What makes good Italian food and a great Italian restaurant? This just what I think.
Italy has a wonderful tradition of fine food. Italian food’s importance to Italian culture can’t be overstated. It is one of several central elements, and why shouldn’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 skyrocketing seasons and soil types. This means a rich diversity of ingredients for food.
It is a peninsula, meaning might be nearly surrounded using the sea but also connected to terrific Eurasian land bulk. There is an abundance of fresh seafood and foreign ingredients from neighboring lands.
It sits between Europe and Africa in the Med. All Mediterranean cultures have excellent food traditions from North Africa to Lebanon and Israel, France, Greece, Spain and, of course, England.
When you regarding noodles and pasta, you probably think of Italy, but those wonderful inventions reached Italy from China thanks to Marco Polo. It notifies you a lot about Italian food culture that something so basic became connected with Italy even although it did not originate there.
Anyway, food is often a key element of Italian culture. Therefore, the food is easily important part of the restaurant. Of course, a great Italian restaurant will have a great wine list, a clean and elegant decor, and wonderful service, but a first rate Italian restaurant will immediately get by on great food alone, regardless if they have a crummy wine list, poor service, which has a dingy decoration framework.
By the way, if you leave an “Italian” restaurant hungry, it’s not always authentic. A white tablecloth and high bill do rather than a great bistro make. Frankly, I can’t stand those fancy Italian restaurants in Manhattan that impose $400 for a morsel that forces you to 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 200 dollars per month. The service will be warm and professional, but not overly friendly. After the orders are taken and the meal gets rolling, 200 dollars per month should be nearly invisible. Run — don’t walk — from any Italian restaurant where the waitperson address the table like this:
“How you doin’ today?” when ladies are seated at the table. This is most un-Italian industry experts. An Italian would never call ladies “guy.” There is spaghetti-and-meatballs-type places, the waiter might say, “How is everyone at some point?” The won’t tarry with small talk in the white-tablecloth places, not numerous ones, need. It is all about the meal likewise comfort.
The third aspect of any great Italian restaurant will be the ambiance. I don’t know what it is, but Italians seem to be able carryout a wonderful atmosphere anywhere. I have eaten at places in strip malls in the suburban areas of Denver — as un-romantic an environment as have to — that come close to great. A truly outstanding Italian restaurant will just possess a certain feeling from the instant you walk in the door, a warmth and a glow that can’t really be described.
So the priorities are food first, service second, and a ambiance three rd. If all three are met, you have found a great Italian small business.
Ciro & Sal’s
4 Kiley Ct, Provincetown, MA 02657
(508) 487-6444