Where To 'Go Gourmet And Not Go Broke' In Italy, According To Rick Steves

Rick Steves loves Italy. Who wouldn't love the country where you had the best meal of your life? Sure, Italy is full of ancient Roman ruins and beautiful tiered cities on the coast, but what really drives Steves to come back again and again is the food culture. He loves the out-of-the-way places to eat; it's one of his top tips for dining abroad. He finds that the establishments in low-rent spaces spend more money on ingredients than on paying for the location. Of the many different Italian styles of places to dine, he finds the humble enoteca, Italian for wine library, to have the best gourmet to euro value.

"These wine bars serve good, reasonably priced wine by the glass and pride themselves on simple menus featuring quality local and seasonal ingredients, well-cooked and economical," Steves writes on his website. Many Italians know the value of eating seasonally. When ingredients are at their freshest, they are full of flavor and shine on their own. Steves likes to avoid the secondi dishes, which are usually expensive plates of meat or fish, in favor of the antipasti and primi piatti. In his experience, this helps get him cheaper, fresher meats, cheeses, and pastas.

One of Rick Steves' favorite aspects of a small eatery like an enoteca is how prevalent the chef is. "For more of an indulgence, I like to put myself in the hands of the chef," he writes. He'll often ask them what dishes they're excited about or even just set a price limit and ask the chef to just start bringing dishes out.

This connection to the chef and quality ingredients that's so common in Italy can be found back home in the U.S., if you know where to look. The Japanese dining tradition of omakase translates to "I leave the details up to you" and can be found across the U.S.. You sit at the counter with the chef serving you small plates, often sushi, and explaining each dish. A new trend of pizza omakase can be found at places like Pizzeria Sei in Los Angeles or Monk in Kyoto. There you can sit back, relax, and eat what the pizzaiolo is excited about that day. Smaller restaurants like Vinh Loi Tofu in Reseda, near Los Angeles, have chefs who are excited to just feed you what they think you'll like. Unlike large chain restaurants, small mom-and-pop type places like the ones Steves frequents in Italy often have deeper connections with the diners and surrounding communities. Take a look around your community, and hopefully you'll find one where you can enjoy your own Rick Steves Italian experience without the expensive plane flight!