This Rookie Mistake When Ordering Food In Italy Is Sure To Hinder Your Dining Experience

Italy's food scene is one of the most renowned in the world. Visitors from all over the globe flock to Italy's top tourist destinations in search of authentic carbonara or cacio e pepe. However, one of the biggest mistakes new tourists make is ordering region-specific dishes in the wrong parts of Italy. Italy's food scene is localized, meaning each region has certain specialties that it's known for. This is because each region has different traditions, cooking techniques, and ingredients that are farmed in its area. 

So while you can get good pasta carbonara anywhere in Italy, Rome is the best place to order the dish. This is also the case for many other iconic Italian dishes: For example, baccalà, or dried and salted codfish, is great in Venice. While the codfish actually comes from the northern seas, baccalà became a popular dish in Venice due to the Catholic Lenten days during the Venetian Renaissance. Another example is gnocchi alla sorrentina, or baked gnocchi with tomato sauce and mozzarella, from the Amalfi Coast. The comfort dish originated in Sorrento and uses authentic Italian tomatoes for the delicious sauce. But, as an outsider, how do you know what to order where?

Doing some research on specialized local dishes for the areas you are planning to visit is a good first step. For example, if you are looking to get the best cuisine in Venice, do some digging on what the best dishes are in the area. This research could be done via online search, or you could seek recommendations from frequent visitors or locals, as one Redditor did. The user, YNGWZRD, made a post asking for recommendations, and the responses did not disappoint. Commenters recommended trying pasta cacio e pepe in Rome and pappa di pomodoro in Florence. Italian chefs recommend going to Naples or Caserta for the most masterful pizza you can find.

You could take advice on the must-try dishes from Rick Steves, as he also has personal recommendations on his website. For the Piedmont region, Steves recommends tasting white truffles and creamy cheeses, while in Cinque Terre, he recommends the fluffy focaccia bread and trofie pasta with pesto sauce. If you still aren't sure, ask your waiter for a specialty dish, and they are sure to suggest their best local pasta dish. Be sure to find authentic Italian restaurants to ensure you are getting the best of the best. Look for restaurants that seem to be for the locals, rather than tourists. If you see some Americanized Italian dishes on the menu, it's probably not going to be as good as the restaurant down the street with an entirely Italian menu.