The Best Italian Food I've Eaten Has Been in ... Germany?
February 12th 2010 13:05
Yes, you read that correctly. I lived in southern Germany for two years and the Italian food I consumed while there has rivaled and eve surpassed anything I've ever had in Italy. Granted, I've only been to Italy twice - once in Tirol and once as an overnight in a very interesting trucker hotel filled with colorful characters.
The only thing I really remember about the meal we had in that town is that those who ordered the Weiss Bier had glasses that were glowing - in honor of Oktoberfest you see... Each glass had an LCD light at the bottom. Our focus wasn't to visit Italy - we were passing through to get back to Germany after a visit to Slovenia so...
Let the record show that I've also been to the North End in Boston and Little Italy in Chicago. Both places have wonderful Italian food but there's just something about the way they do it in places like Garmisch and even Munich that surpasses that as well.
I have a few theories:
1. Perhaps the cuisine in Tirol (Northern Italy) more closely resembled Austrian or German food than what I picture as being "Italian".
2. Often in the US the Italian food is made by people who aren't first generation Italian. As the cuisine in Italy moves on, the offspring of immigrants in the states are cooking as they used to fifty years ago in Italy.
3. The Italian cuisine in Germany is likely made by people who just moved from Italy. They speak heavily accented German and since my German is heavily accented too, we can barely understand each other.
I can't knock the food experiences in Tirol too hard though. One of the most memorable food moments of my life happened there. Have you ever had fresh squeezed grape juice made from wine grapes? My husband, friends, and I were walking on a trail in the hills. We snaked in and out of vineyards, by old farm villas, past hotels and castles tucked into the mountain.
Finally, I saw a man selling fresh squeezed grape juice. Not only did it quench my thirst, but it seemed to make sense. It's as if the juice had the air, the buildings, the vineyards, and the hills inside of it. I know that if I tried to squeeze grape juice at home it wouldn't taste the same.
Why is it that my most memorable food moments are often the simplest?
The only thing I really remember about the meal we had in that town is that those who ordered the Weiss Bier had glasses that were glowing - in honor of Oktoberfest you see... Each glass had an LCD light at the bottom. Our focus wasn't to visit Italy - we were passing through to get back to Germany after a visit to Slovenia so...
Let the record show that I've also been to the North End in Boston and Little Italy in Chicago. Both places have wonderful Italian food but there's just something about the way they do it in places like Garmisch and even Munich that surpasses that as well.
I have a few theories:
1. Perhaps the cuisine in Tirol (Northern Italy) more closely resembled Austrian or German food than what I picture as being "Italian".
2. Often in the US the Italian food is made by people who aren't first generation Italian. As the cuisine in Italy moves on, the offspring of immigrants in the states are cooking as they used to fifty years ago in Italy.
3. The Italian cuisine in Germany is likely made by people who just moved from Italy. They speak heavily accented German and since my German is heavily accented too, we can barely understand each other.
I can't knock the food experiences in Tirol too hard though. One of the most memorable food moments of my life happened there. Have you ever had fresh squeezed grape juice made from wine grapes? My husband, friends, and I were walking on a trail in the hills. We snaked in and out of vineyards, by old farm villas, past hotels and castles tucked into the mountain.
Finally, I saw a man selling fresh squeezed grape juice. Not only did it quench my thirst, but it seemed to make sense. It's as if the juice had the air, the buildings, the vineyards, and the hills inside of it. I know that if I tried to squeeze grape juice at home it wouldn't taste the same.
Why is it that my most memorable food moments are often the simplest?
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