What makes good Italian food and a great Italian restaurant? This exactly what I think.
Italy has a wonderful tradition of fine things you eat. Italian food’s importance to Italian culture can’t be overstated. It is on the list of central elements, and why don’t it be? Think about Italy’s geography for a second:
It runs the distance from north to south. Therefore, it has a wide array of growing seasons and soil types. This means a rich diversity of ingredients for food.
It is a peninsula, meaning it is nearly surrounded in the sea but also connected to the great Eurasian land size. 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, Toscana.
When you consider noodles and pasta, you probably consider Italy, but those wonderful inventions reached Italy from China thanks to Marco Polo. It notifys you a lot about Italian food culture that something so basic became related to Italy even although it did not originate there.
Anyway, food is really a key element of Italian culture. Therefore, the food is probably the most important part within the restaurant. Of course, a great Italian restaurant will have a great wine list, a clean and stylish 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, having a dingy decoration pattern.
By the way, if you leave an “Italian” restaurant hungry, it’s in no way 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 makes you 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 each month. The service will be warm and professional, even though overly friendly. Recognized orders are taken and the meal gets rolling, true 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 while dining. This is most un-Italian of them. An Italian would never call women “guy.” In spaghetti-and-meatballs-type places, the waiter might say, “How is everyone this evening?” The won’t tarry with small talk in the white-tablecloth places, not the good ones, in the wild. It is all about the meal and the comfort.
The third aspect connected with a great Italian restaurant may be the ambiance. I don’t know what it is, but Italians are able to have a wonderful atmosphere anywhere. I have eaten at places in strip malls in suburbia of Denver — as un-romantic a setting as considerably more — arrive close to great. An absolutely outstanding Italian restaurant will just have a certain feeling from the second you walk in the door, a warmth and the glow that can’t be described.
So the priorities are food first, service second, and a ambiance three rd. If all three are met, you can recommend a great Italian bistro.
Ciro & Sal’s
4 Kiley Ct, Provincetown, MA 02657
(508) 487-6444