Firenze 2006-2007

Travel Guide Part VI: Eating Out

Eating Out is simple enough once you get the basics. There are only some minor differences in European restaurants when compared to American restaurants.
The first thing is that Europeans eat later that Americans. Most places won’t even open for dinner until about seven, and even then all the staff won’t be there and the restaurant will be pretty much empty. This, of course varies by country, but is a general rule. Spain is the one real outlier- it is rare for the locals to eat dinner out there before ten.
Next, don’t plan on ordering, eating, and leaving. Real European, especially Italian meals will take you about two hours to finish- beginning to end. Italians take their time with most everything, and eating is no exception. If you want to rush the process along like a true American, you’re still looking at a good hour, at least for a dinner at a restaurant.
In general, you don’t have to tip the waiters, but because it is pretty easy for most people to tell Americans from Europeans (the language and clothes are key), waiters will expect you to tip. You can go either way. If you are in a touristy part of town, then try to pass yourself off as a European and don’t tip, but if you’re off the beaten path, then tip. But you can look at this from the opposite angles too- tip in the touristy parts and don’t in the parts mostly frequented by locals. It’s up to you.
When you order a drink anytime in Europe, don’t expect to get hardly any ice in it like we do here in America. Usually, when you order a soda or water you will get one piece of ice, if any. Should you want more ice, you’ll have to ask for it.
Traditional Italian meals consist of three or four courses, and if you go into a restaurant it will be the same story. You have to order everything separately, and it may come separately. One example is if someone in your party orders pasta and another a chicken dish, the person that orders pasta may get their food a good ten to fifteen minutes before the person that ordered chicken. This is not always the case, but it does happen. Another thing– it is not required that you order all the courses of a meal, just know about them.
When you want the check, don’t expect your waiter to bring it to you in most places. Italians take their time with everything, so they won’t bring the check until you ask for it, and you may have to do so several times.
That’s about it as far as eating out goes. It isn’t hard to pick out the places that are aimed at the tourists- they are the ones with a lot of English around. While some of these places are good and convenient, the best places are the local treasures that are sometimes a long way out of the way. Best piece of advice I can give is to explore and find a place that looks inviting for a local.

posted by Daniel Williams @ 01:00