What makes fantastic Italian food and a good Italian restaurant? This is what I consider.
Italy has a fantastic tradition of fine food. Italian food’s importance to Italian culture can not be overstated. It is a single of the central components, and why should not it be? Consider about Italy’s geography for a second:
It runs a long way from north to south. Therefore, it has a wide array of growing seasons and soil types. This signifies a rich diversity of ingredients for meals.
It is a peninsula, meaning it is almost surrounded by the sea but also connected to the wonderful Eurasian land mass. There is an abundance of fresh seafood and foreign ingredients from neighboring lands.
It sits amongst Europe and Africa in the Mediterranean. All Mediterranean cultures have superb food traditions from North Africa to Lebanon and Israel, France, Greece, Spain and, of course, Italy.
When you feel of noodles and pasta, you possibly believe of Italy, but those wonderful inventions came to Italy from China thanks to Marco Polo. It tells you a lot about Italian meals culture that something so simple became connected with Italy even though it did not originate there.
Anyway, food is a essential element of Italian culture. Consequently, the meals is the most important aspect of the restaurant. Of course, a great Italian restaurant will have a wonderful wine list, a clean and sophisticated decor, and amazing service, but a great Italian restaurant can get by on fantastic meals alone, even if they have a crummy wine list, poor service, and a dingy decoration scheme.
By the way, if you leave an “Italian” restaurant hungry, it is absolutely not genuine. A white tablecloth and higher bill do not a fantastic bistro make. Frankly, I cannot stand these fancy Italian restaurants in Manhattan that charge you $400 for a morsel that makes you want to quit for a slice of pizza on the way home. A wonderful Italian ristorante will leave you complete, not stuffed, but complete.
The second aspect of a great Italian restaurant is the service. The service will be warm and qualified, but not overly friendly. After the orders are taken and the meal gets rolling, the service should be almost invisible. Run — don’t walk — from any Italian restaurant exactly where the waitperson address the table like this:
“How you guys doin’ tonight?” when ladies are seated at the table. This is most un-Italian of them. Best Boston Italian restaurant would in no way contact a woman “guy.” Even in spaghetti-and-meatballs-type areas, the waiter could say, “How is everybody this evening?” The won’t tarry with small speak in the white-tablecloth locations, not the fantastic ones, anyway. It is all about the meal and your comfort.
The third aspect of a wonderful Italian restaurant is the ambiance. I never know what it is, but Italians look to be capable to generate a excellent atmosphere anyplace. I have eaten at places in strip malls in the suburbs of Denver — as un-romantic a setting as there is — that come close to excellent. A genuinely outstanding Italian restaurant will just have a particular feeling from the minute you walk in the door, a warmth and a glow that cannot really be described.