During my stay in Italy, the cultural aspect that has both impressed and shocked me the most, has been the food. Easily the biggest difference regarding food that I’ve noticed has been the free bread that’s served at restaurants. In America, free bread is usually flavored, and is meant to be enjoyed by itself. Meanwhile, in Italy free bread that’s served at restaurants is almost the exact opposite. The bread almost never has anything added to it. No garlic, no butter, no salt, nothing. Another thing is that the free bread is not meant to be eaten by itself. It’s usually used to mop up the leftover sauce from other foods. The free bread can also be enjoyed with extra virgin olive oil drizzled on top of it, as opposed to dipping it, as most people do in America.
One thing that I’m not surprised about is how amazing the food and wine is here in Italy. One of the biggest benefits to Italian dining is the slow food movement. At first, when I heard that Italian dinners can take up to 3-4 hours, it was honestly a little intimidating. I thought for sure I’d constantly be bored and want the dinner to end, but to my surprise I ended up loving how long dinners last in Italy. If you’re with the right people, those hours just fly by and you’ll never notice how long you’ve actually been eating and drinking, which is a plus in my book.
No blog post about Italian dining would be complete if I didn’t mention my favorite food that I’ve had here. In my honest opinion, the best thing to eat in Italy, is any sort of pasta. You’ll never be disappointed when you order pasta in Italy. I’ve had a different type of pasta every time I go to a restaurant in Italy, and every time it’s been amazing. Pair that with an Italian red or white wine, and you’ve just bought yourself a one-way ticket to culinary bliss.
Ben Adams Study Abroad Blog 