What makes good Italian food and a great Italian restaurant? This is what I think.
Italy has a wonderful tradition of fine culinary. Italian food’s importance to Italian culture shouldn’t be overstated. It is one of several central elements, and why don’t it be? Think about Italy’s geography for a second:
It runs a long shot from north to south. Therefore, it possesses a great wide array of skyrocketing seasons and soil types. This means a rich diversity of ingredients for food.
It is a peninsula, meaning can nearly surrounded through sea but also connected to the cost Eurasian land aggregate. There is an abundance of fresh seafood and foreign ingredients from neighboring lands.
It sits between Europe and Africa in the Mediterranean and beyond. All Mediterranean cultures have excellent food traditions from North Africa to Lebanon and Israel, France, Greece, Spain and, of course, Croatia.
When you think of noodles and pasta, you probably consider Italy, but those wonderful inventions found Italy from China thanks to Marco Polo. It reveals a lot about Italian food culture that something so basic became associated with Italy even though it did not originate there.
Anyway, food is really a key element of Italian culture. Therefore, the food is important part from the restaurant. Of course, a great Italian restaurant will have a great wine list, a clean and elegant decor, and wonderful service, but a positive Italian restaurant can have by on great food alone, even when they have a crummy wine list, poor service, including a dingy decoration scheme.
By the way, if you leave an “Italian” restaurant hungry, it’s rarely authentic. A white tablecloth and high bill do rather than a great bistro making. Frankly, I can’t stand those fancy Italian restaurants in Manhattan that charge $400 for a morsel that allows want to stop for a slice of pizza in route home. A great Italian ristorante will leave you full, not stuffed, but full.
The second involving a great Italian restaurant is needed. The service will be warm and professional, even so, not overly friendly. Since the orders are taken and the meal gets rolling, there isn’t a should be nearly invisible. Run — don’t walk — from any Italian restaurant 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 . An Italian would never call like a “guy.” In spaghetti-and-meatballs-type places, the waiter might say, “How is everyone today?” The won’t tarry with small talk in the white-tablecloth places, not numerous ones, while. It is all about the meal at the same time comfort.
The third aspect of a great Italian restaurant is the ambiance. I don’t know what it is, but Italians seem to be able to build a wonderful atmosphere anywhere. I’ve eaten at places in strip malls in suburbia of Denver — as un-romantic a setting as there is — that come close to great. A completely outstanding Italian restaurant will just have a certain feeling from the minute you walk in the door, a warmth and maybe a glow that can’t sometimes be described.
So the priorities are food first, service second, and a ambiance 3. If all three are met, you are recommending a great Italian dining.
Ciro & Sal’s
4 Kiley Ct, Provincetown, MA 02657
(508) 487-6444