Italy for the Gourmet Traveler, Revised (Paperback)
June 6, 2009 by Destination Guide
Filed under Travel Italy Guides
Product Description
In the most complete gastronomic guide to Italy ever published, Fred Plotkin takes you beyond the traditional tourist experience, revealing the true richness of this nation’s extraordinary cuisine and the lifestyle that surrounds it. From country markets and wineries to city restaurants and cooking schools, you will discover Italian culinary treasures and pleasures that no other book offers.
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If you are at all serious about Italian food, this book is worth its weight in gold on your next trip to Italy. Yes, its big (aprox. 700 pgs), but thats because its a real book, and incredibly thorough. This isn’t just some run of the mill pocket guide book thats going to tell you “go here” “do this”.
It details the history and culture of each region in detail, so you don’t just eat, you understand what and why you’re eating what you are. For each major city (and plenty of small villages also!) he will detail the best places to eat, drink, and shop to get the best true local experience.
And because you know the author takes food seriously, you know that you’re eating at true, authentic places where locals eat, and you won’t fall into the trap of eating at run of the mill tourist driven places (especially if you’re in cities like Florence, Venice, or Rome!)
One reviewer complained this book didn’t let you know where to go within Italy. Well that’s not really its point. The point is that each region has its own unique flair and flavor, and one is not “better” than the other. To try and judge them as so is missing the point. The joy of italy is discovering those unique flavors that each region has unique to itself. (Though he does point out a “Classic City” for each region. That is, the city to go to if you want to experience the most authentic food culture of the region, such as Treviso in the Veneto, Siena in Tuscany, and Rome in Lazio)
What this book WILL do is compliment your trip to any of these regions. Pointing out exactly where to go to find these authentic and unique local dishes.
I’m writing this from Trieste right now, and without this book I would be totally lost as to where to go. The city has tons of run of the mill pizza places but very few places to find authentic local cuisne (and this isn’t even a tourist driven city!). As a non-local, wIthout this book to help me find these hidden gems, I would be in a lot of trouble.
A book you will keep with you for the rest of your life. It even has recipes at the end so you can attempt to replicate what you tasted when you get back home!
I bought this because we’re going on a 2-week trip to Italy. We wanted to focus our trip on good food — which regions to go, and which restaurants.
This book breaks down the different regions and describes each region’s specialties. It also has recipes, and some restaurant recommendations.
Pros: Thorough background of all regions in Italy. Talks about the different local foods and the different types of restaurants (enoteca, osteria).
Cons: This is not for the traveler.
– With a 2 week trip, you can focus on only a few regions in Italy. This book takes a democratic approach, and tries to say good things about all regions. I just wanted to know – where’s the best food! (Bologna and Parma in Emilia-Romagna, BTW). But you have to read all the chapters to glean that, and the author is careful not to criticize any one region. It’s democratic, but doesn’t help planning a trip.
– The restaurant recommendations are vague. Oftentimes he just lists a restaurant and doesn’t say what’s good about it or not. Furthermore, he will write paragraphs about a restaurant, but it’s mostly about a personal relationship with the restaurant or because the restaurant has history to it. I’m more interested in the quality of the food.
– At the end of each chapter (each chapter focuses on one region), there are recipes for that local region. Nice concept, but recipes aren’t really useful for the traveler.
– It’s way too big to carry or take with you on a trip.
I don’t regret buying this book, but wouldn’t recommend it. It’s just not meant for a traveler.
I completely disagree that this book is not for the traveler! I traveled with a previous version which was heavier. We went to several of the places mentioned in Florence, Rome and Venice. We referred to everyday and we enjoyed AMAZING meals.
I don’t think I would have learned what real Italian food is without it!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hard to leave this huge book at home…
OK, so maybe you don’t want to lug this book all over Italy. But, despite its size, I’m actually considering it. Why?
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great book for lovers of food and Italy
The revised edition of Italy for the Gourmet Travel is a wonderful read, even if you’re not planning an immediate trip to Italy.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Italian Cuisine
My daughter’s husband is in the Air Force and they have been assigned to Aviano Air Base in Italy. I bought Italy for the Gourmet Traveler for her birthday gift.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Book for Restaurants in Italy
I lived in Italy from ’97-’99 and my friends and I considered this book a sort of “Food Bible”…we took it everywhere all around the country and always booked restaurants that…
5.0 out of 5 stars
Italy for the Gourmet Traveller
We have just returned from 5 weeks in Italy and used Fred’s book as our guide. We were not disappointed.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Revised?
We used this book for a recent trip to northern Italy (the Milan area) and found it to be unreliable: in several cases, it detailed restaurants that no longer existed, leading us…
2.0 out of 5 stars
.Disapointing
It’s big, clunky, but at the end of the day for each little town there is very little of information. It is too heavy to carry and in reality not that useful. Too bad
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent coverage by a knowledgable source!
I updated this from the 1st edition and it is still a valuable resource for just learning about the Italy and/or actually travelling and using his recommendations.