Tag Archives: Italy

Roman Holiday

16 Tuesday Jun 2015

Posted by in Milk Allergy and Intolerance, Nut Allergy, The Italian Job

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I hope you’ve all read my previous post filled with restaurant and dessert recommendations in Rome. Definitely worth a visit!

Luckily for me, eating in Rome (and Italy in general) is pretty easy and my dietary restrictions aren’t so restrictive. But I do have some tips – hopefully I can share some wisdom about a range of dietary requirements.

Nuts:

I only had two real problems with nuts in Rome. The first, and really the most important problem, was my unfortunate, extremely dismal ability to part-take in (what many people would consider to be) the best part of every meal – dessert.

This really isn’t a Rome problem – it’s more of a global problem. Dessert just isn’t really that considerate of nut Allergians. I’m used to this though, so this wasn’t such a big disappointment. I did, however, get to enjoy a delicious crème brulee and some Lindt chocolate (see my post here), get to enjoy watching the BF try any and every delicious dessert imaginable (see my post here), and get to save on the calorie front. Really – it could be much worse.IMG_2124

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The BF’s dessert adventures in Rome

Ice cream truffle

The BF’s dessert adventures in Rome

Secondly, I faced a problem at the Vatican Museum. This was surprising really. After all that cultural and historical explosion that is the Vatican Museum, my friends, the BF and I were ready for a good feed. We went to the Vatican Museum food area, which kind of had a sort of canteen thang happening. It felt like a school cafeteria. Anyways, I asked the man behind the counter whether anything had nuts in it and, after checking, told me that I shouldn’t eat anything. I think there were lots of nuts used or something like that. While it is obviously pretty much impossible to find a kitchen that has zero nuts present, most places say something along the lines of ‘there may be traces present because our kitchen has nuts’. But when a place tells me not to eat their food, I will always listen. So that made things a little bit tricky, given we hadn’t finished the Museum. So I resorted to some packaged fruit salad and crisps, which seemed like the only safe options.

So just a warning to people with nut allergies going to the Vatican Museum – probably best to bring your own food. There also may have been a fancier restaurant somewhere in the museum – I’m not sure.

Lactose/dairy:

In Australia, whenever I order pasta of some kind, I ask for no cheese. This is because in Australia, pasta almost always comes served with parmesan cheese on top. And once your pasta has cheese on it, there is no way of getting it off. The melting and the stringing and the dispersing.. believe me – I’ve tried many a time.

But I quickly learnt in Italy that this whole cheese-on-top-of-the-pasta thing was an Australian (or international) invention, which did not originate in Italy. Sort of like the linguine thing (I didn’t find any linguine in Italy, so, again, this must be an international invention). So what would any ordinary person do… they would stop their silly request for “please no cheese on top”, because I had had enough funny looks from waiters [why is this extremely uncultured girl asking for no cheese on her pasta?].

But apparently the Italian status quo is a bit different in Rome. It was my second meal in Rome and I ordered pasta (with no cheese-less request). And what do you know – my pasta came out covered in cheese. It was quite unfortunate really. So I scraped it off as best I could (the melting… the stringing… the dispersing) and ate (what was left) around it.

What’s the moral of the story? Don’t be too embarrassed / think you are silly for asking questions relating to any of your dietary requirements or allergies. A funny look from a waiter is much better than only being able to eat ¼ of your food or, worse, a reaction of sorts.

Pork:

My dietary restrictions only faced one real problem in Italy – pork. There is heaps of pork used in Italy (which I do not eat) and it often features in my fave spaghetti bolognese. This meant that I always checked what meat was used before I ordered something. I had one hilarious exchange with a restaurant hostess near the (under renovation) Trevi Fountain. She didn’t speak very good English. I asked her the standard question and she didn’t understand what I was saying. After a few attempts, I had to resort to basics. Keep it stupid simple, so they say. I pointed at the spaghetti bolognese on the menu, said “moo moo” or “oink oink” and, whilst lifting my shoulders, held my hands out in the typical inquisitive stance. It really was an all time low in language barriers. She responded with “moo moo” (laughing hysterically, of course) and I enjoyed my pork-free bolognese.

Kosher:

Finally, for those who are Kosher (which I am not), there are quite a few Kosher restaurants in the Roman ghetto. When I visited the area, I ate at Nonna Betta which is supposedly one of the best. I ordered tagliolini with ragu and “Grandma betta’s sauce” and it was delicious! For a list of some other restaurants in the Roman ghetto, see here.

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The meat menu at Nonna Betta

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My meal at Nonna Betta

So it’s safe to say that there is something for everyone in Rome, and Italy in general. You’ll almost always be able to find something you can eat, which is a nice change for us Allergians (* cue the last resort search for a McDonalds, as occurs in some countries). And if you can’t – there’s always Queen’s Chips Amsterdam where you can get a massive serve of hot chips in a cone with one of a variety of sauces dripping all over it (see my previous excitement about this here).

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Queen’s Chips Amsterdam

So that’s about all for Italy. Our next stop was the amazingly stunning Greek Islands! γιορτάζω!

Until next time…

The Allergian Abroad

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From Rome With Love

10 Wednesday Jun 2015

Posted by in The Italian Job

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Putting aside the plethora of touring and sightseeing that Rome has to offer, it is also home to some delightful Italian food. While my nut allergy was far from a problem in Rome, I do have some great food recommendations and stories to share. This post will focus on some restaurant recommendations and hot spots, and my next post will share some stories on the dietary requirement / allergy front.

So.. firstly, do yourself a favour and eat at Da Gino. We actually had quite a funny experience here. We had read about Da Gino during our research into the best eats in Rome. It is described as a restaurant serving “food like nonna used to make”. It sounded like a winner. We were in the area one night so we decided we would go there. It was about 7.55pm and our stomachs had started grumbling. We (eventually) found the restaurant in the maze of streets and asked to read the menu. After perusing the menu and deciding there were enough options for this fussy Allergian, I turned to the BF and asked if he wanted to eat there, noting that the restaurant was pretty damn empty. We thought we would give it a try anyway. We asked the waiter for a table for 2 and he responded (with a little chuckle) saying they were fully booked. And fully booked they were. In the next 5 minutes or so, the entire restaurant was full. It was amazing. We decided we would book a table for the next night, our last night in Rome, as any restaurant this busy must be worth it.

We returned the next night (after almost forgetting about our booking as we were distracted by the entertainers in Piazza Navona) to, again, an overwhelmingly full restaurant and enjoyed a delicious meal. I ordered tagliatelle bolognese and I’m going to put it out there – it was the best bolognese I had in Italy. And that’s saying a lot (I ate a lot of bolognese in Italy)!

The next restaurant on my restaurant recommendation tour is L’archetto. This is a famous spaghetti house with over 150 different pasta sauces. There’s just about every type of pasta sauce you can think of, and the spaghetti is served el dente. This is a buzzing, lively place with yummy food!

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IMG_2108 Part of the menu at L’archetto

Then we have Ristorante Alessio. I loved this place. It was a few doors down from our hotel and is set in a lovely downstairs courtyard area with friendly staff. I ordered grilled chicken breast and roast potatoes – a bit of a change from all the carb-licious pasta. It was really tasty. From an allergy perspective, this restaurant really impressed me. When I ordered my main meal, I told the waiter about my allergies. After dinner, the waiter came over and started listing all the desserts that I was able to eat and those that I couldn’t eat. The waiter was so on top of my allergies and so helpful that I couldn’t resist. I ordered the crème brûlée, which is generally a safe option, and it was so worth it. Unbelievable.

IMG_7737 Crème brûlée at Ristorante Alessio

Finally, if you’re a coffee lover, visit Café Sant Eustachio. It’s near Piazza Navona and has a “hidden” coffee machine. I read about this place during my research, and was very intrigued by it. It’s your typical Italian café – drink your coffee standing by the bar – with a twist. I ordered myself a regular “cafe Americano” (as they call a long black in Italy), but the BF ordered the specialty. We stood at the bar waiting for our coffee, unable to see what was being made. The BF said his coffee was delicious and was very interesting. He asked the waiter “what exactly is this?” and received a classic Italian response: “it’s coffee…” We loved it. Definitely worth a visit and, if you’re feeling brave, order the specialty for a bit of a surprise (allergy dependent, obv!)

IMG_2011 Cafe Sant Eustachio
coffee Hidden coffee machine at Cafe Sant Eustachio

Finally, to finish off with something a bit sweet: Gelateria della Palma is a gelato store with over 100 different gelato flavours. It all looked so drool-worthy, but obviously not suited for this Allergian. I enjoyed it with my eyes and then dragged the BF a few doors down to the safer Lindt option to satisfy my sweet tooth.

IMG_7767 Some of the gelato flavours at Gelateria della Palma

Also, Tre Scalini on Piazza Navona is renowned for its chocolate ice cream truffle (truly – for evidence, see here). I had to pass on this one too, but the BF said it was to die for. Yu-um.

Ice cream truffle Chocolate ice cream truffle at Tre Scalini

Until next time… arrivederci

The Allergian Abroad

When in Rome

01 Monday Jun 2015

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Rome. Oh Roma.

Rome continued our streak of delicious food, jam-packed touring, hot summer days and nights, and drinking vino with every meal.

Rome was a tough one on our feet. My poor little feet. They just didn’t know what was ahead of them.

We decided to stay near Termini station at the lovely Al Viminale Hill Inn & Hotel. This was a great location – easy to get to from the station (perfect for lugging the increasingly heavy suitcase, the ever expanding number of carry bags and my consequent impressively enlarging bicep muscles), located along a strip of restaurants and easy to get to anywhere in Rome.

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In case you don’t quite believe me, this was our collection of bags by the end of the trip.

But.. really, when I say “easy to get to anywhere”, I mean “get those walking shoes on because you’ve got a long trek ahead of you”. No one really warned us, but the public transport in Rome is pretty much non-existent and exceptionally confusing (the one time we took a bus we ended up in the entirely wrong area), so it’s usually easier to walk. But when we looked at a map in Rome, we didn’t quite grasp just how far away things were. It seemed like we could walk to just about anywhere. But what may have seemed like a short walk from the hotel to a tourist site sometimes ended up taking us almost an hour.

What this meant was that once we left the hotel in the morning, we were gone for the day. It would take too long to come home in between our day adventures and dinner, so we would end up getting dinner wherever we were out and about and then continuing on into the night. My poor little feet.

Despite the pain inflicted upon my feet, I think that walking really is the best way to get to know a city. Getting to know the streets, stumbling upon awesome sights/restaurants/shops, and seeing all the different areas is one of my favourite parts of a holiday. Especially when you stay in a place for long enough to feel like you have “your street” or “your coffee shop” etc. This was something that really resonated with me in Florence.

Despite the walking, Rome is such an incredible city. You can be walking through the middle of the city and suddenly stumble upon some ancient ruins. Or some giant building that looks like a wedding cake. Or a Colosseum! The city just oozes with history and culture that I don’t think is replicated anywhere else in the world. It is also jam packed full of tourist attractions, one of the world’s great museums (Vatican Museum), great food, shopping streets, cafes / gelaterias and talented entertainers (like an awesome group of musicians who play on Piazza Navona).

Some ancient ruins.

Some ancient ruins

The "wedding cake" building.

The “wedding cake” building

The Colosseum

The Colosseum

Performers at Piazza Navona.

Performers at Piazza Navona

In Rome, we filled our 6 days with the following (and then some):

  1. The Colosseum + Palatine Hill (go on a tour of the Colosseum and make sure you also see the outside at night!)
  2. Vatican + St Peter’s Basilica (I was amazeddd by St Peter’s Basilica)
  3. Seeing the wedding cake building (National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II) (we actually stumbled upon this building and didn’t realise until later that it was the infamous “wedding cake building”)
  4. Trevi Fountain (although for us, this was really just a monument of scaffolding)
  5. Capuchin crypt (only if you can deal with a bit of gore.. it’s a bit creepy to say the least)
  6. Piazza Navona (I loved sitting in Piazza Navona at just about any time of day people watching, admiring the fountains, and watching the performers)
  7. The Pantheon (visit at night too)
  8. Walk along Fiume Tevere
  9. Check out the viewpoint at Gianicolo park
  10. Mouth of Truth
  11. Campidoglio
  12. Spanish Steps (a great place to chill, rest your legs and people watch)
  13. Porta Portese flea markets
  14. Visit the Roman ghetto
  15. Walk along Via Guilia (a street full of palaces)
  16. Pincian Hill / Piazza Bucarest / Piazza del Popolo
  17. Eat great food
  18. Drink vino with every meal
  19. Splurge on every dessert imaginable (food allergy dependent)
  20. Shop your heart out
St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter’s Basilica

Piazza Navona.

Piazza Navona

The Pantheon.

The Pantheon

Spanish Steps.

The Spanish Steps

We ate plenty of delicious Italian food in Roma, with my allergies/dietary requirements being pretty easy to deal with. We ate at a few places that had been recommended to us, and some that we stumbled upon during our journeys, but overall had some great meals. I didn’t have any nut run-ins, but I do have a few stories to share, as well as some great restaurant recommendations, so stay tuned for my next post about beautiful Rome!

The Trip to (South) Italy – Part 2

03 Friday Apr 2015

Posted by in Nut Allergy, The Italian Job

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In my previous post, I shared my advice about what to do in Sorrento and surrounding areas – the must-dos and must-sees. Given this is a food blog, I should probably talk about food. I have just a few words to say about nuts and food in Sorrento. Generally it was quite uneventful, given Italian food is pretty easy for me.

Firstly, please note that in Sorrento almost all the restaurants/bars give peanuts on each table when drinks are ordered. This is just a standard snack over there, so walking down the main strip of restaurants looking for a place to eat was a bit worrying. I didn’t really want to eat at a place that had peanuts served all around the place. Sitting at a bar with other people eating peanuts around you is one thing, but eating there is a whole other story. But don’t worry too much – you will be able to find some places that have no peanuts served. I ate at a great restaurant, Song’e Napule (on Corso Italia – the main road) which didn’t serve peanuts. The BF and I shared a delicious gnocci and veal escalope there.

On the one night, after rejecting most places due to the peanut snacks, we decided on a restaurant called Syrenuse Bar Ristorante. It appeared from the outside that most people were eating rather than drinking, but I did spot a few tables with peanuts. I asked the waiters if they wouldn’t mind changing the tablecloth and cutlery for me, just to be extra careful. It was a fancy-ish restaurant compared to most of the others.

I chose to order the veal escalope with a side of roast potatoes. I asked the waiter about peanuts, who advised me that they ordinarily fry the veal escalope in peanut oil (and similarly for lots of their cooking), but said he would ensure they use a different oil for me. He could see I was nervous, but he reassured me that they would be careful. I said OK, but then as soon as he had walked away, got a bit worried that maybe this wasn’t good enough. So we called him over again with the intention of leaving to go back to Song’e Napule. He said that was fine, but again reassured me that they would be really careful, and would cook it in the oven with no oil, instead of frying it. In seeing how seriously he was taking it, I decided it would be fine and agreed to eat there.

When my food came out, he again reassured me AND even went one step further. He brought me out some anti-histamines. It was hilarious. I told him that anti-histamines wouldn’t really help, as my reaction could be much too serious for anti-histamines. He understood, but thought it will still better that I had them there (they were really strong anti-histamines) than didn’t have anything. It was very nice of him, and pretty funny! He also told me to be careful because lots of the restaurants in Sorrento cook with peanut oil.

Eating was fine in Pompeii and Capri. In Capri, we found a place in the main area where we had some (pretty average) gnocci. When we visited Pompeii, we had lunch just outside the entrance. There isn’t much in the area except for about 3 restaurants in a row. I had spaghetti aglio e olio and it was very yum!

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If you are ever stuck for food, there is always the safe option of Queen’s Chips Amsterdam where you can order a massive cone of hot chips with the sauce of your choice. And there are no nuts in any of the sauces! Win!! They are delicious, especially with the sauce drizzling everywhere. YU-UM!

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And that’s about it for my time in Sorrento. It was short and quick, but definitely worth the visit!

The Trip to (South) Italy

15 Sunday Mar 2015

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After 5 nights, we were very sad to be leaving beautiful Venice, but at least we were moving on to Sorrento in the South of Italy. After a torturous journey – a vaporetto, a train to Florence, a train to Naples and then an incredibly frightening train to Sorrento – we arrived in buzzing Sorrento.

We didn’t have exceedingly high expectations of Sorrento, expecting it to be a small quiet place. But just like our lucky timing in San Sebastian, we had arrived in Sorrento smack bang in the middle of their holiday period – when all the Italians (like those who had been absent from Florence) were vacationing in Sorrento (and the surrounding areas), so we had finally caught up to them.

This meant that Sorrento had a real buzz to it, with a local-tourist type feel. It really had an awesome vibe. Walking down the main street at night – the restaurant terraces were packed, the shops were open late, the street performers were all on show. Despite the fact that we had been travelling for the last month, arriving in Sorrento felt like we had just begun our vacation. I guess walking >25km a day (like we had been doing thus far) isn’t exactly relaxing. Arriving in Sorrento was a breath of fresh air. Perhaps it was the sea air.

Aside from the thrilling buzz of the place, we also had some really great Italian food here. I really didn’t enjoy their famed limoncello though. But then again, that really applies to all limoncello [and Grappa (which I tried in Ios), Campari (which I tried in Venice) and Ouzo (which I tried in Mykonos) – basically, if it doesn’t say Bailey’s, then liqueur just isn’t for me 😉 ]. I wouldn’t say the food is quite as good as Florence, which I think is unbeatable, but it was definitely enjoyable and there is plenty of variety along the main strip.

Visiting Capri from Sorrento is an absolute must-do – the most beautiful scenery I think I have ever seen! If you visit Capri, things to do are:

1. Go on a boat tour around the island for some interesting scenery and sights. They usually go for an hour or two, and show you some great things. They aren’t particularly expensive and will take you to the blue grotto which is a must do – see (2) below.

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2. Go inside the blue grotto. You must must must do this. You can visit the blue grotto either by the boat tour mentioned above (which I think is the easier option) or you can go yourself via public transport, but it sounded pretty tricky to do. Two things to note:

  • I would recommend going straight to the blue grotto upon arriving at the Isle of Capri, as you often cannot visit during the afternoon due to high tide. And you DON’T want to miss out, trust me!!
  • There are often really long queues to enter the blue grotto – it is DEFINITELY worth the wait. On our boat tour, the BF and I were the only ones who wanted to wait in the queue, so the tour guide dropped us onto another boat to wait. GO INSIDE THE BLUE GROTTO – I cannot stress this enough. The 40-minute wait was well worth it. You get onto a mini row boat which takes you inside a cave through a very low entrance (you have to lie back in the boat in order to enter). Inside, you have the most incredibly blue, clear water and the way the light enters the cave creates an amazing colour; the boat riders sing, which creates a wonderful echo inside the cave. The photos don’t even do it justice.
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About to enter the blue grotto (with some strangers)

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Inside the blue grotto

3. Go on the chairlift to the top of Mount Solaro (which is 589 metres above sea level) for unbelievable views. The chairlift itself takes 10/15 minutes each way, and also has the most splendid views. The feeling of your legs dangling on top of the world is incredible.

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The chairlift to Mount Solaro

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View at the top of Mount Solaro

Unfortunately we didn’t have time to also visit the beautiful Positano or Amalfi Coast while we were in Southern Italy. We were even willing to brave the (apparently) intensely scary bus drive to get there, but we just couldn’t squeeze it in. I guess this is just an excuse to go back some day!

We also visited Pompeii, which was a moving experience. But the audio guide was hopeless. It didn’t even direct us to the right sites, which is worse than walking around on your own unguided. It made me very angry. Warning: we got caught in a summer storm (we thought maybe there was going to be another volcanic eruption). Luckily there were heaps of vendors selling umbrellas and ponchos just outside the entrance. It definitely set the right mood for a place like Pompeii, though.

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Pompeii

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Pompeii

More to come on the topic of beautiful Sorrento and a few nut run-ins!

Until next time… buona giornata.

An Allergian Abroad

The Food Merchant of Venice

03 Tuesday Mar 2015

Posted by in Nut Allergy, The Italian Job

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The next stop on our Eurotrip adventure was Venice. Oh Venice.. I fell in love with it as soon as I stepped out of the railway station and onto the edge of the canal. I had always wanted to go to Venice. Venice has everything by way of beauty down pat – the gondolas, picturesque canals, elegant carnival masks and the sounds of the orchestras playing in Piazza San Marco. This beauty, which attracts a large tourist gathering, seems to be at the expense of traditional delicious Italian food, and it was no competition to Florence food at all.

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Given it’s been a while now since I was in Venice (about 6 months – wow time flies), my memory seems to serve two very different perspectives of Venetian food.

On the one hand – the food in Venice was overpriced and was not at the same quality of the authentic Italian food of Florence.

But on the other hand, when I re-read my journal, re-look at my photographs and reminisce, I remember many good meals. Not fantastic, but good.

I think that the only way to reconcile these two perspectives is: the food around the main tourist spots of Venice = bad; anywhere else = good.

Generally, the food we ate near San Marco square and Campo San Bartolomeo was extremely overpriced compared to the rest of Italy and not of a great quality. Most other restaurants we ate at seemed to be reasonably priced (though still more expensive than the rest of Italy) and of somewhere between decent-to-nice standard. A plate of pasta around Italy was consistently 8 euro (about AUD$12), but I guess Venice never got the memo.

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From the research I undertook on trusty Google and ever-helpful TripAdvisor (instigated by the lawyer in me), it seems that there are a lot of nicer restaurants (or “osterias”) around the Rialto markets. There was also a strip of restaurants/bars on Fondamenta della Misericordia which seemed to be filled with locals rather than tourists (and thus I can only assume are much better). One of the “done” things is to order a bottle of wine at one of these restaurants/bars and take the bottle and some glasses to sit on the canal outside. To me, that was just so Venetian.

I’m sure that if we travelled even further to visit Mestre (the populated area of mainland Venice where the locals live), we would have continued our streak of perfetto Italian food.

Let me share a few recommendations.

The BF and I wanted to enjoy a romantic meal canalside one night, without breaking the budget too much. We found a restaurant, called Al Vagon, which was a bit further out from San Marco square and which rated pretty highly on TripAdvisor. It was surprisingly quite reasonably priced (for Venetian standards), but was a very nice restaurant with great service. It had a lovely atmosphere (very romantic) and delicious food. I ate gnocchi pomodoro and it was wonderful. Buon pasto!

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Al Vagon

We also went on a free walking tour around Venice, as we did in most of the cities we visited. The Venice one was by far the best we went on. The tour guide was a university-aged student, who was extremely knowledgeable and passionate about her city. I loved listening to all her stories about Venice, and she even ran about 30 minutes overtime as she was more concerned with giving us a good tour than with the time. She gave us a range of food recommendations, so definitely ask tour guides / hotel staff for recommendations in Venice so you know where to go, as you are less likely to accidentally stumble upon a gem in Venice.

Funny story. Our tour guide recommended we go to Cantina Do Spade, which is near the Rialto markets. Our tour ended at about 2.30pm and we were just starving. We (somehow) managed to locate the restaurant in the maze that is Venice and sat down for a good meal. And we sat. And sat. And sat. We sat a lot. We obviously didn’t quite understand how it worked at this restaurant, because we couldn’t really seem to get any service. Eventually, after lots of sitting, we managed to attract a waiter to our vicinity and keep him in place for long enough to have a conversation. I explained my peanut allergy to him and he disappeared. We sat some more. He came back (eventually) telling us that he wouldn’t recommend I eat there because they use a lot of peanuts. As he said “they have very small kitchens in Venice”, so it was too risky. Luckily the waiter was attuned enough to tell me this. Nevertheless, apparently the food is good so, if you aren’t allergic to peanuts, go there.

Venice also has its own little sub-cuisine that distinguishes it from the rest of Italy, called “cicchetti”. This is the Venetian equivalent of Spanish tapas, which are small snacks or side dishes. The Venetian way is to eat these cicchetti standing around in bars, using fingers or a toothpick. They are usually eaten in the late-morning, for lunch or as afternoon snacks. The BF and I didn’t actually ever eat these. We tried once, but it just didn’t work out. I guess it wasn’t meant to be.

Our hotel recommended we try cicchetti at Bacarando in Corte dell’Orso. This seemed to be where all the locals hung out till the wee hours of the morning, socializing, drinking and eating great food. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much on the menu that tickled my fancy and it was quite pricey. It has a great looking interior though, and is a unique hidden gem. It’s a bit tricky to find (it was right near our hotel – if you’ve been to Venice, you know that finding some places in Venice is like being in a maze.) A-maze-ing!

Finally, a few other thoughts:

Firstly, if you are Kosher, visit the Jewish Venetian Ghetto where there are quite a few Kosher food options. We visited the Ghetto during our free walking tour and it was really interesting and moving to hear about the history of Jews in Venice and stories about the Ghetto.

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The Jewish Ghetto

Secondly, if you are gluten free or have other allergies which make it difficult for you to eat in Venice, there is always the fresh food option. The Rialto Market has heaps of fresh fruit and veggies, as well as meat and fish. I believe they are open on a Tuesday-Saturday from about 8am-12/1pm.

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The Rialto Markets

Finally, go to Burano. It’s the most beautiful place. Wander the streets (including the backstreets) to stumble upon amazing sights. A picture says a thousand words, so I’ll let it do the talking…

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Bye for now.

Until next time…

The Allergian Abroad

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Florence and the (waffle) Machine – Part 2

21 Saturday Feb 2015

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For all you dessert lovers out there, I hope you’ve read Part 1 of this post which discussed why my ability to enjoy desserts in Florence was less than successful, to my dismay. With all the Nutella served as a topping on waffles and crepes, the nut-flavoured gelatos, the peanut-coated gelato cones and the nutty chocolate goodies, nuts were everywhere in this sweeter side of Florence. Luckily I am sweet enough already. Oh, but the smell of waffles wafting through the air…. Torture.

I was desperate to try some gelato in Florence.

I am a huge ice cream fan. And Italy is famous for gelato.

No.1 ice cream fan + world’s best ice cream should = a perfect combo.

In Florence, I looked, without fail, at every single gelateria in the desperate (hopeless) attempt to find a place that didn’t have any nut flavours. Zilch. You can’t say I’m not determined!

But one day, we were recommended by a local to go to “THE BEST GELATO PLACE IN FLORENCE”. How could we resist? Gelateria della Passera. We were intrigued – a local’s recommendation must be good. It took us a while to find the place between our useless sense of direction and our inability to properly understand the local’s Italian pronunciation of street names. We eventually found it, funnily enough, right across the road from Quattro Leoni (where you can go enjoy the pear ravioli before treating yourself to some delicious gelato – see our previous post here).

We went inside and the BF ordered his gelato. They only had 6-8 flavours, and each was in a metal tub which you couldn’t see the contents of. I had been told that the best gelato places were the ones that didn’t have bright, colourful and overfilled gelato – these were just typical tourist traps. I watched the lady who was serving us very carefully take the spoon, scoop a flavour of gelato onto the cone and then put the spoon in the basin to be washed. She then took a new spoon, scooped the next flavour and put that in the basin too. We paid for the BF’s ice cream (really cheap too – what a bonus!) and went to sit in the lovely courtyard area while he enjoyed his gelato (and I enjoyed the sun).

After hearing him express his immense pleasure with this gelato (yeh yeh, I’m a super nice GF who allows him to gloat to me about all the treats I cannot enjoy), I began wondering – she had been so careful when serving it, but were they always so careful? They also had only 1 nut flavour (which wasn’t peanuts). With this glimmer of hope, the BF excitedly went to speak to the shopkeeper, who confirmed that they are always careful as they don’t like to mix the flavours (these were true Italians, taking pride in their gelato and not just seeking out tourists). She also said that she had brought out brand new tubs of gelato that morning so the entire tub had been treated by only her, in this careful manner. I took the plunge and ordered myself a vanilla and coffee gelato. I was nervous at first, but I knew that I was being neurotic since I had watched how careful she was. I enjoyed my drooool-worthy gelato and lived to tell the tale! And now I can even say that I got to taste gelato in Italy.

mandy ice crea,

I also enjoyed a soft serve strawberry gelato at La Milkeria (near the Duomo). The BF enjoyed a waffle with white chocolate sauce (which I couldn’t eat because of the Nutella in the vicinity), but the ice cream was served out of a soft serve machine, so was free of cross-contamination risk. This was pretty tasty, but not as delicious as the more authentic gelato from Gelateria della Passera.

I had only one almost run-in with nuts (those sneaky buggers are just everywhere aren’t they). The BF and I were on the hunt for the best Italian hot chocolate. We had heard these were spectacular so, as people obsessed with chocolate (but really, who isn’t?), hunt we did. Unfortunately for us, these famed Italian hot chocolates don’t have much of a presence in summer. Why oh why? I never knew that chocolate (hot or cold) was season-dependent…

We managed to narrow down on a restaurant that was known for their delicious hot chocolates – Rivoire on Palazza Vecchio. And YAY they were serving them in summer. We got a table outside to soak up some sun, looking forward to resting our feet after wayyy too much walking. We both ordered Italian hot chocolates and I told the waiter about my allergy. He responded telling me that I couldn’t have the hot chocolate because it contained “gianduja”. I had never heard of this before. While people do often mistakenly categorise something as an allergen (a common one being sesame, or my weird bean story), chocolate was more likely to contain nuts so I didn’t take the risk.

Believe it or not, gianduja does contain nuts – it is, in fact, a chocolate spread made with hazelnut paste! I guess you learn something new every day (and definitely something in each new city you visit).

I spontaneously made the decision to order a coke zero instead. It tasted mighty fine (though not as fine as the apparently AMAYYYYZING hot chocolate that the BF enjoyed), ice cold and quenched my thirst on the hot summer’s day. Until I got the bill. I knew that you paid a premium for sitting down at restaurants in Italy, especially on the main square. But $9 AUD for a 330 mL of coke was beyooond. In conclusion: Rivoire – definitely worth a visit for the Italian hot chocolates (if you are not allergic to nuts) and the atmosphere, but less so for the coke zero!

hot chocolate

cokezero

Ironically, the only Italian hot chocolate I got to enjoy on this trip was in Paris. Our daily breakfast bakery – Paul’s – served a to-die-for Italian hot chocolate that was made by them and was entirely nut free. I had this a couple of times (I had to restrain myself due to the lactose), so it sort of kinda almost made up for the lack-of in Italy.

A few other tips for travelling to Florence with a nut allergy:

  1. As amazing as the desserts may be, they aren’t worth risking your life over. Make sure you are confident that a place is free of the risk of cross-contamination and that servers/waiters understand your allergy. I felt that the Italians generally had quite a good understanding of allergies, but be sure to judge each situation independently. You are likely to come across restaurants or shops that are safe enough for you to enjoy a few treats. If you are comfortable, then enjoy away!
  2. Don’t just assume that you won’t be able to enjoy anything – be sure to ask, because you never know what you might be able to enjoy!
  3. Force feed your travel partner any dessert that you like the look of, just so you can enjoy it by way of your other senses which, while not nearly as good, is better than nothing 😉
  4. If you are travelling with young children, it can be difficult for them to miss out on those treats that they are eyeing or that others around them are enjoying. The good news is that there are a few options:
    1. There are quite a few restaurants/cafes that serve slurpee/granita drinks that are a nice dessert option and I would decide are safe from an allergy perspective as they are pretty much free of cross-contamination risks (separate machine, aren’t served with hands etc).
    2. If you want to treat your child, take them to a store where they can buy some packaged Italian treats. I particularly liked Alessi Bottiglieria (near the Duomo), which stocks candy, delicious Italian chocolate, hot chocolate sachets, biscuits and every other treat imaginable (predominantly with English ingredients). This way, your child can choose something they like and won’t miss out, and you can feel comfortable at the same time!

In summary, Florence pretty much balances itself out – what we can’t eat by way of desserts, we can enjoy by way of meals. I think that it’s probably much harder to make pasta of the same quality as you may find in Italy, than it would be to make delicious waffles or crepes at home. So be an optimist and enjoy the fact that you can enjoy great Italian food, almost completely worry-free!

Florence and the (waffle) Machine – Part 1

24 Saturday Jan 2015

Posted by in Nut Allergy, The Italian Job

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Mandy ice cream

My previous post boasted about all the carb-licious treats that I could happily enjoy in Florence, as nuts were an infrequent guest at the Italian dinner table. Lactose was my biggest concern.

However, the other side of Florence’s delizioso cuisine is dessert… And that is a whole other story.

The gelato, the Italian hot chocolates, the waffles, the crepes… and so much more. Drool-worthy! It was never-ending deliciousness. No wonder people love Florence! Yet this Allergian (for the most part) had to miss out. At least I am used to it, right?

It was at this point that I reallyyy hated my allergy. I can deal with the constant concern, the frequent checking, the embarrassing conversations, the pain of restaurant searching. But I am a sucker for ice cream. And waffles. This is what really bothers me about my allergy. Desserts/treats are the main miss-out for us nut Allergians (and dairy Allergians). I would even happily put up with a sore stomach (as a result of the lactose content) if it meant enjoying these sweet delicacies. The worst part is that even when a dessert doesn’t actually contain nuts, I usually still can’t have it because it can’t be guaranteed. Desserts are also much less reliable in terms of the cross-contamination risk. I’m sure all you fellow sufferers can sympathise with me on the whole missing out on dessert thing! Follow my Instagram account www.instagram.com/allergianabroad where I trace the delectable-looking desserts enjoyed by my friends when we go out, that I have to miss out on.

What was the problem with the desserts in Florence?

Well.. let’s start with the waffles and crepes. They looked and smelt way too good. But every place I went to served Nutella as a topping. This meant that Nutella would be poured onto the crepe machine and left to (probably deliciously) melt onto the crepe. Whilst waffles weren’t as risky, given that the Nutella isn’t put into the waffle machine itself, I was still too nervous given that Nutella was the main topping of choice and it can be quite messy/drippy. From memory, even where Nutella wasn’t offered as a topping, there would instead be a similar syrup that also contained hazelnuts.

Next is the gelato. Well as in Australia, there were lots (if not more) nut flavours on offer at any given gelateria. In Australia, I only really eat packaged/tub ice cream, as pretty much every ice creamery/gelateria has a variety of nut flavours. There is such a high risk of cross-contamination due to the use of the same spoon for all flavours or, where this isn’t the case, the flavours are still right next to one another. And those sneaky nut buggers just might decide to jump over and visit the coffee ice cream.

Another thing to look out for at the gelato stores is that a lot of them have chocolate and peanut coated cones. I didn’t go near any of these gelato stores. They tend to be set out on the counter above all the ice cream flavours and they made me feel rather uncomfortable!

Then we have the chocolate stores, such as Venchi (an Italian gourmet chocolate manufacturer), which have a huge variety of yummy treats, including ice cream and chocolate goodies. As always, a lot of these contained nuts. Venchi did have some packaged goods, but most of these looked as if they were pre-packaged by the store rather than factory packaged (factory packaged somehow seeming more reliable). Instead, I purchased some factory-style packaged Venchi chocolate elsewhere from a confectionary story (see Florence and the (waffle) Machine – Part 2) – and yes, it was delicious!

The only consolation for missing out on these treats was:

  • Firstly, my eyes at least got to enjoy an array of desserts as I forced the BF to have just about EVERY dessert that ever existed in Florence, because if I couldn’t enjoy it, then at least he should [that makes sense, right?]. I lived vicariously through him.. at least twice a day.
  • Secondly, I got to make up for all the food experiences that the BF missed out on due to this Allergian. While it wasn’t my ‘fault’ per se, and while he was more than happy to miss out, I still felt bad. But I think it is safe to say that he made up for it in Italy by way of (lots and lots of) desserts.

See my next post – Florence and the (waffle) Machine – Part 2 – for some specific stories from my dessert adventures in Florence, including some awesome nut-friendly dessert finds, a sneaky nut hideout discovery and some general tips and advice!

collage

See – I wasn’t lying about the BF’s dessert consumption!

Until next time…

The Allergian Abroad

Yumbo Italiano

04 Sunday Jan 2015

Posted by in Milk Allergy and Intolerance, Nut Allergy, The Italian Job

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Ciao Italia!

After 2 weeks in beautiful Spain, it was time to conquer our next country. After a helluva expensive flight from San Sebastian to Nice (via Barcelona), delayed baggage and a 3-train journey from Nice, we had arrived in Florence.

For this Allergian, Italian food is a clear winner. Not only is it extremely tasty. But more importantly, it’s safe. At any Italian restaurant, I can find many options for what to order (and no this is not normal for me with most other cuisines). Nuts tend only to feature by way of pesto or pine nuts and in my experience, this is always clearly identified. Combine this with the fact that I love carb-licious, fresh, delectable bread, pasta and pizza (and anything else of this variety), I had arrived in Allergian heaven (excluding the lactose intolerance issue, which I sometimes naughtily like to overlook).

For those of you who feel sorry for the poor deprived BF, who unfortunately may miss out sometimes because of my allergies, I’ll have you know that in Italy he had a ball. With all the gelato, waffles, crepes, Italian hot chocolates, crème brulees ETC ETC that Italy is famous for, he went all out and had the time of his life. Me on the other hand.. not so successful.

IMG_7395

Before I get into the specifics of each city I visited in Italy, let me make a few general statements and observations about Italy.

Firstly, in Italy, the term “pesto” does not always mean the same thing as it does here in Australia. In Australia, pesto always contains nuts in some form or another, usually pine nuts, so I always avoid it. But in Italy, I discovered that often (perhaps always, but don’t quote me on that), pesto does not actually contain nuts. Rather, it was more of a herb/oregano type mixture. DO NOT just assume this though. Always always check!! Even if the first 5 restaurants you ask do not use nuts in their pesto, I would still always check just to be sure.

Secondly, if you do not eat pork, like me, always check whether the dish you are ordering (particularly in the case of pastas) contain pork. For example, bolognese will often be made with a mixture of beef and pork. The restaurant will always tell you which meat they use if you ask. I had a very funny conversation with a waitress in Rome when I asked what meat they used for their bolognese. She wasn’t sure how to say the words in English, so we started using animal sounds like “oink oink” to communicate the message – it was hilarious!

Thirdly, in Italy I discovered a pasta dish that was simple and basic, yet tasty. I ordered this whenever I was sick of eating out, felt a little bit off, or felt like something a bit more bland. It’s usually called something along the lines of “spaghetti aglio, olio e pepperoncino” and it is comprised of spaghetti, olive oil, garlic and chilli flakes (I usually asked for a half serve of the chili flakes). A great, safe, allergy-friendly option! I’ve even started making this at home, using fresh pasta that my dad and I have (almost) mastered!

Pasta

One thing I loved about Italy was the bread. Yes, it sounds incredibly sad. Almost every restaurant gives you a serve of bread with your meal. From our observations, a lot of people don’t even eat their bread, or have only a piece or two. For me and the BF, this was one of the highlights of each meal! Delicious, soft, fresh bread, dipped in olive oil and balsamic. The perfect side to our meal. Delizioso!

For nut Allergians, dining in Italy will be a breeze compared to other European countries. I can’t say the same for those with gluten intolerances though! They would probably miss out on most of the deliciousness of Italian food. From what I paid attention to (which wasn’t a whole lot), I don’t think that GF options are as common in Italy as in Australia, where there is “* GF option available” on almost every restaurant menu. I would love to hear from those who can comment on how prevalent GF options are in Italy.

Something that all Allergians can enjoy, except possibly the fructards, is wine. I am nothing close to a wine connoisseur, but I am somewhat fussy as to which wines I enjoy and which I don’t (and there is not necessarily any correlation between price and my enjoyment). But in Italy, almost all the wine is amazing. You can order the house wine in any restaurant and it will be superb. The waiters even recommend the house wine over the other wines served. IMO, the house wines in Australian restaurants are usually quite average. But Italy is famed for its wine, and it definitely lives up to its reputation!

Stay posted for allergy-filled (and other) stories from my travels around Italy.

Until next time… buon appetito!

The Allergian Abroad