Published on Sunday, March 26, 2017 by Kathy McCabe Coffee, a cultural staple in Rome, has long been among Italy’s, and the world’s, cheapest cups of espresso. That may change, though, as coffee prices are set to increase at bars all over the city. Romans, entrenched in the national coffee culture like most Italians, will have to pay 10 to 20 cents more for their morning jolt. Currently, espressos commonly cost onl...

Published on Thursday, January 19, 2017 by Kathy McCabe The Italian region of Lombardy has been chosen as one of the 2017 European Regions of Gastronomy, which aims to “showcase the gastronomic creativity, identity and dynamism of Europe’s regions” and to promote the integration between food, culture, creativity and tourism. The four cities in eastern Lombardy represented in the designation are Bergamo, Brescia, Crem...

Published on Sunday, December 4, 2016 by Kathy McCabe The 2017 Michelin restaurant guide has been released, listing a total of 343 restaurants in Italy among the best in the world. In this year’s guide, Italy has eight three-star restaurants, 41 two-star restaurants, and 294 one-star restaurants, including a total of 28 new entries. The three-star restaurants – the highest category – are: Da Vittorio in Brusapor...

Published on Saturday, August 13, 2016 by Kathy McCabe Italian cuisine is among the best in the world, and its delectable, gourmet dishes embody the passion of a country devoted to cooking as craft. Italian-American food is also delicious, ranking high on the list of staple comfort foods that are easy to prepare. To the surprise of many Americans who visit Italy, though, there’s not always overlap between the two. The ...

Published on Wednesday, March 9, 2016 by Kathy McCabe At the suggestion of the Italian government, the country’s UNESCO heritage commission plans to propose that the art of making Neapolitan pizza be included on the United Nations’ Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list. The proposal would officially distinguish Neapolitan pizza from other world-famous styles of pizza such as New York-style and Chicago-style...

Published on Saturday, January 23, 2016 by Kathy McCabe The famous tramezzino sandwich, which originated in the Caffè Mulassano di Piazza Castello in Turin in 1925, celebrated its 90th birthday last week. A version of an English tea sandwich, the Italian classic is made from two slices of crust-less white sandwich bread and cut into triangles. Popular fillings include tuna and olive, as well as prosciutto, but the Caffè ...

Published on Monday, January 18, 2016 by Kathy McCabe A recent trend shows young Italians may be straying from the longstanding tradition of eating family meals at their parents’ house every night, instead favoring a new appetizer-heavy dining concept served in bars, called apericena. Mamma has reigned as queen of the Italian kitchen for what seems like forever, with mamma’s or nonna’s cooking a symbol of home. Tha...

Published on Saturday, December 26, 2015 by Kathy McCabe Perhaps the last thing that comes to mind when thinking of Italy is the Aztecs – but, in one of Italy’s many peculiarities and well-kept secrets, the Sicilian town of Modica  is famous for Aztec chocolate. Passing on their discovery of an interesting new food called xocolatl from the New World, Spanish conquistadors introduced the chocolate to Sicily during the i...

Published on Sunday, September 21, 2014 by Kathy McCabe Ah, Italy, the country of romance. Here's a truly unique romantic experience in Italy - have an entire restaurant to yourself! Solo per Due (Just for Two) is the world’s smallest restaurant, with just one table for two. Guests arrive at the restaurant along a candlelit pathway and are personally greeted by the chef, and unsurprisingly, the restaurant is often the ...

Published on Monday, March 24, 2014 by Kathy McCabe Romans take their food shopping seriously. Gathering staples and ingredients for the coming days is more of a time-honored ritual than a series of errands. Two thirty-something Rome women wanted to capture this experience for visitors to the city and the Rome Gourmet Walking Tour was born. On a sunny Saturday morning, our guide,  Gaetano, an affable and erudite re...