The Sophisticated Palate of the Italian Bambino

Food is very important to Italian people. As is true for many other aspects of life in Italy, food is steeped in tradition. Certain things are eaten at certain times, and in certain ways. These unspoken rules are part of the way of life here. Breakfast is a cafe and a pastry (Eggs and toast for breakfast? Ha!). Lunch is between 12-3, and dinner is from 7 or 8 until 10. Try to eat in any quality Italian restaurant outside of those times and you will be out of luck! Dinner is several courses long, and choosing only one course for your meal with be met, almost surely, with annoyance and a dismissive look down the nose of any restaurant waitstaff. Certain shapes of pasta traditionally come paired with certain sauces, and are eaten in particular ways. For instance, I once asked for parmesan cheese to sprinkle over my penne arrabiata (penne with spicy tomato sauce)  and was given a very questioning look by the waiter. The man at the next table, eating spaghetti pomodoro (spaghetti with tomato and basil sauce)  was left with a pot of cheese when his meal was delivered. It was later explained to me by an Italian that this is just the way it is - no one eats cheese with arrabiata sauce. Just because. No matter the traditions, Italians take very great pride in the food of their country, and rightly so. I'd have to agree with them that it is some of the best in the world.

One tradition I've noticed here is that adults don't seem to feed their babies or children any differently than they feed themselves. While in the USA, any restaurant will have a seperate menu full of kid-friendly (usually quite unhealthy) options, the kids' menu does not exist here. No chicken fingers, no mac and cheese, and no corn dogs are to be found. From the time children are babies, their palates see more culinary action than I will admit mine ever has. Evidence of this is found in the baby food section of the supermarket:

"I'll have the steak...and my infant will have the prosciutto with mixed cheeses, please."

A good selection: Trout, Horse, Mozzarella, and Emmenthal cheese

And my personal favorite of the bunch...rabbit.

I've also read, somewhere, that it is typical for baby foods to be mixed together with olive oil before feeding. Why? I have no idea. Some things I won't even begin to try to understand...