Posted Sun Apr 30, 2006, 6:06am Subject: Re: Recommendations for Cafe in Italy and Spain.
Ko, you're too funny! In Rome, you'll find about 35 espresso places on every block, and most of them serve nice coffee. Try as many as you can! More importantly, when you get to Barcelona, make sure you visit the Sagre Familia Cathedral by Gaudi and as many other things designed by Gaudi as you can. They're as worthwhile as the coffee. And also remember, that anyone who eats dinner before 10 PM in Spain is a tourist. Have fun. Michael
In many of Spain's smaller towns (e.g. La Coruma) they won't even allow you to sit down before ~9:30!! But...O!...the joys once you do get to sit and eat...especially in the state of Galicia (pronounced: Ga-LEE-sthee-ah).
MG is correct about Roma...and I think it applies even more so to Milano.
My tips for you:
Try the ice cream in Roma, but beware! Once you try it, you will find yourself buying it several times a day.
Indeed, try coffee (espresso) at any of the thousands of bars you run into. You might find it fun to take notes and report back to us like I did in Germany click here or Sweden click here.
Milano is a great city...but beware of the Gypsy pickpockets, especially near the Duomo. Don't eat for several days before you get to Milan so that you can eat 5 or 6 meals a day when there. The cuisine in the north of Italy really is superior to that in the rest of Italy.
When in Milano, you are close to some other very interesting places, vide: Venice and Udine. Udine is charming but takes some "getting used to". Venice is magic from the first moment if you eschew the tourist stuff. Tourist stuff consists of ANY restaurant owned by Turks, Iranians, Moroccans, or any non-Italian (if they have really big steaks and such in the window and offer them at really good prices, just keep walking) + Piazza San Marco at dinnertime or thereafter (until the tourists have gone to bed).
ENJOY!!!
Len
Don't let this picture of Udine fool you. Udine is not so charming looking.
Posted Wed May 24, 2006, 9:31am Subject: Re: Recommendations for Cafe in Italy and Spain.
Len
Thanks for the tips and recommendations but I have returned from my trip. However, I will keep them in mind when I visit again. I plan to do so as my wife and I really enjoyed ourselves there.
I had a great time in Milan and not just the attractions but also both for coffee and excellent food. How I miss it.....
I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed the food and the coffee in Milan, my hometown since about a year, but it kind of amazes me to hear about how the food and the coffee in nortern Italy is the best in Italy. I have lived in different parts of Italy for several years and visited just about every region, and I must say that Milan sucks in both aspects (food and coffee) when compared to just about any other part of Italy. Regarding food and coffee I'd say that it is just like any other big city; you can get good stuff from all over the world (and from most parts od Italy) but it is not as good as the original versions and most of the time a lot more expensive.
I don't really want to put down Milan, which is a great city, but rather promote the other, more genuine, parts of Italy.
tlew12778 Senior Member Joined: 4 Sep 2006 Posts: 1 Location: Milan, Italy Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Mon Sep 4, 2006, 4:18am Subject: Re: Recommendations for Cafe in Italy and Spain.
For future reference, in Milan, there is a rather famous torrefazione called Torrefezione Vercelli on Corso Vercelli. They roast everyday and wll grind for your machine (although most other torrefazione in Milan will also do so).
I, personally, find the espresso from Vercelli a little too robust. The miscela bar is so strong it will give you headache just from the sheer smell of the beans in the bag. I generally buy the miscela oro (17 euro a kilo).
I also just found a really old torrefazione in Piazza Napoli. I think their machine is from the 40s or 50s and it produces a great espresso. I started buying beans there bc it's a lot closer to my apt and it's a lot cheaper (13 euro for a kilo). I like the taste better. I stick to miscela sublime, but I've also tried the miscela bar and miscela fine.
For the person who said the food here sucks, you have no idea what you're talking about. I've lived in Italy for the last 8 years and I have found the food in Milan to be superior to that in Rome and Florence. Admittedly it depends on where you go and how well you know the cities, but I'll still take Milan anytime. Now, if you want to talk about wine, that's a different story.
european Senior Member Joined: 10 Aug 2005 Posts: 41 Location: Europe Expertise: Professional
Posted Mon Sep 4, 2006, 6:06am Subject: Re: Recommendations for Cafe in Italy and Spain.
tlew12778 Said:
For the person who said the food here sucks, you have no idea what you're talking about. I've lived in Italy for the last 8 years and I have found the food in Milan to be superior to that in Rome and Florence. Admittedly it depends on where you go and how well you know the cities, but I'll still take Milan anytime. Now, if you want to talk about wine, that's a different story.
Well, well. As the person being mentioned in your posting I guess I should defend myself... (Don't worry I didn't get offended).
I've lived in (different parts of) Italy for 4 years, one of them in Milan, so I also do know a bit about what I'm talking about. I didn't say that the food in Milan sucks, just that you can get a lot better food in other places in Italy (it will also be more genuine and served in a less stressed environment). Milano doesn't really have as much culinary traditions as other parts of Italy, you will however find some nice restaurants (I mean it's a big, metropolitan city where you can find just about anything). But most of the food is cooked by people that have moved in from other parts of Italy and its their dishes not Milanese dishes. Milano is also a lot more about image than other places in Italy, if a place looks good its probably gonna be full even if what the serve is (by italian standards) not great.
Don't really know Rome that well so I won't say anything about that. But I do feel that you can get better food in other cities than Milan. I mean in the Parma and Modena area you have parma ham, parmesan cheese, etc. In Bologna you have great Tortellinis/-onis, Mortadella, wildswine, ragu (commonly known as bolognese), etc. In Ligury you have pesto, limoncello (I know its not food); in Veneto polenta and some great meat dishes; in Piemonte great mushroom, homemade pasta, etc; in Sardegna incredible seafood, in Naples pizza, in Tuscany some great ham, fish, fiorentina steaks, vegetables, etc. I could go o forever about these regions while Lombardy basically only has risotto (which of course can be really good if well made) and Milanese steaks (which I am not that crazy about).
I think Milan is a great place to live in (am actually contemplating moving back) but it's definitely NOT where you should go to if you come to Italy for food, wine and beautiful sceneries. If you like a pulsating big city with good nightlife and shopping it's great however. And there are some very NICE places to go visit nearby (Lago di Como, Lago Maggiore, Lugano and Lucano in Switzerand, Bergamo, etc, etc.
I do apologize about the long post but once you get started writing about something that you're passionate about it can be hard to stop.
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