Local food in the Ports...

What are some "MUST-TRY" foods to eat in the Mediterranean?

What were some of your favorite local foods that you ate in the various ports? Did pizza or pasta taste any different than what you've eaten outside of Italy?

Tapas in Spain - lots of little dishes of really delicious things.

Pasteis de Nata in Lisbon - Portuguese custard tarts

Stifado (beef and onion stew) in Greece

Pasta with pesto sauce in Cinque Terre; gelato just about anywhere in Italy; calamari in Italy...it's a bit different. We've enjoyed fantastic pizza in Sorrento and Castellina in Chianti. Tapas in Barcelona; oysters in Vigo. Crêpes in Nice.

All Mediterranean food tastes better in the Med.

Lew

What are some "MUST-TRY" foods to eat in the Mediterranean?

 

What were some of your favorite local foods that you ate in the various ports? Did pizza or pasta taste any different than what you've eaten outside of Italy?

Be sure to have a gelato a day while in Italy. The best is at the Gelateria Vivoli in Florence. The pizza in Naples is the best. Make sure it's a place with a coal fired oven. We ate the pizza margherita at Brandi which was ultra thin and delicious.

Naples -- If you try pizza anywhere in Italy, try it in Naples, where it originated. Here's some info from my notes:

The world's first true pizzeria opened in Naples in 1830 and is still in business today at Via Port'Alba 18 in Naples. (Note: this is open for debate; several pizzerias claim to be the "original") Contemporary Neapolitan pizzerias are prepared in the same way they were 100 years ago. The large brick ovens make the pizzerias uncomfortably hot in every season except winter, but the unique flavor of these brick-oven pizzas is unmatched. Pizzaioli (makers of pizza) often assemble the entire pizza on a marble counter right before the customer's eyes.

Neapolitan pizza is still widely regarded as the best in the world, probably because of the fresh ingredients available to Neapolitan pizzerias: herbs, garlic, and tomatoes grown in the rich volcanic ash of Vesuvius, and fresh mozzarella from water buffalo milk. Try a “pizza margherita” or “Quattro stagione” but don’t ask for pepperoni (an American creation), it’ll get you a pizza covered with peppers!

Also I could go on and on about the delicious food in Turkey. Yes, there are kebobs (called kebaps, actually) and kofta (spiced meatballs), but the wonderful salads and grilled fresh fish are to die for.

Don't expect food in Italy to be like food in "Italian" restaurants in the USA! Pasta is usually one course in a meal.

There's lots of other things and they don't make some dishes that you'd expect to see. For example you probably won't find

veal,eggplant parmigiana, or spaghetti and meatballs.

In Rome you might try their version of "mac and cheese" which is called "caccio e pepe". A simple dish , but quite delicious.

Another one of my favorite subjects ! Food.

Italy - Rome - caprese. Fresh mozzarella, ripe tomatos, basil and balsamic vinegrette. The mozzarella is not like you get here. Delicious.

Gelato - very good but was expecting more from all I had read. Naples/Amalfi area - pizza rules. DH had one in Amalfi and said it was the best pizza he ever ate. Also had one in Naples our second trip and was also very good. Not a food - but definately give lemoncello a try. Make sure it has been in the freezer ! Most places that sell it will give you a taste. Also Proseco. A sparkling wine.

Greece - gyros - oh my they are good. Freshly sliced from the big round thing and then the yogurt sauce etc (onions, ripe tomatos) ..... yum.

Turkey - mezzas - platters with all kinds of small bowls of stuff....kind of like tapas in Spain. Also anything with lamb ! I had an amazing lamb stew in Istanbul...... the spices are the key. DH had fish fresh from the Bosphorous...... head and all :eek:

Spain - tapas. We each ordered 3 or 4 and shared.

France - crepes and coffee. We had a banana and chocolate crepe in Aix-en-Provence...... it was huge and so goooood.

Enjoy and bon Appetite !

Agree about the gyros in Greece. Grilled calamari and octopus too!

Tapas in various parts of Spain, for sure. Grilled chicken in Portugal.

Salad Nicoise in Nice (but make sure it's authentic, there are too many tourist versions in the old city.)

Follow the locals! Even if it looks a bit seedy on the outside, if locals are eating there, it's going to be good, authentic food. We know a bar in central Mallorca where few tourists go, and the paella comes from a HUGE pan for everyone. It's always crowded with whole families, even late at night. Same in France- we've eaten in horrible looking dives, where it's all fresh ingredients and 5 courses of incredible food.

Jo.

Oh, and in Lisbon, custard tarts!