Lagiornatainunbaritaliano,adayinanItalianbar.WearegoingtolearnwhatpeopledrinkandeatinanItalianbarthroughouttheday.Listenandrepeat.
TheItalianbarisaculturalinstitution,aplacewherepeoplesocialize,havebusinessmeetingsora romanticdate,watcha”calcio”matchonTVorsimplyhaveaquickespressoforresettingtheirmind.Let’sseewhatpeopledrinkandeatduringtheday.
MostItalianbarsopenbetween5and6am,whenpeoplewakeupandcommutetowork.TheItalianbreakfastisn’tasrichastheBritishorAmericanone.Athome,peopleusuallyhaveacaffelatte,a simplecoffeeandmilkinabowl,withbiscuitsorfettebiscottate, slicedtoastedbreadwithjamorhoney.InanyItalianbar,youseecustomersliningatthecounteror”albanco”,havingacappuccinoebrioche,asimplecappuccinowithapastry.Ifyouwantanorangejuice,youmaywanttotrythe spremutad’arancia,freshlysqueezedoranges.Somepeopletakeiteasyandsit“altavolo”,atthetable,readingthedailynewspaper,ilquotidiano.TheItalianbreakfastthoughisusuallyfast.
Therearefewdifferenttypesofpastry,butthemostcommononeisthecroissant.InnorthernItalyweusetheFrenchword brioche andincentral-sounternItalywecallit cornetto,fromthewordcorna, horns.Itcanbefilledwithcream,cornettoallacrema,jam,cornettoallamarmellata,orchocolate,cornettoalcioccolato. Thecolazionegoesonuntil10,whenthelastfewpeoplehavebreakfast.
ThenmanyItalianstakeabreakinthemiddleofthemorningforthesocalled,pausacaffè,coffeebreak.Ineverycityitiscommontoseepeopledressedinsuitesorgroupsofworkers havinganespresso,inItaliansimplycalledcaffè.After11,havingacappuccinoisconsideredunusual,becauseit’sreallyabreakfastdrink.
Usethespacebarforpausingtheaudio
BREAKFAST-COLAZIONE
OfcourseyoucanhavelunchinanyItalianbar.Therearetwomaincategoriesofbarsservinglunch.
Tavolafredda literally”coldtable”,isabarservingonlycoldfoodlikepanini, thefamousItaliansandwiches,affettati Italiancuredmeatslikeprosciuttoandsalame; insalata theItaliansalads,includinginsalatadirisoandinsalatadipasta,coldpastaandricewithpickledvegetables,tunaandotheringredients.Tavolafreddaisagoodplaceinsummertime,forafreshandquickmeal.
Tavolacalda”hottable”, isabarservingsomehotfood,inadditiontocolddishesnormallyavailableatlunch,mainlyprimipiatti likepasta,risotto,lasagne,parmgianadimelanzaneetc.Atavolacalda barisusuallybiggerthanatavolafredda, becausetheyhaveasmallkitchen,butit’sstillabar.So,thefoodyougetinatavolacaldaisgoodforaquicklunch,butnormallynotasgoodasatrattoriaoran osteria,typicalsmalllocalrestaurants.Thisisnotaruleofcourse.Youcanfindgoodbarsandbadtrattoria’s.
Bothtavolacaldaandfreddausually proposea menùfisso,afixedpricemenuwithadishortwo,with coperto(breadandservice),bevande(drinks)andacoffee.Tuttoincluso!Allincluded.
Afterlunch,itisalwaystimeforacaffè.That’simportantifyouwanttohaveaproductiveafternoon!
Afterlunch,barmen,ibaristi, getreadyfortheafternoonandeveningdrinks,l’aperitivo.
LUNCH-PRANZO
ThecityofMilanisnicknamed Milanodabere,acitytodrink,becauseitisveryfamousfortheeveningaperitivo.Theaperitivoisameetingwithfriendsandcolleaguesaftertheofficehours.Theaperitivoisnotjustdrinkingtime.Foodiseverywhereandit’sfree.AperitivoispopularinItaly,butinMilanoitissocommonandthecompetitionsofiercethatcustomerscaneatforfreealmosteverywhere.Ifyouorderadrink,youcanhelpyourselfwithfreestuzzichini,appetizers.
Wearenottalkingaboutpeanuts(noccioline)andchips(patatine),butsmallpanini,pasta,rice,vegetablesanddips,meatballs,andotherfingerfood.Attheendoftheaperitivo,itisoftennotnecessarytogohomeandhavedinner.Peoplestayoutforacoupleofmoredrinksandenjoyfreetimewiththeirfriends.Evereyonewins!
Italianbarsinsmallcitiesusuallyclosearounddinnertime.Aftertheaperitivo,peoplegohome.Barsservingtheaperitivoinbiggercities,usuallystayopenuntil2am.
MilanoisthecityofCampari,TorinoofMartini,VeneziaishometoSpritzcocktailandProseccosparklingwine,nothingtoenvytoFrenchchampagne.Asamatteroffact,ProseccoisnowmoresoldthanChampagneinNorthAmericaandothercountries.
APERITIVO
PAROLEUTILI-USEFULWORDS
WehopethisarticleaboutthetypicalItalianbarwillbeuseful.EnjoyyourholidayandbookaSkypeclasswithanativeteacher.
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