what's right and what's wrong

[noelle]

Just wondering , what are the rights and wrongs when eating and drinking in Italy? I have heard about not drinking Cappachino after 11 am and never never ordering a second cup of coffee in the same restaurant . Doggy bags according to this forum are iffy so what else is there to know? Are there certain combinations of food that when ordered give the nice chefs heart attacks or make them weep into their pasta?
Noelle

[ronald]

Italians generally like things separated and tastes nice and clean. The overarching principle is that there is a natural way things fit together and people don't need to divert from that.

There is a set of general no-no's but they are not as hard set in stone as you would imagine. Off the top of my head here are the top three that I would never ask:

1. Could I have some parmesan over this spaghetti with mussels please?
2. Could I have white wine with my meat and red tomato ragu?
3. Could I have some ketchup, brown sauce, etc

In one place the barman actually refused to prepare a "tall coffee" - the reply was "we start changing our coffers, then they want different pizzas - when will it all STOP!" T

I don't know of anyone who refused to prepare a capuccino after 11 - but they will smile if you ask for one right after lunch.

Here's a tip - If you want to sound more used to the Italian way don't ask for an espresso - but just for a coffee (which is an espresso). Oh, and spaghetti is eaten with a fork (not a fork and spoon) and you certainly don't use a knife to chop it up.

However, Italians are suckers for someone who is cordial and respectful and throws in a complement (or two). So do that and you can get away with murder!

[Scrapspal]

So how do you chop up the spaghetti to eat if you don't use a knife? Can you throw your head back and lower it into your mouth strand by strand - a bit like Asparagus?

[Sancho the Fat]

Originally Posted by ronald

Oh, and spaghetti is eaten with a fork (not a fork and spoon) and you certainly don't use a knife to chop it up.

What ? YouTube - Spaghetti alla Principe di Napoli

[ronald]

Originally Posted by Sancho the Fat

What ? YouTube - Spaghetti alla Principe di Napoli

very funny and proves the point. Should be used as the film of how pasta should never be cooked or eaten! Spaghetti should flow. As one chef put it - it should just look and feel sexy. The pasta it's so overcooked you probably need a steak knife.

Only saving grace is that the film you linked to is actually from Argentina - and I am sure no self-respecting Neapolitan would even accept a dish of pasta like that

[Technically Blonde]

Originally Posted by ronald

2. Could I have white wine with my meat and red tomato ragu?

Humh - I've never subscribed to the theory red with meat / white with fowl/fish. I like cold white at lunch - whatever I'm eating

Originally Posted by ronald

Oh, and spaghetti is eaten with a fork (not a fork and spoon) and you certainly don't use a knife to chop it up.

Ah - my OH has been told off on frequent occasions, by our language teacher and in restaurants, but he still insists on chopping up his spaghetti ......

[Scrapspal]

Good for him! Spaghetti needs to be chopped - how else would it fit in the tin?

[Technically Blonde]

Originally Posted by Scrapspal

Good for him! Spaghetti needs to be chopped - how else would it fit in the tin?

[Sebastiano]

Originally Posted by noelle

Just wondering , what are the rights and wrongs when eating and drinking in Italy? I have heard about not drinking Cappachino after 11 am and never never ordering a second cup of coffee in the same restaurant . Doggy bags according to this forum are iffy so what else is there to know? Are there certain combinations of food that when ordered give the nice chefs heart attacks or make them weep into their pasta?
Noelle

birds and foul in general should be eaten with your hands (ie. holding the bone)this is actually in the book on etiquette established by Regina Margherita.Fish is normally served with heads/tails etc if you don't want to clean it yourself get the waiter to do it in a good restaurant they'll do a good job.Never walk around in the streets eating or drinking..grazing in general is not good.always bear in mind that italian food is very "de-structured" in other words if you order a steak, for example,you will get 1 steak on a plate with nothing else..so don't say as a man did to me "where's the chips then?" if you wanted chips you must order them seperately or "construct" your own meal/veg etc.There is no pasta which requires a knife to eat.Long pasta,as short pasta is eaten only with a fork winding round the pasta on the fork raising it from the plate so too much is not "wound on".If in good reastaurants where they'll get you to taste the wine,if it is not right refuse it outright and get another bottle opened.Apart from not having milk coffee or tea with milk after a meal with wines the rest is generally common sense.A good suggestion is to ask the waiter what the "piatto del giorno" is as that is very likely to be the best or freshest dish..personally i dislike and distrust large menus and don't go to restaurants to read a book.The best restaurants i know have at most two small pages of menu and the wine list is usually bigger than the menu.

[Sancho the Fat]

Here's how to eat proper spaghetti: YouTube - Typical English Breakfast