When it comes to food, Italy tops.
Here is a one minute video of some of my finds.
More of Italy Food
THE FOOD OF ITALY IN NEW HAVEN CONNECTICUT
I had lived in Connecticut for fifty years before moving to Florida in 2013. During that period of time I loved the festivals , food and neighborhoods that denoted Italy and Italians.
Wooster Street is home to a large number of Italian restaurants in New Haven. My wife Angela and I returned this summer and took a day to explore the wonders of New Haven and it’s culinary attractions.
Books have been written about the Pizza in New Haven, Colin Caplan wrote Pizza in New Haven in 2018. I traced the history to the family operated pizza ristoranti in New Haven. Many are still in business today. Some with wood or coal burning ovens. Our favorite was Ernie’s on Whalley Avenue. The Wooster street area has many surviving restaurants and pastry shops. Many of the residents of New Haven came from Amalfi, Atrani, and Maori and brought their culinary skills with them.
Ernies Pizzeria , New Haven, our favorite.
Frank Pepe has been a staple of Wooster Street since the early 1900s. From their web site ” Portrait of Frank Pepe
Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana was founded in 1925 by Frank Pepe (b. April 15, 1893 d. September 6, 1969). Born in the town of Maiori, on the Amalfi coast, southwest of Naples, Frank Pepe was the quintessential Italian immigrant. Poor and illiterate, he immigrated to the United States in 1909 at age 16 with little more than his health and a strong work ethic. His first job was at a New Haven, CT factory until he returned to fight for his native Italy in World War 1 a few years late”
Angela and I have stayed in Maiori on the Amalfi Coast and many of the residents of the Amalfi areas immigrated New Haven. Pepe’s is famous for its white clam pizza. The restaurant does a big business and it is not unusual to see people waiting in line outside the restaurant
Sally’s is also on Wooster Street and have been in business since 1938. It is also a coal fired pizzeria Wooster street.
Consiglios, Pasta Eatitalina Trattoria Napoletana, Zeneli Pizzeria e Cucina, Abate Pizza and Seafood, are just some of the restaurants in the area.
Libbys Pastry Shop is the perfect spot for a Cappuccino, espresso, and a dolce.
A great assortment of treats
As we leave the Wooster Street area we head over to Liuzzi in North Haven for some Italian treats.
From their website
Hailing from the Southern Adriatic region of Italy, Pasquale Liuzzi came here in 1961 followed by his brother Nick in 1972. Together they founded Liuzzi Gourmet Food Market in 1981. Dreaming of building their own business and carrying on the proud, hardworking traditions of southern Italy, the Liuzzi family’s persistence and tenacity paid dividends.
This is one of the largest salumeria or delicatessen in the state of Connecticut. It make me feel like I am back in Italy.
Smoked Prosciutto
So many choices
I stop when the basket gets too heavy
They have large assortment of takeout.
Real Cheese Wheels, not plastic.
Great video of Pizza in New Haven
New Haven Apizza from Full Send on Vimeo.
InfoNewHaven.com
Credit for video,
Full Send Productions
http://fullsendproductions.com/fsp-demo-reel
A food market in Amalfi, Italy
ROME, FOOD, ITALY
A short video of Good Eats In Rome and Other Places Over The Years
Do not view on an empty stomach.
<p><a href=”https://vimeo.com/456640117″>Good eats in Roma over the years</a> from <a href=”https://vimeo.com/user32714423″>Greg Speck</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.</p>
Learning Italian
I have been trying to learn Italian for several years. Pimsleur, Italianpod101, CD’s, and Duolingo. They all have helped me improve. Duolingo is one of the best products I have used. The free version is an excellent introduction to learning any language. Premium is a better way to speed up learning, no adds, nor stops after making several mistakes.
This has worked well and I have used Duolingo for many years with both Spanish and Italian .
It has worked well, and I have used it daily for over two years. I realized on our trip last year to Cortina d’Ampezzo that speaking to Italians in their language was fun and made our trip so much more enjoyable. One night we had the owners of our Airbnb over for dinner. The conversation was 95% in Italian as Renato, and his wife spoke little English.
At this point, I had reached the limit of my conversational abilities. It was a good conversation, but I wanted to go farther. One year later, I have started to take Italian lessons. Online Italian courses seemed to be the way to go in the ane of Coronavirus.
I searched several websites and looked closely at two of them. Lingoci appeared to be the best for me.
From the photo, you can see there are several languages to choose from.
Once you choose a language to learn, you see a list of instructors from whom you can choose.
I chose a sample lesson with Lucrezia, who comes from Milano and now lives in Barcelona. She is fluent in several languages. I was a little nervous about the class, but she put me at ease quickly.
Here is a screenshot of my introductory lesson in Italian.
She is very accomplished with all levels of Italian, and I felt very relaxed learning with her. I purchased a package of 10 lessons for $22.90 US dollars (each). Each lesson lasts for 55 minutes. That is a bargain for a one on one learning experience.
Here is a link to the web site
I do not get any payment from Lingoci, and I do this because I enjoy languages and this had made my learning so much more enjoyable. I have scheduled my lessons for consecutive weeks and at the same time. I highly recommend Lingoci and will continue with my studies for the year.
Most lessons are on Skype which enables a student to get vocabulary and downloads of assignments and documents. This is very helpful.
Give it a try. One on one is the best way to learn an language, and Lincoci makes it easy and affordable.
https://lingoci.com/italian-lessons-skype#tutors
Thie above like will open up the Italian tutors section for Lingoci. Take a look.
San Pietro at night
Ischia an Island Off The Coast of Naples
I came across and article on Ischia today that appeared in Forbes Magazine a while back.
I remember it for its beauty and ease of transportation via the city busses. The food was excellent and thermal baths abound in this little volcanic island. Take the ferry from Napoli and enjoy your stay.
It is just s short ferry ride from Naples to Ischia. On the way uou pass the equally enchanting island of Procida.
The island of Pricida
A 2018 article in Forbes magazine said “Ischia may be one of Italy’s best kept secrets”. It is certainly a relaxing and interesting place to visit. It is affordable with excellent restaurants. It is more casual than Capri and much less hectic. Thermal hot [springs feed pools for a relaxing warm swim. Parts of the movie “The Talented Mister Ripley” were filmed here. Great seafood abounds on this 18 square mile island
On the ferry from Napoli to Ischia. We brought our car on the ferry, is was a reasonable price.
The Castello Aragones is a medieval castle next to Ischia (one of the Phlegraean Islands), at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, Italy. The castle stands on a volcanic rocky islet that connects to the larger island of Ischia by a causeway (Ponte Aragonese).
Insalata Caprese for our lunch
Lava formations from past eruptions on this volcanic island.
Getting ready to jump.
Diving into the sea brings relief from the warm summer day.
Each day the pool is emptied and refilled from the thermal spring. The water is warm, and if filled with minerals.
We took a bus to get to Lo Scoglio, in Sant Angelo. It was s short ten minute drive to an amazing treat.
The entrance to Lo Scoglio
Frutti di Mare
My wife Angela was thrilled with all this fresh seafood.
A cruise ship passes by.
Outside dining makes for an enjoyable evening. .
Samt Angelo, Ischia. Check out the fumarole beaches with steam jets rise up through the sands. Food is cooked by burying it in the sand and letting the volcanic steam do its thing.
A salumaria or delicatessen has the real bufala mozzarella. This is best served at room temperature and best kept only on day. It is different from the fresh mozzarella which we find in American supermarkets.
More views
It is well worth the trip.Stay for a few days to enjoy the shops, dining, and the swimming. You can bring your car over on the ferry. Busses run to many of the attractions.
Non vedo l’ora. I can’t wait.
The best cheese comes from Italy. Visiting this year is out, and I got hungry, 
So I searched on Amazon for Pecorino cheese. Sheep’s milk cheese. I found a great product and decided to order it,
It was shipped UPS Air and arrived in two days from Parma, Italy.
It was packed with a styrofoam inner container with cooling jej.
This is it. Just about 4 lbs.
It even includes a cutting knife.
It is a softer cheese than Parmesan with a wonderful aroma and taste. Pecorino Toscano is a PDO cheese made in the Tuscany region of Italy. You can order directly from them at the following web site
For me all cheese that I have eaten in Italy is great, and now I can bring it home. My 2 kilo order cost $79 with UPS air shipping. That was a good price. See the photo below that show a shop window in the Trastevere section of Roma where the price for kilo was 63 Euro.
In Florida you can visit Doris Market in West Palm which specializes in Italian Foods.
I Never Forget A Meal
I am borrowing the title of a book by Michael Tucker who also fell in love with Italy and has always loved food. Italian food and Italian meals are to be savored and enjoyed. His book was great and you can find copies on Amazon. Also recommended is “Living in a Foreign Language” also by Michael Tucker which is similar to Under the Tuscan Son, but with more humor and a bit of attitude.
We are on the island of Ischia, a small island off the coast of Napoli. We stayed in a small hotel with great views of the area and had a pleasant lunch of Prosciuto e Melone.
We also hand Insalata Capresse with fresh mozzarella di buffala
At anolther ristorante in ischia we had frutti di mare. As fresh as you can get.
While staying on Lake Carda in the town of Brenzone we had a waterfront dinner of Cacio e Pepe
Lunch at a winery in Vicenza 
Below is home made pasta in Milano, I took a pasta making class.
Felt is was time to lear how to do it, I had a pasta making machine at home that my bother bought about thirty years ago.
Nothing like your own fresh pasta
Pasta alla Norma
Mixed fruit that we bought at the market in Siracusa Sicily
Below is beefsteak Florentine
You start with aged meet. This is from Il Pandemonio, Florence Italy
It comes rare to medium rate, It is a think steak, about 1.5 to 2.0 inches.
There is nothing like it.
Back in Catania, Sicily
An entire meal of antipasti
My wife Angel and I after a wonderful meal.
Il Torre Del Mangia, Siena
Piazza del Campo
Insalata Capresse
There are more to come. This Brunello from 2011 met it Demis in 2020 as we reminisced about Italy.
The Markets of Italy
To me nothing is more beautiful than the way Italian markets display their food. The quality is overwhelming, the aromas intriguing, and the tastes are fantastico.
Fish Market In Catania, Sicily
Catania Fish Market
Stall in Amalfi
Catania
Fruit and Vegetables
Lemons, Catanzaro Calabria
Autogrill
A Pasticciera in Erice
Blood Oranges, Palermo
Garlic Aglio
Melenzanie – Eggplant
Mushrooms, Rome
Artichokes, Carciofi Roma
Fresh Bread, Roma
My banana harvest, Vero Beach, FL
Not Italy but this came from a Tree in our front yard.
Ciao
Stylized Photos From Past Trips
St Peters At Night
Duomo Milan
Lady On The Balcony, Palermo 2014
Somewhere Near Lake Maggiore 2008
More Photos From Past Trips. The Daily Market in Siracusa, Sicily
AT THE MARKET IN SIRACUSA, SICILY
Cipolla di Tropea.: The Calabrese cuisine is a reflection of its history – it is not refined or elaborate, normally simple, using most of the time vegetable such as the onions, in particular the red onion, the red onion of Tropea. These famous red onions are grown in an area which stretches in both directions along the coast from Tropea. Important enough to be sold in Sicily. (Google)
gregsitaly 