First Post

Unfortunately, my Italian food experience has been pretty limited thus far. Aside from an occasional gelato or margherita pizza, I have not fully immersed myself in the Italian food culture. Hopefully this will change soon.

When I arrived to Verona a week ago from today, I made a trip to the popular Italian supermarket called Pam. Pam is very similar to the American supermarkets that I am used to. The produce is in the front of the store while the frozen goods are in the back. My shopping spree was uneventful. I stuck to the products I was familiar with. I bought some salami, bologna, and bread to make sandwiches; the Italian equivalent of Frosted Flakes called "Frosties" which still had Tony the Tiger gracing the front of the box; some latte for my Frosties; a few cans of Pepsi; a one-euro bottle of wine; and some white chocolate as a reward for surviving the long haul across the Atlantic. Needless to say, the food tasted exactly as it does back home.

During the course of the last week, I have treated myself to some margherita pizzas (soon I will leave my comfort zone and start ordering pizzas with unusual toppings, such as shredded horse meat), risoto con pesce (I was surprised to find that "pesce" was not a whole fish, but rather a couple measly steamers placed on top of a bowl of rice), gelato, and some bottles of Valpolicella wine. Last Tuesday in Venice I ate a "mushroom role" for lunch. It was mushrooms and tomato sauce wrapped in soft bread. While in Venice, I also tasted some Italian beers. Tall bottles of Birra Moretti and Forst costed less than two euros. The deal was too good to pass up!

Today, our class traveled to a Doner Kebab shop to dine on some kebabs and see what all the hype was about. I got my kebab loaded with lamb, chili sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, peppers, French fries, yogurt sauce, ketchup, and mustard. I washed it down with a warm Pepsi. The whole meal cost four euros. I definitely got four euros worth of food, but I don't think I will be returning to the Doner Kebab anytime soon as I am enduring a mean case of heartburn as I type. A kebob similar to the one I ate today is pictured below (picture taken from pt.inmagine.com).