2/3/2022 0 Comments FoodCiao Amici!
Welcome to week one of my time abroad in Italy. This is one of the blog posts I've been most looking forward to writing because it's about one of my favorite topics: food! For me, food was one of the reasons I chose to come to Italy in the first place. In my seven years learning about Italian language and culture, one of the most interesting things I have learned about is the Mediterranean Diet. Based in the south of Italy, primarily along the shore, this diet is very centered around fish, cheese, vegetables, fruits and grains. Red meat, which is popular in the US, is not commonly found in the Mediterranean diet, although some restaurants here do serve it. The food in Italy is also far fresher than anything in the US. Most of the produce in Sorrento comes straight from the gardens in town. This makes even simple dishes both healthier and better tasting. My first experience with authentic Italian food was at a restaurant in town called Z'Intonio's. The first night here I went out with a group of about twelve other girls and we decided we wanted to go somewhere fancy to start off our trip. Something to note before visiting Italy is that they tend to eat dinner later than we do in the US. We got to Z'Intonios at 7PM and they immediately knew we were from the US. The waiters laughed at us and asked for thirty minutes to get a table together since they are not accustomed to people wanting dinner so early. Once we got inside we ordered the house wine. I highly recommend getting this wherever you go since it's cheaper than other options on the menu, but usually just as good. They also brought us bread with olive oil. This is more common than butter in Italy and SO good. For dinner I got pasta with clams and octopus salad. If you ever visit Sorrento you have to try the seafood. I live in New Jersey at home and usually I think our seafood is pretty fresh, but Sorrento seafood is next level. It was phenomenal. My first dinner in Sorrento was absolutely a success! Another important aspect of food in another country is the grocery stores. In our program we don't have a meal plan, so we have to cook for ourselves pretty often to avoid spending too much money eating out. In order to cook for ourselves it is important to go to the grocery store at least twice a week. I knew I'd experience a bit of culture shock when I came to Italy, but the last place I expected it to hit was the grocery store. I walked into Deco for the first time and was immediately overwhelmed. It is set up entirely different from American grocery stores, and to makes things worse everything is in Italian (duh)! I thought I knew what food looked like generally without having to read the labels, but let me tell you, chicken and veal look suspiciously similar and if you can't read the labels there's almost no way to tell them apart. I recommend downloading the google translate app and using the camera function to scan over items in the grocery store before you buy them. The last thing I'd like to say about food in Italy is to try everything! I know authentic Italian food is different than what we grew up with in the US, and sometimes it may be scary to try new things, but the food I've tried since getting here is some of the best food I've had in my entire life! Check back when I go to Paris for an update on escargot and frog legs!
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AuthorMy name is Meg and I'm studying abroad in Italy! ArchivesCategories |