Italians typically eat their meals in multiple courses. If you d like to do as the Romans, order a p

Of course, one of the biggest attractions on any of our bike tours in Italy is the food. The mountains of pasta. The shavings of truffles. The glistening, fruity olive oil. The perfect cheap hotels london slice of pizza topped with seasonal produce. You name it. Recently, our own Connor Rose took an incredible trip to Italia with his family, and discovered the gustatory wonders of the land:
Culture, architecture, history.... Italy has it all. While traveling through the country, not a day will pass without a unique encounter of some kind. After returning from a whirlwind tour of the Amalfi Coast, Rome, and Florence, I feel a bit overwhelmed by everything I just experienced. Though it s a bit difficult to wrap my mind around everything, there is one thing that I m able to do to help me organize the days and recollect all the information. That one thing is the food.
With so many traditional dishes to try, every night I felt like I had to be trying something new. From Neapolitan pizza to pappardelle with wild boar sauce, meals were constant stimulation for my insatiable taste buds. Before getting into detail about some of my favorite meals, there are a few things unknowing travelers should be aware of when sitting down to eat in an Italian restaurant:
The bread served before meals really doesn t taste like much. At almost cheap hotels london every meal, a bread basket was placed on our table. The bread lover I am, I would always dive right in, eating the bread without a plate or oil and vinegar. Without the oil and vinegar, the bread really didn t do much for me. Without pouring salt into the mix (like US bakers do), it was quite bland. Nevertheless, I continued cheap hotels london to eat it, and enjoyed it all the same. As a pre-dinner appetizer, don t expect too much from the bread. Unless you re a human food bank, save your stomach space for something tastier.
Wine bottles are on display all throughout the restaurants, meaning that they aren t kept cold before serving. Wine is brought to the table at room temperature to be enjoyed in the classic Italian way. Though you may be used to having your wine chilled, don t be too quick to cast this in a negative light. The local wines of Tuscany are famous for a reason, and they won t disappoint.
If you re looking for beer, don t look too far. On most menus birra will be listed, and it usually means they only have one beer. Moretti and Nastro Azzurro are the most common and only select restaurants will be able to offer a more diverse selection. Don t fear, though, they are kept colder than room temperature.
Italians typically eat their meals in multiple courses. If you d like to do as the Romans, order a pasta dish to start, an entree cheap hotels london (often with meat) second, a salad third, and then a dessert. It s a lot of food, but if you re exploring the towns and countryside during the day, you ll work off all those extra calories. It s also important to note that the quality of the ingredients is vastly different than what we have in the US. The cheese isn t greasy, food is cooked largely in olive oil rather than butter, and the meats are less processed. This gives way to healthier eating, despite what may look like a festival of gluttony. Don t be shy to dive into multiple courses, it may be the only way to taste all the flavors that Italy has to offer.