One of the biggest food related lessons I have learned in Italy is the importance of regional cuisine. Romans eat a lot of pork and pecorino romano, Florentines eat a lot of beef and white beans, and Neapolitans eats their own type of pizza, lots of fresh seafood, and lots of fresh bufala mozzarella. Each area has their own types of pastries, and drinks mostly it's own wine.
This phenomenon seems to be completely lacking in the US. You can't get Neapolitan pizza in Rome. Can you imagine not being able to find Chicago deep dish in Minneapolis? One of my favorite spots so far has been a Sicilian bakery called Nonna Vincenzia's right outside Campo di'Fiori. It carries Sicilian granita and cannoli and other baked goods. Roman bakeries don't make these things, even though Sicily is part of Italy and the baked goods would probably sell (to tourists). But Nonna Vincenzia's is here to provide me with cannoli and it's advertised specifically as a Sicilian establishment.
I wish I knew more about the cuisine, but here's just a little snippet of what I ate last weekend in Positano, Sant'Agata, and Napoli.
This phenomenon seems to be completely lacking in the US. You can't get Neapolitan pizza in Rome. Can you imagine not being able to find Chicago deep dish in Minneapolis? One of my favorite spots so far has been a Sicilian bakery called Nonna Vincenzia's right outside Campo di'Fiori. It carries Sicilian granita and cannoli and other baked goods. Roman bakeries don't make these things, even though Sicily is part of Italy and the baked goods would probably sell (to tourists). But Nonna Vincenzia's is here to provide me with cannoli and it's advertised specifically as a Sicilian establishment.
I wish I knew more about the cuisine, but here's just a little snippet of what I ate last weekend in Positano, Sant'Agata, and Napoli.
A tiny flaky crispy pastry filled with vanilla cream, called a codice d'_______
A similar pastry but larger filled with lemon cream, called a coda _____
Luke's pizza in Napoli, it's folded in half and filled with ricotta and panchetta.
My pizza in Napoli, just tomatoes, bufala mozzarella, and a big of basil.
A big plate of fresh seafood in Sant'Agata, pickled white fish, salmon, fried whole little fish, squid, and shrimp with the heads on.
A fresh linguine with mussels and clams.
And now I'm hungry.
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