Most travellers spend less time inside monuments than in restaurants--yet a food itinerary is the last thing they think about before setting out on holiday. Lonely Planet's World Food: Italy, part of a new series from the benchmark travel publisher, makes it clear that eating well is essential to enjoying a culture.
Italian food is so familiar--pasta, pizza, minestrone soup---that a pocket-book on the subject may seem superfluous. Author Matthew Evans recognises this and does his best to point out the food, the markets and the restaurants where regional Italian flair reigns. "Eating in Italy is a revelation", Evans writes, "to see how important eating is for a happy life". The chef-turned-food columnist even offers strategies on what to bring home from Italy: "those (foods) that are either hard to buy or are overpriced: porcini mushrooms ... truffles and olive oil." As with other books in the series, this is for people who like to eat, not a cookbook (there are only nine short recipes).
Though the wine and spirits section will suffice in a pinch, a guide such as Burton Anderson's Pocket Guide to Wines of Italy or the massive Gambero Rosso Slow Food Guide To Italian Wines annual compilation of Italian Wines will supplement this book if your tastes go beyond regional vino di tavola. Evans' glossary of Italian food and menu terms is thorough and, since the book takes up little more room than a mobile phone (another Italian essential accessory), don't be shy about using it. --Kathleen Buckley