And Now the Letter H–hamburger with an Italian accent

Today I discovered Hamerica.  Make that Hamerica’s. It’s a chain restaurant in Italy “dove vivi l’esperienza degli States e provi i migliori hamburger fatti in Italia con un gusto completamente americano.”  Best hamburger in Italy, they boast. Just like being in the States. Walking through Rimini this morning, we passed what used to be Picnic…More

Ours Are Better–more hamburgers per piacere

One of our current favorite restaurants in Rimini is Nud e Crud. It’s just across Ponte di Tiberio, the 2000-year-old Roman bridge that takes you from old Rimini into San Giuliano, which is fisherman Rimini (and Fellini Rimini). Nud e Crud translates roughly as plain and raw. The food is simple and consistently excellent. A…More

Biberius–rhymes with gregarious

We were eavesdropping last night.  We couldn’t help ourselves. And we were glad we did. We were sitting outside at Biberius in Rimini, our second night in town. Our second night back in Italy. A guy sitting directly behind me was talking about a cook. He had two children, this cook. He was thinking about…More

Into the Mix–glorious seafood, the mista

One of the delights in eating in Romagna (and I hazard to guess all over Italy) is the “misto.”  The mix.  Where I come from, eating fish you usually get one thing. Your appetizer is one thing–a tartar, half a dozen oysters, a bowl of mussels. And your main course is usually one thing–fillet of…More

Baked Pears–eat dessert first

This dish falls into the “life is short, eat dessert first” category. You could eat this dessert without feeling guilty. Poached pear and prunes. We enjoyed this dish the other day in Rimini at La Marianna, a seafood trattoria. Pears and prunes are baked in red wine, with a couple cloves added. These looked like…More

The Kids Are All Right

These are kids who know and care about food. For years I would ask my Arabic students, Where do you eat? In what restaurants do you find the best, most authentic Arabic food? The response was predictable: a bewildered smile. Then, also predictable, the answer: At home. Whatever they ate in a restaurant was, by…More