Italian restaurants and courses?

[Jaxson]

Originally Posted by loose cannon

Avoid the bread and rolls. Stay away from Alfredo and other heavy white sauces. Eat salads, seafoods, and red sauce dishes like spaghettin and rigatoni.

But what you have singled out to avoid is what I love.

[minniemouse]

Jaxson

If you come to Italy and you want eat at Italian restaurant, you can order:

1 - appetizer
2 - first dish
3 - second dish
4 - dessert
5 - coffee and liqueur

The service is at the table and no self service.

As appetizer, we use order a seafood or sliced cold meat.
First dish, we can order: pasta or rice
Second dish: meat or fish
dessert
coffee and if you want, liqueur.

If you come to eat pizza...
you can take appetizer,
pizza
dessert
coffee

In almost Italian restaurant, you find tissue tablecloth and bread-sticks.
When you order the second dish, waiter bring you some bread.


The paper tablecloth is only in some restaurant/pizzerie or only in American restaurant.

have a nice day

[Jaxson]

Thanks for your reply minnie I appreciate it. Out of repping powers for now. We are very lacking in my area of any real nice non chain restaurants sadly. Before this thread I thought pasta was the big part of the meal in Italy too. Thanks for sharing!

[minniemouse]

Originally Posted by Jaxson

Thanks for your reply minnie I appreciate it. Out of repping powers for now. We are very lacking in my area of any real nice non chain restaurants sadly. Before this thread I thought pasta was the big part of the meal in Italy too. Thanks for sharing!

ciao Jaxson!

Oh no..pasta isn't the big part of the meal. Pasta is only a typical Italian dish.

if you want, you can eat only pasta with good topping, for example, pasta with ragù or with pesto etc...

At restaurant, we usually take all dishes or some combinations:
appetizer,
second dish
dessert

or
fist
second
dessert

or
appetizer
first
dessert

etc...

my preferences are for:

appetizer
pizza
dessert

[Pilot1]

Originally Posted by tvdxer

It might be for you, but what's wrong with it being a main dish? Nothing better. I'd take a good penne rigate puttanesca or gnocchi in basil pesto any day over a steak.

Rice can be a main dish too, e.g. biryani.

I'm more of a protein guy than a carb guy. I don't like to fill up on carbs. One reason I've been able to stay thin in my middle age. YMMV.

[Pilot1]

Originally Posted by skbs

When I first started to date him I went to a family party at his aunts house (he is Italian) and they came out first thing with this SLAB of lasagna... so I ate it and the whole time he is telling me not to finish it. I finish it... and next thing ya know an old Italian aunt puts another slab in front of me... and I nearly croak.... but then the dishes are cleared and then DINNER comes out! Salad wasnt even next!!!! I was shocked... I had no clue that was just one of the COURSES!!!!! It was my first lesson on the courses of Italian meals.....

Ha! You must have been eating at my family's. You can even say you don't want any, and they pretend not to hear you and it shows up on your plate anyway. Eat it. Trust me.

Especially on holidays or a big Sunday dinner. Italians can spend all day/night at the table continously eating and talking (all at once BTW). You learned a BIG lesson. When you think you've just finished dinner, the dinner comes out. And then there is dessert.

[tvdxer]

Originally Posted by Pilot1

I'm more of a protein guy than a carb guy. I don't like to fill up on carbs. One reason I've been able to stay thin in my middle age. YMMV.

Not me. I'm a carbaholic