fido dido

Try Apicius if you're in Florence. They have a nice facility and lots of recreational courses. I saw lots of tourists there for short classes with their family and friends. www.apicius.it

Pein, I actually had fantastic Wenzhou food in both Rome and Florence. In Rome I wandered into a restaurant off the main drag in "Chinatown," off the Piazza Vittorio. Unfortunately, they were closed for the afternoon. The waiter was nice enough to take me around the corner to another place - much less fancy - that was still open. I ordered a plate of noodles, thinking they would be soup noodles, but to my surprise, they were vermicelli with vegetables. I've never seen that served in a restaurant, but we make it at home all the time. After a week of eating pasta and pork products non-stop, I savored every slurp. In Florence some family friends who've lived in Italy for 20 years took me out to Prato, where the Chinese are centered and where all the garment and leather factories are. There, we went to what they told me was the best Wenzhou restaurant in town. It was memorable. I'm not a big fan of chicken feet, but I cleaned off the plate there. We had a pork-based noodle soup that was as delicious as anything I've ever had in Hong Kong, and crunchy cucumber pickles. It was impressive! I asked about Cantonese food there and they said it was pretty poor. There was one restaurant where you could get dim sum, but it wasn't really worth going to. In short, I found to my surprise that there are some fantastic Chinese restaurants in Italy, you just have to go. As for those who are wondering why anyone in their right mind would want to eat Chinese food in Italy, the Chinese population there is quite substantial, but it's Zhejiangnese and Fujianese-based, not Cantonese-based like the population in North America. (Zhejiang cuisine, by the way, is one of the great regional cuisines of China.) That's translated into a very different Chinese restaurant experience in Europe than in America. Don't get me wrong - I've had bad Chinese food in France and England as well...the worst experience was in Switzerland...but I think that's changing. Especially in Italy, which had a couple of immigration amnesties that allowed the Chinese to settle, that's meant the birth of an overseas Chinese community. The way the restaurants, groceries and the communities that support them are evolving have a lot of parallels to how they developed in North America. So the next time you guys go to Italy, you might want to make time to try out some of the Chinese food. The place I went to in Rome near the Piazza Vittorio was called New Beatiful Ristorante Cinese, on Via Cairoli 123. Another place that's been written up in papers and magazines around the world is called Ristorante Cinese Hang Zhou da Sonia, on via S. Martino ai Monti. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the place I went to in Prato, but you can't really go wrong in most places there. Thanks everyone for your thoughts and inputs...I'd love to hear more if anyone has a story or opinion.

I just came back from Italy and had some really delicious Wenzhou cuisine while in Florence and Rome. Has anyone had similar experiences? Has anyone eaten a meal in a Chinese home in Italy, too? Have you noticed any interesting combinations of cuisines?

Pam, what kinds of places did you have in mind when you were referring to places with kosher options? From the responses I've gotten in this thread, it seems like there are only kosher and non-kosher restaurants, and no one seems to know of any restaurants using kosher ingredients. I also wanted to share with you guys a conversation I had with a girl in my food studies class today. She's Jewish and keeps kosher, but she's flexible enough to go to non-kosher restaurants and just order either meat or dairy. I explained my question to her, and it got her scratching her head, too. She has a lot of non-Jewish friends who buy kosher or halal meat at the supermarket to prepare at home because they perceive those labels to mean they're cleaner, more human, whatever. Or lactose intolerant, allergic to dairy, vegan friends who use kosher labelling to guide their selections. So with all the added adjectives to be found on high-end restaurant menus (organic, free-range, hormone-free, heirloom, certified from Timbuktoo! etc.), why wouldn't a chef want to buy kosher, organic, hormone-free meat (which is indeed available) and appeal to these customers? Because let's face it: those very people who are concerned about hormones and animal rights are also often found to be eating at said high-end restaurants. Am I crazy?

Good point, and I am in complete agreement. Actually, consumer reports have shown that "kosher" appeals to lots of different people for lots of reasons. Vegans, the lactose intolerant, muslims looking for halaal options, etc. That's why I'm asking if anyone's noticed anything going on in restaurants to cater to these people.

So...back to my original question...has anyone seen restaurants billing menu ingredients as kosher and thereby implying that the resulting non-kosher dish is healthier?

Pan, that is indeed the idea. I apologize for articulating my question poorly, but it's kind of one that needs to be read carefully, too. Let's try again: Lots of people who don't keep kosher, who aren't even Jewish, are buying kosher products in supermarkets ands stores because they think it's cleaner or safer, or more reliable than what the USDA and FDA claim on labels. I was just wondering if restaurants are trying to appeal to this demographic by buying kosher-certified ingredients and labeling them on menus...sort of providing another "healthy" choice.

So...there are "traditional" kosher restaurants (e.g. delis). And then there are kosher-certified restaurants of all stripes (e.g. chinese takeout). Has anyone noticed, however, restaurant menus highlighting kosher ingredients on their menus (i.e. kosher free-range chicken) used as a selling point for the non-kosher, health/taste-conscious diner? I'm doing a little research on the topic and have been stumped. I'd be grateful for help from any eagle-eyed eGulleters.

I thought I'd follow up on this thread...we got to Philly at an odd hour and parked across town, so we ended up having a really late lunch (or a really early dinner) at Peitro's on Walnut. Quite nice; their salads were impressive, but having just come from Joe's Pizza in the Village, it made for a very high bar to compete against. We did walk past Fork and Fork, etc., though, and both looked very tempting. Oh well, next time. As an FYI, regarding seating and bringing stuff into the Tweeter Center, we ended up bringing nothing but keys and gum and rented the chairs, but there were plenty of people who brought drinks, blankets, and snack foods. Thanks for everyone's input!

Yep! Coldplay concert it is! We've got lawn seating...hopefully the weather will be cooperative. Has anyone tried smuggling their own beverages/wine into the Tweeter center? i was looking at their web site when we first got the tickets a few months ago and they have a very Nazi rule about the size and number of water bottles that people are allowed to bring!!! I have a nifty insulted wine bag that I had been planning on toting along, you see....Since then, it seems Tweeter has changed their policy, and NO beverages or lawn chairs are allowed. They used to let you bring your own. Oops...forgot to comment on the cheesetake terminology - I think if we end up going, I'll just play it safe and speak like the out-of-towner that I am. "No cheese, please!"

ooooh...those do sound good! And it seems like Fork is the overwhelming favorite, so might I ask for menu recommendations?

I had been considering Fork, but Society Hill looks tempting...it sounds like it'd be a lovely fit. Thanks for the tip!

Yes, sorry, Evan. There are a few more delimeters - I can't eat dairy, so cheesesteaks are kinda out of the question. And my companion doesn't like sushi (which would've been my first choice!). We both really enjoy wine and seafood and latin american food though! I've been to Philly once before recently, and went to Morimoto. Very innovative and definitely enjoyable, but for just good, solid sashimi, New York can't be beat. There was one type of mackerel sashimi I tried at Morimoto that was outstanding though... And I didn't know that about the riverboat, Jeff. Great suggestion, thanks!

Hi, I'm going to a concert at the Tweeter center this weekend and was wondering about a good place in the area to get dinner beforehand. Something around the $$/$$$ rating or below would be nice. Susanna Foo looked interesting, but much too expensive and maybe too much of an event. We were looking for a nice place to eat and explore without any "event dining" pressure. I'm not familiar with the area, so I have no idea how to go about choosing. Thanks!

Very cute, guys. You're right though - part of the fun of these things is tracking down the hard-to-find ones.