Italian for travellers: Eating out – PODCAST

LearnthecorrectvocabularyandsentencesfororderingfoodinItaly. PODCAST.

Therearesomecommonpractices,setphrasesandwordsyoucanuseanywhere inItaly fororderingfoodandmakeyourselfunderstood. Wearegoingtoseethemtogether.
Lacolazione-Breakfast

Italianbreakfastisverysimple.Peopleeatthecolazioneat homeoratcafeterias(inItalywesimplycallita”bar”).Weusuallyhaveacaffelatte,(coffeeandmilk),cappuccino,orevenasimplecaffèandasweetpastry,abriocheorcornetto(croissant).

InaB&B,a socalledagriturismo, youcaneattastylocalfoodlikesalameandprosciutto,formaggio(cheese)pane(bread)anddolcifattiincasa (homemadecakes)forbreakfast.

Ilpranzo-Lunch

Ilpranzoisusuallylighterthanlacena (supper).Onholiday however,proportionsandportionsarenotundercontrol.Ifyouwantalightmeal,youcaneata paninoconaffettati(delimeatlikeprosciuttoetc) porchetta (spit-roastedpork)formaggio.Youcanaskasalumiere (grocer)toprepareitforyouandfillitthewayyoulikeit.

Anothergoodandcheapoptionisamenùa10euro,ormenùturisticoalunchsetwhichincludesaprimopiatto (pastaorrisotto),secondopiatto-carneopesce (meatorfish), contornodiverdura (patate,pomodori,insalataverde – sidedish,usuallypotatoes,tomatoesorgreensalad),pane(bread)acqua(water)andsometimesevenavinodellacasa,1/4 literof  housewine.Uncaffèespressoisalwayspartofit.

Ifyourbudgetallowsafulllunchinatrattoriaorristorante,ofcourseyoucaneatanddrinkasmuchasyouwant.ThecoursesofanItalianmealare:antipasto(appetizer),primo(firstdish),secondo(maindish),contorno(sidedish),formaggio(cheese),dolce(dessert),caffèandifyouarereadytotakeanap,anamaro(typicalItaliantonicliquor).Readytopaythebill?Askthewaiter,Ilcontoperfavore.



Lacena-Supper

Lacenacanberather cheapatapizzeria orexpensiveinanelegantristorante.

 
Antipasto – Starter

Italiansusually startadinner withsomeappetizers.Weusuallyeataffettati, cheese,andthefamousgrilledvegetablesmarinatedinoliveoil,thesocalledsottolio.

Ifyoupreferfish,especiallyifyouarevisitingaplaceonthecoast,youcanorderanantipastodimare, aselectionofcoldseafoodandfish,pickled in oliveoilandlemon,ormoresophisticatedcoldentries.

Ifyoutrustyourwaiter,andseethatotherpeoplearehavinganiceantipasto,youcanaskfortheantipastodellacasa,aselectionofpopularappetizers.
Primipiatti

ForgetabouttheItaliandishesyoucanfindathome. YouwillneverfindAmerican fettuccineAlfredo ormacaroniandcheese.Italiansdon’tevenknowwhattheyare.

Pastaisking,from theextremenorthtoSicily.Thevarietyofshapes,fillings,saucesandcondimentsishuge.

Risottoisprettycommoneverywherebutitismorepopularin thenorthernpartofthecountry.Pastaisusuallyservedaldente.Ifit’sovercooked wesayitisscotta. Youcanunderstandiftherestaurantisdecentif theyserveyourpastawithaformaggiera, acheesebowl,withgratedparmigianoorpecorino. Askforitifthewaiter forgets.

Nowadaysrestaurantsservinggluten-freepastaareeasytofindinbigcities.

Maybeyou’renotinthemoodforeatingmuchoryouhadaquitecaloriclunch,soyoucanaskthewaiterforasmall portion,ortoshareyourprimopiatto.

Let’srecapwithapodcast:

  • Vorrei degliaffettati-I’dlikeamixofdelimeat
  • Vorrei unantipastodimare-I’dlikeaseafoodappetizer
  • Vorrei unantipastodellacasa-I’dlikesome houseappetizers
  • Vorrei unapastaalragù/alpesto
  • Chetipodipastamiconsiglia?Whatkindofpastado yousuggest?
  • Possoaveredelformaggiograttugiato?CanIhavesomegratedcheese?
  • Qualeprimodellacasamiconsiglia?
  • Vorrei unapastaaldente
  • Avetedellapastasenzaglutine?Doyouhaveglutenfreepasta?
  • Possiamoavereunaporzioneindue?Canweshareoneportionintwo?
  • Possoavereunaporzioneabbondante?CanIhavealargeportion?
Ilsecondo-Main course

“Primo”and”secondo”canbeequallyconsideredmaincourses,butthesecondoisfarmorediverse.Meatandfish arethemainingredientsofasecondo.

Ifyouorderasteak,thefamousbisteccafiorentina,grilled t-bonesteak, itoften comesalsangue(literally”bloody”rare),butyoucanhaveitcottaapuntino(medium)orbencotta(welldone).

TheItaliancoastlineisverylong,andsoisthemenuofpesce -fishandfruttidimare -seafood.

Bothmeatandfisharecookedindifferentfashions:bollito-boiled,grigliato-grilled,fritto-fried,inumido-stewed,alvapore-steamed,alforno-intheoven,inpadella-panfried.

Dependingonthemaincourseyoucanaskamatchingcontorno,sidedish.Freshandgreenvegetables(verdura)areas commonas theubiquitouspotatoes.

  • Qualesecondodicarne/dipescemiconsiglia?
  • Ilpesceèfrescoosurgelato?(freshorfrozen)
  • Vorreiunabistecca…
  • …alsangue,…cottaapuntino,…bencotta
  • Vorreidelpesce…
  • …alvapore,…grigliato…inumido,
  • …bollito,…fritto,…alforno,…inpadella
  • Percontornovorrei…
  • …dellepatatealforno/bollite/fritte
  • …un’insalataverde/mista
  • …dellaverdurabollita
Bevande-Drinks

Italyisoneofthelargestproducersofwineintheworld.Andmineralwater.Thelatteriseasytoorder.Youcanhaveyouracqua naturale(still)orfrizzante(fizzy).

Youcanorderunacaraffa (apitcher)ofvinodellacasa(housewine)unbicchiere(aglass)orunabottiglia(abottle). Sometimesalocal vinodellacasaischeaperandbetterthanbottledwine.

  • Vorreiunabottigliadiacqua…
  • …naturale
  • …frizzante
  • Vorreiunabottiglia/caraffa/bicchiere
  • divino…
  • …dellacasa
  • …rosso-red
  • …bianco-white
  • …rosato-rosè
  • …fermo-still
  • …frizzante-sparkling
  • …secco-dry
  • …dolce-sweet

 
Dolce,caffè -Dessert,coffee

  • Vorrei lalistadeidolci
  • Vorreiuncaffè
  • …uncappuccino
  • …unamaro
  • ilcontoperfavore

 

Thanksforreading.Trythequizonthispageandwin afreeItalianSkype classwithanativeteacher

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Riccardo
Milanese, graduated in Italian literature a long time ago, I began teaching Italian online in Japan back in 2003. I usually spend winter in Tokyo and go back to Italy when the cherry blossoms shed their petals. I do not use social media.

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