Where To Eat in Italy

Italy
Where To Eat

At one time there was a distinct difference between a trattoria and a ristorante, based on the type of clientele and the prices charged. Now they are virtually interchangeable.

Inexpensive meals can be found in stand-up snack bars that feature the tavola calda, which means "hot table." Usually frequented for lunch, these places feature a series of hot and cold dishes either to eat there or take out.

Rosticcerie are also places that offer hot and cold dishes to eat in or take out. At either the tavola calda or rosticceria, items are priced by the portion. You choose your food, pay the cashier, get a receipt(scontrino), and give that to the person behind the counter, who will dish up your food. Snack counters in bars sell ready-made sandwiches and so do paninotece, which are actual sandwich bars. You will also encounter pizzerias (very often open only in the evening, especially in Rome and Florence) and places called pizza a taglio or pizza rustica. These are hole-in-the-wall shops selling ready-made pizza by the slice. The pizza is cut to order and sold by weight. It is fun to try several small pieces. Seating is virtually nonexistent.

Other places for a quick bite or a simple meal include a latteria, which sells cheese, yogurt, and other dairy products; a gelateria, which serves ice cream; or a pasticceria, where you can go for a fresh pastry any time of the morning or afternoon. At il forno you can buy bread, and at an alimentari, salumeria, or gastronomia you can buy cold cuts, cheese, wine, bread, mineral water, and other foods to put together a picnic in the piazza or back in your hotel room. For a glass or two of wine and a light meal or snack, go to an enoteca, or wine bar. Osterias are also wine bars, but more the blue-collar type.

An Italian caffe, or bar, is much more than a place to drink coffee or alcoholic beverages. Here you can eat breakfast, have a snack, buy a sandwich, make phone calls, use the toilet, read the newspaper, listen to or watch sporting events, meet your neighbor or lover, and argue over politics. If there is a black-and-white "T" (for tobacco) displayed outside, you can also buy cigarettes, matches, some toiletries, stamps, and bus tickets. No wonder there are more than five thousand such places in central Rome alone.

Source: Global Gourmet - Italy

trattoria

Unpretentious eatery, often family run, usually having a limited, seasonal menu of local specialties.

ristorante

Restaurant, Italy's top category of dining establishment, more upscale than a trattoria or osteria.

tavola calda

Snack bar, usually serving hot food.

rosticceria

Shop or eating place specializing in roast meats and poultry. Sometimes called girarrosto(*), in reference to the large spit that typifies such places.(*)Roasted on a spit.

pizza rustica

Abruzzese savory tart made with ricotta, mozzarella, prosciutto, mortadella(*) and seasonings. (*)Large pork sausage, originally from Bologna.

pasticceria

Pastry or pastry shop

alimentare

A general term referring to food, i.e. negozio alimentare, grocery store.

salumi

generic term for salt-cured meats, such as salame, salsiccia, prosciutto, bresaola; salumeria shop where salumi are sold.

gastronomia

Gastronomy, also gourmet food or specialty store. A gastronomo or buongustaio is a gourmet, ghiottone glutton.

enoteca

Literally "wine library," referring to both publicly sponsored displays and privately owned shops.

osteria

Simple tavern serving local wine and often food, though the name sometimes applies to fancier places.

bar

Italian version of a coffee shop.

Source: ItalianMade.com