Lessons I learned while eating in Italy!

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The Italian Meal
Traditional Italian meals are broken into four courses: antipasto, primo, secondo and dolce. Most classic ristoranti will expect you to order at least Antipasto and Secondo or Primo and Secondo courses. When you're eating in Italy, you'll likely want them all:
Antipasto. An appetizer course, sometimes accompanied by an aperitivo, such as a glass of prosecco, a sparkling white wine. Antipasti in Tuscany tend to be light, such as a few slices of bruschetta or crostini, which is bruschetta with a topping.

Primo. The soup or pasta course. Don't think of it as your main meal. Primi are usually starchy, perhaps a risotto or some gnocchi. Portion sizes may be smaller than you expect for pasta, but that's because you're nowhere near being finished.

Secondo. The main dish, usually meat or fish, almost always accompanied by a contorno, or vegetable side dish, that is usually ordered separately.

Dolce. The "sweet" course, although it's more likely to be a cheese. Italians like something to accompany the end of the bottle of wine. There might be fruit and some fresh walnuts, or perhaps a ricotta tart. You can now sit back and sip a glass of vin santo with a few cantucci, as Tuscans call their biscotti, or maybe drink a potent digestivo before balancing a last cup of espresso (sugar but no milk!) on your groaning belly.

Dining in Italy
Go with the flow in Italy's restaurants and feel free to ask the waiters for help. Italians are warm and welcoming to visitors who love their food. Even the humblest trattoria will change its menu based on what looked good in the market that morning, so don't miss out on specials of the day. And don't hesitate to read up on the subject. Mario Batali says, "The best book for travelers to Tuscany is Faith Willinger's Eating in Italy."

Italians tend to dine a little later than Americans, so don't be surprised if the restaurant is empty at 7:00--the locals will start filing in around 9:00. The tip usually already will be on your bill in the coperto, which is the "bread and service" charge, later divided among the restaurant staff. Diners also have the option, but not the obligation, to leave a little extra something on the table just for the person who waited on them.

CHOW.....for now
Chef Robert