All posts in category Food

A Town Called Lucca

Ciao Readers! And Happy (early) Birthday Selma!

The last weekend of Steve’s break we took a trip to Lucca, a little less than an hour and a half by train from Florence (thanks again for the spare ticket, goal42). Lucca is a lovely little Tuscan town, completely encircled by a wall (built for defense purposes in the 1500 – 1600’s), and laid out in its original ancient Roman street plan (rectangular grid). You have to walk through one of the cool “portas” (gates) to enter the town (the one we walked through is pictured).

As with many of the smaller towns we’ve visited in Italy (Orvieto, San Miniato), Lucca had a much friendlier and more relaxed vibe than Florence. I can’t help but think that if we were living in one of the smaller towns we’d be having a different (i.e. less stressful) experience. Part of the charm of Lucca is its wall, the top of which has been turned into a tree-lined park, complete with running trail. More of the charm of Lucca comes from its nearly car (and dog poo) free streets; you can actually take a leisurely stroll without fear of being either being run over or of taking your eyes off the sidewalks to admire the amazing architecture. Ahhhhhh…..

Of course, it never hurts adding a fabulous lunch into the mix. I had found Piccola Osteria Lucca Drento online, and it had glowing reviews in both English and Italian. While it is a tiny place (hence the name), the quality of food was suburb and we had a long, relaxing and delicious meal. Below is a photo of our gorgeous salumi and cheese antipasti (which came with the first multi-grain bread we’ve been served in Italy). Now, I’ve had my share of pork products since we arrived, so believe me when I tell you the charcuterie on the platter was exemplary – even the two prosciuttos had completely unique flavors from one another. Add in a couple of secondi (pork with mushrooms for Steve, baccala [cod] with ceci [garbanzo beans] for me), some vino, and finish with the requisite cafes – YUM!

After lunch we strolled the town for a while, encountering winter festivities including an ice-skating rink, and happening upon several interesting churches (every town in Italy seems to have these cool old churches, Lucca just seemed to have more than usual, and they are really old – 11th through 13th centuries). Notice the interesting detail in the columns and the mosaic (both created in the 13th century!)…. (as usual, it was cloudy/hazy, so forgive the flatness in the photos):

As always, thanks for coming along on our trip!

18 Comments

by Newmexicotoitaly on January 18, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Food, Trips In Italy

Tagged Lucca, Piccola Osteria Lucca Drento

Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on January 18, 2013

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2013/01/18/a-town-called-lucca/

The Groceries of My Dreams

Ciao Readers!

In looking back through this blog, it’s almost scary how much time I spend thinking about food… and here I am again (sorry, you have to wait till Monday to read about the Guggenheim!). Sometimes in life ya just gotta give in and spend some time wistfully daydreaming about things; for me that means dreaming of what I would buy at the grocery if I could (i.e., if it were available, not if I could afford it [like caviar]). Here’s the stuff dreams are made of:

Groceries I Dream About Now

Poore Brothers’ jalapeno potato chips
a bag of restaurant-style extra thin/crispy tortilla chips
really HOT salsa to dip those chips in (a nice local NM favorite like Sadie’s or El Pinto)
roasted green chiles (this time of year, ones that were fresh-frozen)
Tostito’s queso (yeah, I know, not very glamorous, but add green chile and YUM!)
a bag of shredded cheddar/Monterrey jack/Colby mix
pecans
ziploc bags
sour cream that’s sour (and yogurt that’s got a bite)
good quality cold cuts of the non-pork variety
Reese’s peanut-butter cups, Andes mints, Hershey’s kisses (it’s weird, they have yummy chocolate here [though rather hazelnut-centric], I just miss my comfort candies)
100% juice other than orange (ooooo, maybe a nice pomegranate/cranberry combo)

(There are many other foods about which I dream – huevos, bagels, pho, pad thai – but this list was solely for the grocery store in my dreams.)

And, as it is my goal to be “fair and balanced,” I also include a list of:

Groceries I’ll Dream of Back in the States

several varieties of fresh pesto
many varieties of delicious prosciutto
countless varieties of pecorino cheese
truffle stuff! (sauce, butter, cheese, spread)
fresh (and CHEAP) loaves of Italian bread
dry pasta in every shape and size you could imagine (also CHEAP), and tons of fresh pasta as well
Ciobar (ridiculously thick hot chocolate mix)
whole rabbits (okay, that one will actually be in my grocery nightmares…)

Ah, the stuff of dreams:

What groceries would you/do you miss if you couldn’t/can’t get them?

13 Comments

by Newmexicotoitaly on January 11, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Culture Shock, Diversions to Other Places, Food

Tagged food, gorceries, jalepeno potato chips, pecorino, proscuito, Sadie's, salsa, tortilla chips, truffle

Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on January 11, 2013

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2013/01/11/the-groceries-of-my-dreams/

(More) Florence Foreign Food Finds

Ciao Readers!

As I mentioned in my New Years’ post, over the holiday break we took time to try out (or re-try-out) the local ethnic dives (Rosticceria). Also as I’ve mentioned in a much earlier post, Rosticceria are Italy’s answer to fast food. However, the ethnic food places are a bit different than the Italian ones. Unlike the spic-and-span take-away-only Italian Rosticceria downstairs about which I have written, these places usually have tiny tables and are total hole-in-the-walls (and are usually more frequented by other immigrants than Italians/tourists).

After reading a sign on the wall of our new favorite Chinese place, I learned that technically Rosticceria aren’t suppose to offer you table service (the sign, loosely translated, said that the tables are there as a courtesy, but by law they cannot serve you at them). I guess this puts them in some more affordable/less regulated category than a restaurant (and explains why you have to get your own drinks from the fridge and can get an entire plate of Sri Lankin food for 3.50 euros!). (After I read the sign I also felt better about/understood why when I tried to hand the owner our empty [plastic] plates she shook her head and walked away in a way that made me feel like I had asked her to commit a crime.) The amenities and service are spartan (putting it nicely), but if you’re willing, there’s a world of delicious and cheap ethnic food to be had (if you can find them)!

For example, we passed the Sri Lankin place on several occasions before daring to enter, the delicious smell finally winning over our fears about its less-than-welcoming appearance (and lucky us – it’s delicious! kinda like less heavy/more spicy Indian food). We were even more pleasantly surprised when our entire bill for lunch and drinks was only 10 euros! Let’s see…we had Indian, Chinese, Sri Lankin (fun fact, Sri Lankin food is customarily eaten with your hands [though we used a fork]), and Peruvian (the last two being foods we had never tried before Italy). Here are the Sri Lankin and Peruvian Places:

Okay, now I think it’s time for lunch….

5 Comments

by Newmexicotoitaly on January 7, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Culture Shock, Food

Tagged Peruvian food, Rosticceria, Sri Lankin Food

Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on January 7, 2013

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2013/01/07/more-florence-foreign-food-finds/

Happy 2013! (While you were away….)

Ciao Readers! Happy New Year and Welcome Back!!! I missed you!

I hope everyone had happy, warm and safe holidays. How were our holidays? Well, thanks for asking…

Over the past couple of weeks Steve and I took time to relax (yay!), tour Italy a bit, and eat (too much, as required this time of year). We started off on Steve’s first weekend off by finally having our “Thanksgiving” meal (hey, it was only about 3+ weeks late). Since I already made a pumpkin pie in a test-run, I decided to go for my s’mores pie instead. I made the crust from Filipino graham crackers I got at Vivi Market (also where I got the [Swiss] marshmallows). It wasn’t 100% spot-on, but delicious nonetheless:

We did the usual “Thanksgiving” ritual – eating while we watched holiday movies (less traditionally, on a lap-top). Here’s one of the cats enjoying Pee Wee’s Christmas Special:

In addition to celebrating “Thanksgiving,” we tried out (or re-tried-out) some local ethnic dives (Rosticceria), which are so yummy they get their own post. We also went on a “road trip” to Venice (and are planning one to Lucca this week), and those will also get their own posts in the near future. We took time to revisit and newly visit museums covered by our cool Uffizi card as it expired Dec. 31st. (And, of course, we did less exciting things (read books, cleaned house)).

Finally…for the first time in about 20 years (O-M-G, I am O-L-D!) we left the house on New Year’s Eve. As I’ve mentioned before, it feels entirely safe here walking around just about any time of night (well, any time we’re still awake). At about 9:00 p.m. we ventured out to walk the various piazzas and take in the live music that was scheduled. Little did we realize that 9:00 p.m. was way too early for the festivities to begin. As you can see from the empty band stand behind me, not much was happening at that time (not sure what I was thinking, 9:00 p.m. is barely dinner time here!).

So, after strolling a rather quiet city, we returned home. We did discover that there are fireworks all over town at midnight (though from what I understand, not sanctioned) and from our roof terrace we got to watch the city alight:

All in all, putting aside a few days of my being under the weather and the fact that it was cold and still raining much of the time (seriously, enough with the rain already!), we had a lovely few weeks off. Here’s to the new year!

10 Comments

by Newmexicotoitaly on January 2, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Culture Shock, Food

Tagged holidays, Holidays in Italy, New Years Eve, Rosticceria, Thanksgiving

Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on January 2, 2013

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2013/01/02/happy-2013-while-you-were-away/

Fun Fact (featuring a pasta-eating quiz)

Ciao Readers!

Sorry if the title threw you – no, I have not found a way to provide an actual eating experience on my blog (yet). (Nor will the quiz, below, be consuming any pasta.) Today’s fun fact is in the form of a poll about how much pasta Italians v. Americans eat. Mind you, I did as much research as I could (also some taste-testing) and the answer to the quiz represents the numbers that appeared most frequently and in the most reliable sources (there’s just way too much info in cyberspace). So, on with today’s quiz:

So, unfortunately, poll-daddy on wordpress is really for just for polls, not quizzes, so the only way for you to know if you got the answer right is for me to tell you. If I just type it, it will take the fun out of taking the quiz, cause you’ll see the answer below. Instead, take the quiz first. (Yes, right now, before you read another word.) Okay, have you taken it? Seriously?

Alright, now for the answer….I’ll give you a hint…it’s not the first, second or third option… (Yep, that’s about a pound a week for those of you doing the math!)

Thanks for playing along! (I don’t know about you, but I am really enjoying these “fun facts,” though I just realized that unlike the others, this one is not based on a gripe…..and it’s making me kinda hungry.)

7 Comments

by Newmexicotoitaly on December 13, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Food, Fun Facts

Tagged pasta, pasta consumption in Italy, pasta consumption in United States

Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on December 13, 2012

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2012/12/13/fun-fact-pasta-eating-quiz/

Seriously, MORE Festivals?!?! (yes, but this time there’s cheddar!)

Ciao Readers!

Okay, if you’re tired of hearing about all of the festivals here, this is not the post for you. Then again, if you’re a festival junkie like me, read on…

It’s almost hard for me to believe how many festivals there are here in Florence. I think I’ve just decided that festivals are a part of everyday life – like little food markets, the passeggiata and cappuccinos (and, “purtroppo,” the post office). Seriously, I can’t remember a weekend in the past several months where there wasn’t at least one festival or festival-like happening. And now that it’s the holiday season…well, you can do the math!

This past week marked the start of the German Christmas Market which runs for about 3 weeks in Piazza Santa Croce (recall this is where the European Food Festival was held). It’s a little like that festival (complete with wurst), but with more permanent and holiday-adorned stalls, as well as more non-food gift items (pictures below). There’s also the addition of a cold-weather treat we sampled – mulled wine (pictured in Steve’s hand) – we could not put our finger on what gave it its unique flavor (wine, spices, and….varnish?).

While all of that was fun enough, the festival came to an exciting crescendo when we came across the gentleman from England and his wondrous booth of… CHEDDAR CHEESE!!!! (I actually yelled out-loud, in English, “OMG, he has CHEDDAR CHEESE!!!”) Okay, now those of you reading this back in the States may be thinking “huh, what’s the big deal?” I’ll tell you what the big deal is – it is the first time in 4 months we’ve had a taste of real cheddar cheese (and we used to eat this stuff by the pounds back in ABQ)! (You may recall I have said you can get [very expensive] cheddar at Pegna, which is true, but the taste is not spot-on). Not only does the English chap (pictured) have cheddar cheese, but he has a mind-boggling array of varieties (with jalapenos anyone?). I think we were too overwhelmed by excitement (and taste-testing) to make coherent choices, but we did come home with two blocks (some of which will make its way into enchiladas tomorrow night; while we have no green chile, I did bring dried red). We’ve agreed it’s worth the splurge, so before the festival ends we are going to go back and get one of the flavor assortment wheels pictured. Woo Hoo!!! (I actually had to e-mail another expat who I know stays on the lookout for cheddar as well – she responded with similar enthusiasm [“Yuuuuuum. How totally exciting!!”]).

I know it’s been a blog-post-filled week – thanks for reading and have a great weekend!!!

7 Comments

by Newmexicotoitaly on December 7, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Culture Shock, Food

Tagged cheddar cheese, Christmas Festivals, CHristmas Markets, culture shock, Festivals in Florence, food festivals, food markets

Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on December 7, 2012

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2012/12/07/seriously-more-festivals-yes-but-this-time-theres-cheaddar/

Our Favorite Local Pizzeria

Ciao Readers!

I have talked about a pizza-review post for a while, but have failed to deliver. I think the reason is, there are some things that they just do right here (like gelato, olive oil, wine, pasta….), making it really hard to pick the “best.” What it really comes down to is that there are several places that do things very well, and you end up picking the one where the folks are the nicest. Such is the case in our pizza quest. (But in case you’re wondering, we both prefer thin-crust pizzas, more crispy than not.)

Now don’t get me wrong – not everyone does pizza well. There are tons of pre-made pizza places in town where you just pick the kind you want from the display case and they heat it up for you (barely). In my humble opinion, these pizzas are really inferior (not only due to being tepid in temperature, but also in flavor), and with so much good pizza in town, why eat this stuff?! (Okay, one answer is real pizza places don’t open till 7:30 at night, while these heat-and-eat places may be open all day, but still…) “Fast-food” pizza:

“Real” pizza is made on-the-spot in a super-hot brick oven – it only takes about 90 seconds for one to cook, so it’s worth the “wait” for the real deal. We’ve only tried places in our neighborhood so far, as ya want the pizza hot when you get it home. The two runners-up in our neighborhood are La Luna (pictured first) and Le Stagioni (pictured next). La Luna actually makes pretty yummy pizza, but they are the most expensive and least friendly (not unfriendly, just comparatively less so), so lose for subjective, non-taste-related reasons. The folks at Le Stagioni are very friendly and their pizza is good, but just a little undercooked for my taste (notice the crust color), so they come in a close second (sorry for the pics – sorta like apples and oranges as the first was a specialty pizza and the second was a plain margherita):

Our “winner” is…… Fuori Piazza Restaurant (nope, not a type-o, piazza, not pizza). Their pizza tastes great (and is nice and crispy) and they are super friendly. The restaurant itself looks like a cozy local joint and next time (if we can wait that late), we’ll probably actually sit down instead of ordering pizza to go (they also have pasta and risotto dishes). Here are both their margherita pizza as well as one with ham and zucchini: