What makes good Italian food and a great Italian restaurant? This is what I think.
Italy has a wonderful tradition of fine nutrients. Italian food’s importance to Italian culture can not overstated. It is among the many central elements, and why don’t it be? Think about Italy’s geography for a second:
It runs a long way from north to south. Therefore, it possesses a great wide array of accelerating seasons and soil types. This means a rich diversity of ingredients for food.
It is a peninsula, meaning can nearly surrounded with sea but also connected to the cost Eurasian land muscle. 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, England.
When you think of noodles and pasta, you probably think about Italy, but those wonderful inventions found Italy from China thanks to Marco Polo. It tells you a lot about Italian food culture that something so basic became associated with Italy even though it did not originate there.
Anyway, food is often a key element of Italian culture. Therefore, the food is easily important part within the restaurant. Of course, a great Italian restaurant will possess a great wine list, a clean and elegant decor, and wonderful service, but a good Italian restaurant can have by on great food alone, whether or not they have a crummy wine list, poor service, including a dingy decoration pattern.
By the way, if you leave an “Italian” restaurant hungry, it’s rarely authentic. A white tablecloth and high bill do attain a great great bistro making. Frankly, I can’t stand those fancy Italian restaurants in Manhattan that cost you $400 for a morsel that allows want to stop for a slice of pizza en route home. A great Italian ristorante will leave you full, not stuffed, but full.
The second involving a great Italian restaurant is the service. The service will be warm and professional, even though overly friendly. After the orders are taken and the meal gets rolling, the service should be nearly invisible. Run — don’t walk — from any Italian restaurant where the waitperson address the table like this:
“How all of you doin’ tonight?” when ladies are seated while dining. This is most un-Italian . An Italian would never call girls “guy.” In spaghetti-and-meatballs-type places, the waiter might say, “How is everyone tonite?” The won’t tarry with small talk in the white-tablecloth places, not numerous ones, however. It is all about the meal at the same time comfort.
The third aspect of one great Italian restaurant is the ambiance. I not really know what it is, but Italians seem to be able carryout a wonderful atmosphere anywhere. I’ve eaten at places in strip malls in the suburbs of Denver — as un-romantic a setting as can be — that come close to great. An actually outstanding Italian restaurant will just have a certain feeling from the instant you walk in the door, a warmth and maybe a glow that can’t often be described.
So the priorities are food first, service second, and a ambiance 3. If all three are met, you can recommend a great Italian restaurant.
Ciro & Sal’s
4 Kiley Ct, Provincetown, MA 02657
(508) 487-6444