More insights to Italian Life in the North, 2019




America Invades Monselice
A few weeks ago we were driving through Monselice, a small town near Venice.  To our surprise, just below the old castle a new restaurant was being built.  It caught our eyes because it look so out of place.  It looked so American against the Italian buildings.  It jumps right out at you.

We have been waiting for it to open, and found online the menu of what they will offer.  A lot of it looks like Bubba Gump’s menu and some of it looks tailored to what they must think is Italian taste.  I found only a few items I would try, but to be honest it seems a bit over priced.  

This week at my local meat market I ordered ground beef.  I have to tell them to grind it twice and I noticed that they grabbed a fairly lean piece of beef to grind.  After making burgers with it we had a discussion of how it tasted.  I have aways been a bit disappointed with Italian beef as it seems a bit loaded with water.  If you cook a burger in a skillet it almost seems to boil rather than fry. Boiling is not good!  However, when making a  pasta  sauce or taco meat this is not a problem.  


32 Euros!!!
This weekend we made a stop at a burger joint which usually has good burgers.   My burger was so lean it had little taste, the fries arrived cold and the bun was very dry. Let's face it, Italians cannot make a good bun, they are flaky and fall apart in your hands under the weight of a good burger.  The trick to eating one is to wrap it with a napkin to hold it together.  
It was not a good day in burger land.   Please notice the prices on this menu.  I bet you have never seen a burger that costs 32 euros before.  I wonder what this world is coming to!   We had smaller burgers, no worry.

I did realize that I must tell my butcher to add in some fat with my ground beef when comparing this meat patty to the ones I get in my village.  They were the same.    

not a full glass, no ice









My first trip to Europe (1973) was a real eye opener for me.  Such things as dogs in restaurants, people eating an apple with a knife and fork, french  fries only with mayonnaise, (no ketchup available) and shelf milk that tastes horrible were strange to me.   Hot dogs served without a bun, white hot dogs in Munich (awesome) where men had this for breakfast with a liter of beer (also only with mustard).   Food was served without free water, you have to buy it by the bottle.   One good thing is that beer was cheaper  than soda, and sometimes nearly the same price as bottled  water.

Back then ice was not available much (small refrigerators) and when my coke arrived it never had ice in it.  You get more value without ice, but it feels like something is missing.  Over the years Europeans have come to know to give Americans ice in their sodas, (but not always).  Here in Italy ice is not served.  Sometimes they will ask if I want ice, and sometimes I have to ask for it.  My wife, who is Italian, really hates ice in a drink.  She says that Italians believe that cold drinks are not good for your stomach and digestion.  So there you go.   

Here's  Looking at You, Kid!
Moo!


Tonight we are having a good friend and his family over for dinner.  I will be making pork tamales, chicken tacos, guacamole and sopapillas.  I don’t think he has ever had a margarita, most Italians drink mojitos instead.  We will also have some mescal, the liquor from Mexico that has the worm in the bottle.  On the table will be two bowls of salsa, one mild for his wife and one with a kick of spicy flavor.  I will show them how to make corn tortillas with a press, something few Italians have seen before. Mexican food is fairlly new here and not well made in restaurants.

Weather here in northern Italy remains cold and overcast.  45 degrees is about the highest temperature it gets here.  So far no snow.  Only two months until I will be looking for the change as the lizards will come out to sun bathe.  This day is the Italian Ground Hog Day for me.


Happy New Year,
Dave

Comments

Alenka said…
I hate ice in my drink.
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