Five Ways To Check The Authenticity Of A True Italian Restaurant

pizzaexpress
Jul 10, 2017 · 3 min read

Italian cuisine is a tricky business. There are a lot of things that goes into the most authentic Italian preparations. The pizza can get too cheesy, or the base can be extra thick. Hence, it is very important to have prior knowledge of things to look out for, when it is about the perfect Italian meal.

There are several Italian cafes in Delhi, and many of them are amongst the best restaurants in Delhi. But how does one spot the ones truly authentic? There are many ways to perfect your ‘authentic-Italian’ radar, and so we decided to list out some tips to spot the real Italian restaurants from the fake ones, and that too, just by glancing at the menu they offer.

1. Garlic Bread

The most important accompaniment of an Italian meal is garlic bread. It would be wise to break it to you, in the very beginning, that despite what you may see on British TV shows of ‘Italian’ inspired cowboy, in Italy, not much garlic is used. Yes, garlic is rubbed on toasted bread, but then the bread is soaked in extra virgin olive oil. The dish is called Bruschetta agilo e olio. The butter that is added in the Indian version of the garlic bread is simply an unhealthy and gross addition, which isn’t originally there.

2. Grammar

The way some dishes are spelled and written on a menu is enough of a disclaimer. For example. ‘Pasta Funghi’ is a feeble attempt to sound Italian. ‘Pasta Ai Funghi’, or ‘Pasta coi funghi are the correct versions you should be looking out for.

This is because if the dish consists of two ingredients, then there will always be a ‘with’ or an ‘and’ in the middle.

3. Pizza Pepperoni

A classic Italian pizza is synonymous to pizza pepperoni — that is how popular it is! But here is a fun fact. ‘Pepperoni’ means nothing in Italian, and no Italian restaurant would ever list this ingredient. It is called ‘salami’, yes, not ‘salami’ in Italian, and it is ‘salame’ which corresponds with ‘pepperoni’. The word closest to ‘pepperoni’ in Italian is ‘peperoni’ which means pepper.

PizzaExpress

4. Black Pepper

Simple in nature, Italian dishes are made with few and carefully selected ingredients. If the waiter asks again and again if you would like some pepper, consider that an alarm. Black pepper is strong to taste and can only go with certain dishes. Asking to sprinkle pepper again and again indicates a lack of care about the amalgamation of flavours that are there in the Italian dish.

5. Pesto Or Tomato Sauce On Bread

The last, but definitely not the least, pesto sauce and tomato ketchup. Pesto is a pasta condiment in Italian cuisine. Tomato sauce is, on the other hand, used for pastas and pizzas. Nothing else. These sauces are not used to dress salads, or spread on breads or chicken. An authentic Italian restaurant would never offer a dish like this, it would instead serve a slice of bread with extra virgin olive oil, with chopped fresh tomatoes and basil leaves.

Armed with this extra information, it is time to go out there and make better choices, especially when it comes to Italian cuisine! One good place to perhaps go without any tension is PizzaExpress, and once there, you can always test these theories out!

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