What makes good Italian food and a great Italian restaurant? This precisely what I think.
Italy has a wonderful tradition of fine things you eat. Italian food’s importance to Italian culture is not to 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 mile after mile from north to south. Therefore, offers wide array of accelerating seasons and soil types. This means a rich diversity of ingredients for food.
It is a peninsula, meaning is nearly surrounded using the sea but also connected to the main reason Eurasian land mass. 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 involving 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 although it did not originate there.
Anyway, food is really a key element of Italian culture. Therefore, the food is regarded as important part of this restaurant. Of course, a great Italian restaurant will possess a great wine list, a clean and elegant decor, and wonderful service, but a first rate Italian restaurant can have by on great food alone, even if they have a crummy wine list, poor service, having a dingy decoration pattern.
By the way, if you leave an “Italian” restaurant hungry, it’s far from authentic. A white tablecloth and high bill do not really a huge great bistro making. Frankly, I can’t stand those fancy Italian restaurants in Manhattan that charge 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 aspect of a great Italian restaurant is needed. The service will be warm and professional, but not overly friendly. Recognized 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’ tonite?” when ladies are seated while dining. This is most un-Italian with them. An Italian would never call a woman “guy.” Even in spaghetti-and-meatballs-type places, the waiter might say, “How is everyone for dinner?” The won’t tarry with small talk in the white-tablecloth places, not the good ones, in the wild. It is all about the meal properly comfort.
The third aspect of any great Italian restaurant will be the ambiance. I am not sure what it is, but Italians could be seen as able to have a wonderful atmosphere anywhere. I have eaten at places in strip malls in the suburban areas of Denver — as un-romantic a setting as can be — that come close to great. A completely outstanding Italian restaurant will just have a certain feeling from as soon as you walk in the door, a warmth and too a glow that can’t often be described.
So the priorities are food first, service second, and a ambiance three rd. If all three are met, you are recommending a great Italian restaurant.
Ciro & Sal’s
4 Kiley Ct, Provincetown, MA 02657
(508) 487-6444