Family Dining

Family Friendly Italian Dining

Discover Italy Newsletter

Greetings,

Two of the reasons that Italy is perfect for family travel is that there are excellent food choices for every kind of eater and Italian restaurants generally welcome families with children.

Help yourself to our suggestions, some from the Italy Discovery Journal where you will find many more. We also offer a restaurant decoder (ristorante, osteria, trattoria, what is the difference?), and a just- renovated vacation apartment in Florence.

We'd love to hear about Italian foods and dishes your family recommends, so click here to link to a brief survey. We will publish your recommendations in a future newsletter in the same way that we include your packing tips in this newsletter...see below.

Freely forward this newsletter; it is easy with the Forward email link at the bottom.

P L Byrne

Certified Yummy

Kid-Approved Italian Dishes

Here are some typical Italian dishes that we love and hope you will, too. Each region has its own dishes so try local specialties. You can ask your waiter to tell you about specialties: specialità regionali.

Saltimbocca - Literally "Jumps into your mouth," it is so good. It is a tasty dish of veal with ham and sage.
Gnocchi - Small potato or semolina (wheat meal) dumplings eaten with tomato sauce or just with butter and sage.
Supplí di riso - Fried rice croquettes stuffed with mozzarella cheese. Excellent snack found in bars and tavola caldas ("hot table," cafeteria).
Panino al Maiale Arrosto - Roast pork sandwich found in open air markets where the meat is carved off the whole pig that has been roasted stuffed with rosemary and garlic - just like ancient Romans ate.
Polenta - like pasta, is a filling staple of the Italian diet, made from corn meal; it is often grilled and served with a tasty sauce.
Risotto - creamy rice dish made with broth and other ingredients such as vegetables.

Top Ten Pasta Dishes

When in doubt, order pasta!

It is hard to go wrong with pasta. If any of your family members needs a simple, comforting dish, ask for pasta al burro, pasta with butter, something that waiters will often suggest for children. Another simple and delicious pasta dish is pastini in brodo, tiny pasta shapes in broth. Neither dish is on the menu, but it seems that every Italian kitchen can produce it in an instant.

It is hard to limit this to ten, so see more in the Italy Discovery Journal.

Spaghetti Carbonara - Carbon-burner's style with egg, "pancetta" (like bacon), parsley, and parmesan cheese.
Pasta Alfredo - Cheese, cream, and butter sauce that originated Alfredo's restaurant in Rome. Notice that several restaurants now claim to be the original Alfredo's.
Spaghetti Aglio e Olio - Garlic & Oil with olive oil, garlic, and other ingredients. Considered a light dish for late night.
Pasta Puttanesca - "Street walker" style with anchovies, garlic, olives, and capers. Flavorful!
Paglia e Fieno -"Straw & Hay," yellow and green (spinach) egg noodles; sauces vary.
Pasta Marinara - Basic tomato sauce.
Pasta Bolognese or Ragú - Tomato and minced meat sauce originally from the town of Bologna (yes, the home of bologna).
Pappardelle col Sugo di Coniglio - Fresh pasta ribbons with rabbit sauce.
Linguine al'Pesto - Flat "spaghetti" with green sauce from Genoa containing basil, pine nuts, garlic, and parmesan cheese.
Fettucine con Tartuffo - Truffles cost $700/pound but even the small amount grated into this recipe richly flavors the sauce. Italy has black and white truffles.

Food Fit for a Kid

A Guide Book for Families

The Italy Discovery Journal encourages children to enjoy eating and drinking in Italy. Find pages of pasta and bread shape drawings to use as a bingo game or identification challenge. Pages of recommended foods and dishes are included. We offer a list of types of pizza and suggestions for finding great pizza. For children with a sweet tooth, there are lists of Italian candies, desserts, and fruit. There are also lists of different beverages for children to enjoy. And, of course, instructions on how to order gelato and a list of names for gelato flavors.

"Thank you for your contribution to a wonderful visit to Italy with our children....it definitely enhanced our time and your observations about Italy came into play in a different way than our guide book. We vastly preferred all glimpses of 'real' Italy which pre- reading your book helped us to catch...the bride and groom posing at the coliseum, the arguing taxi drivers, kissing couples...etc. The gelato page was a big hit with my younger child and we really liked some of the 'color' stories you added to the major sights in Rome. It was like a guide book for kids." Laurie Tasharski

Italy Discovery Journal

Florence Medici Apartment

Quiet, Beautiful Location Next to the Boboli Gardens

This apartment has just become available to vacationers; the renovations and classy decorating were finished in August. It sleeps five, so is perfect for a family vacation. It is right in Florence, yet has a garden, a view, and room to settle in and establish a home in Florence, if even for just a week. It is next to the Boboli gardens, where children will find many delights that include the "fat man on the turtle" fountain among other wonderful statues, fountains, and green spaces to play, nevermind you can walk to all the major sights in Florence. The apartment is quiet and comfortable. You really couldn't ask for more.

2004 Pricing: $1500 high season, $1150 low season.

Looking for something else? Let us help you, we love matching travelers with the perfect rental, email news@kidseurope.com

Check availability of the Medici apartment