Pictured: TOP LEFT: pumpkin soup with sliced bacon, TOP RIGHT: aperitivo at The Last Word, BOTTOM LEFT: gnocchi with crab, BOTTOM MIDDLE: caramelized almond cage, BOTTOM RIGHT: gnocchi with pecorino and truffle
La Spezia, Liguria, Italy
I ordered gnocchi with crab and it was delicious! Definitely one of the best meals I’ve had. The sauce was creamy and smooth. The crab was not overpowering in the way that fish can be. It didn’t take over the dish at all. The small chunks of meat were deliciously and beautifully prepared with those little potato balls that I love so much. I wanted to order some sort of seafood because we were on the coast and this was the perfect dish! Nothing too adventurous, but definitely fulfilled my craving!
Perugia, Umbria, Italy
While living in the Centro Historico, I was exposed to many different popular restaurants; some favored by locals and others favored by the American students who floated in and out every semester. Pizza Mediterranea by unanimously the best pizza place in town. It was busy every single day and night. They, like most Italian restaurants, closed in the middle of the day for rest, but when they opened back up around 7pm, there was almost always a wait. It was so popular that many people ordered it for pick up, rather than waiting to dine in. We have done both. They have this dessert pizza with only Nutella on it. They make fresh pizza dough daily and bake it right there in a wood burning oven (as all pizzas should be cooked, I might add) and then they slop on globs of perfect hazelnut, chocolatey goodness that is Italian Nutella. That’s it! It’s amazing. I could eat an entire thing by myself! Luckily, it was right down the street and around the corner from my apartment, so it was very easy to frequent!
Perugia, Umbria, Italy
As part of my joke of a curriculum, I was taking a History and Culture of Food class. We did many different workshops throughout the semester and many of them involved going on field trips to restaurants to explore and discover various elements of the food culture. One of my favorites was our aperitivo workshop. We went to a small restaurant called The Last Word, owned and operated by an American. The food consisted of chicken wings, bruschetta, and stuffed mushrooms. I’ve never been a fan of stuffed mushrooms before the workshop and they were incredible!
Perugia, Umbria, Italy
Another part of this History and Culture of Food class was to do monthly dinners between the two sessions. The first dinner took us to a restaurant called Locando do Pazzi. They fed us a 5-course authentic Umbrian meal. The first course was a pumpkin soup, which I normally didn’t think I would like, but they blew me out of the water. It was prepared with a slice of bacon and a thin crispy breadstick. The second course were beetroot balls in a light, bold cheese sauce. Hands down, one of the best things I’ve ever eaten in my life. They were amazing. We went back to Locando do Pazzi a second time, just for these. The third course was pasta, fourth was a meat plate and last but not least, a caramelized almond cage with vanilla gelato and berries. Absolutely amazing.
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
When my parents were visiting me in Italy, we had a bit of a hard time finding food. Everything seemed to be overpriced and touristy, rather than the delicious authentic Italian food I was used to eating in Perugia. One night we sat down in the small, restaurant, very close to a heater and other tables. My mom ordered gnocchi with a pecorino and pear sauce, which I ultimately ended up eating. It had a sweet side to it with the pear, but balanced incredibly well with the savory pecorino cheese.
Rome, Emilio Romagna, Italy
Another city I took on with my parents. We ventured over to the Trastevere neighborhood across the river in the rain to find someplace dry and warm to eat lunch/early dinner. I ordered an odd veggie-straw like pasta, I believe it was recommended to me by the wait staff, with a broccoli cream and burrata cream sauce. The burrata gave it just enough oomph! to make the dish a little fattier and tasty.
Perugia, Umbria, Italy
Il Bacio was a casual restaurant on the main street of Corso Vanucci my roommate and I liked to frequent. Everything on their menu was great. My favorite dish to order was the gnocchi with a pecorino and truffle sauce. The flavor was always perfectly mixed into the sauce, with grated truffles on top. Some of my fondest memories in Perugia included sitting out in the street in the sunshine with good company and this pasta dish.
Wine and Wanderlust 