli souffle, followed by gnocchi which we had made ourselves served with a fresh tomato sauce. Then we had chicken sauteed with peppers, onions and rosemary. Dessert was tiramisu. The only thing that came out of a can or bottle was the wine served with the dinner.
Part of the fun was having the hands on experience and working with other tourists and the local chefs. We were paired with a couple from Los Angeles who were on a three month sabbatical. We enjoyed the meal, but also working with others and sitting down and sharing the fruits of our labors.
The foods and desserts have been incredible. The wines have been delightful (and typically cheaper than a bottled water!) Diane enjoyed the limoncello while I enjoyed the grappa (another post dinner alcoholic beverage). As a coffee drinker, Diane has enjoyed the little coffee bars for an espresso which are served in a porcelain cup. While we would think of getting food and drinks to go, it seems expected that meals and even snacks are times to slow down and converse or watch others.
We have also enjoyed sampling the various flavors of gelatto. At one little grocery in Pompei Diane ordered a chocolate that was incredibly rich. I was looking at the many options when the lady behind the counter seemed to take a liking to me. She offered me samples of one of them and then suggested that I might like it with alongside another flavor. Diane has had the affections and flirtations of many Italian men (including one little boy who looked to be about 5 who blew her a kiss as he walked by), but this was my turn. If you happen upon the gelatto lady in Pompei tell her I said hi.
Unfortunately, we didn't take photos of the foods we have eaten, but even if we had, I don't think it could do justice to the smells and tastes we have experienced.
Peace my friends!
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