sinfonia

We are currently in Italy, having visited Venice for a few days and Florence/Tuscany countryside for a week (thanks to so many great suggestions from FTers), and now I am back in the Vicenza area. Unfortunately, we didn't always buy some of the food stuff that we should have when we were in Venice and Tuscany, and are hoping to find some of it in the Vicenza area or non-Venice Veneto region. If need be, we can go back to Venice, but we were hoping to find some of this nearer to Vicenza, Verona, Bassano del Grappa, or even Parma or Modena since all of those are possible day trips from here this week. I doubt we will get back to Tuscany, so am hoping FTers that are familiar with where certain food items are sold can help direct us.

a) When we were in San Gimignano, we tasted the most FANTASTIC fig panforte. We had a little bit, meant to go back to buy more, and then forgot before we left. When we got back to Florence and remembered, I bought some panforte (at a dear price) but it was not nearly as good as the wonderful fig panforte from San Gimignano. Is there any chance that we might be able to find fig panforte somewhere in the towns we will be near? We have a car and can drive.

b) In Venice, we saw bricks of what looked sort of like bricks of almond brittle - but they were thick, not thin like brittle. We were also hoping to find that closer without going into Venice, but will go back to Venice if possible.

c) We have read so many places about "risi e pisi" in the Veneto region, but we have been to countless restaurants and have not stumbled upon it yet. We asked the concierge at one of our hotels and she said it was just food for poor people and made it sound like it was not something we would find in a restaurant. Is this true?

d) We saw some amazing pistachio ball cookie things in the window of a pasticceria in Venice, but when we went back to get one, it was closed. Do you have a recommendation for a really great pasticceria in Vicenza area, Verona, or Bassano where we might find something similar to this?

e) I would like to buy many Italian ingredients before I go home - good quality pistachios, Marcona almonds, olives, cheese, etc. Is there a particular specialty store that you would recommend to purchase these in the Vicenza area or will any Italian supermarket do? It seems like cheese and sausages would be best from a salumi place, but what about things like olives and pistachios?

Thank you for all of the excellent advice thus far in planning for this trip. It would have been a little bit of a disaster without the knowledgeable input from FTers. Instead, it has been an incredible trip!

bdemaria

Pistachios will be imported - so I'm not sure its worth the trouble/expense to carry them back to the states.

As for salumi, cheese - be aware that you may run into trouble/have the items confiscated w/US agriculture when you return to the US.

If you do go back to Venice, go to Drogheria Mascari - a wine/spice shop near the Rialto (San Polo 381, on the Ruga degli Spezieri) to find the best spices, nuts, etc...

slawecki

"risi e pisi" requires some young peas from a particular plant. it is only available for a short period of time in the spring. it was allowed only during a short period of time, and only the royalty were allowed to eat it. others caught were punished by death.

tyn

Risi e bisi is made using fresh baby peas and their pods, so this is not the right season for this dish. If you do find a restaurant serving it, it is likely to be made with frozen stuff.

The other food you are looking for is quite specific to the places where you have seen it, so it may be hard to find it again someplace else unless you have a chance to visit one of the Eataly food stores that sell regional specialties, but there's none in Venice/Verona.

If you want to take pistachios home, you will need to look for the ones marked as being from Bronte in Sicily or they are likely to come from Middle East/Greece as bdemaria mentioned above.

Perche

a) Since Italy didn't exist as a country 160 years ago, each region developed its own food. The panforte is a sienese christmas tradition. I'm surprised you even found it. Something that is very good in one part of the country may not be so good elsewhere. San Gimi is close to Siena. It's probably going to be hard to find its like in the Veneto region. It's hard to try to relive what happened. It doesn't usually work. Enjoy the fact that you got to enjoy the real, regional panforte, keep it in your memory where you'll always have it, and move on and have new unforgettable experiences. If you are back around Sienna, you can get the good panforte.

b) Again, food in Italy tends to be regional. The almond candy that you had in Venice is called croccante da mandorla, or almond crisp. You might find it around the Veneto, but like the rico panforte, regional dishes tend to stay regional. It's like you can get pizza in the Veneto, but it's going to be disappointing compared to eating pizza in Naples, where pizza is from.

c) Forget about rici i bici. A lot of people think that italians mainly eat pasta. That's just not true up in the north, where rice grows plentiful. Marco Polo was from Venice, and he brought back rice. Rice grows very well in the region, and people are almost as likely to whip up a rice dish or risotto, as a pasta dish in some areas. You must try the risotto. Risotta is not served alone. Something is added to the rice. It can some cheeses, it can be porcini mushrooms, etc. Rici i bici is risotto with green peas added to it. When served peas, most kids sweep them to the side of the plate and try to avoid eating them. I guess there are some pea fans, but rici i bici is just risotto, or rice, with a few peas in it. Nothing special at all, nothing.

d) No recommendation for any specific pasticerrie in other towns.

e) Be careful trying to bring food over. Any salami that you buy will be confiscated at the US border, and eaten by the TST staff. What foodstuff you can and can't bring in changes all the time. Check the customs and immigration website. If the cheese was made from unpasteurized milk, you cannot bring it in. If the person selling it to you says that it's legal, don't believe it. They are not lying, they just don't know. In Venice there is a store called I Tre Mercanti, that is pretty easy to find. They sell gourmet food, and will also ship it for you. If you buy enough you don't have to pay the VAT, and what you save on that usually is equal to the shipping charge. There's no problem with things like pistachios and almonds, but just relieve it can be hard to bring food stuff over. There have been many people who buy things, even at duty free, who have been told it's OK, who then get them confiscated at the US border. Check the website, and don't believe what a seller tells you.

You mentioned going to Modena or Parma. They are nice, with Modena being better. You should try to do it in conjunction with visiting an acetaio in Modena, a place where they make traditional balsamic vinegar. Balsamic vinegar of Modena is nothing like the balsamic vinegar in the US. Completely different products. It's sweet, thick, you pour it over gelato, over parmesan cheese, over a steak, but you do not put it on salad. Once you try it you'll never use that fake balsamic vinegar we get here in the states again. Parma is not so impressive, but if you have time on your hands, it's nice, especially if you can visit the cheese making places.

PWMTrav

Glad you're having a good time. I'm agreeing with Perche. Don't even bother trying to chase specialties that you enjoyed in one city once you've moved on. It won't ever be as good, if you can find it at all - at its core, there's no such thing as Italian food. There is only Italian cooking, as a paradigm really, and it just involves using what's local and in season.

Plus, even if you find something you really liked somewhere else, it'll never be as good. It could be identical, maybe even shipped in that same day, but our surroundings are always part of the experience. You'll just end up disappointed that it's not the same. Plus, you'd be forgoing the opportunity to try something new and local that you can pine for, and maybe even plan a return trip just to go have I've said this before in other threads, but in a trip of finite duration, you only have so many opportunities to eat. That doesn't mean I won't visit the same restaurant 3 times in a week, but there's an opportunity cost to that.

I'm starting to think I take eating too seriously.

Forstbetrieb

Except Pistacchio di Bronte...

If you can find them and you can trust the seller...

ckendall

and if you can find the crema di pistacchio di bronte it is easy to transport (small jars, not cheap). Something like this: http://www.deliziati.com/

And it's great for both sweet desserty as well as savory dishes.

sinfonia

Wow! Once again, you all have proven to be extremely helpful to us for this trip. First and foremost, you have convinced me to "let go" of the "need" to find fig panforte up here in the Veneto and find something new to love that is unique to this region. Same goes with trying to find risi e bisi this season. But all of your information having to do with USDA/customs requirements, pistachios, cheese, and Italian history, plus so much more, has been enlightening and beneficial. Thanks very much! By the way, I found some of that pistachio creme yesterday and will be taking that home with me in case I don't still run into the pistachios di bronte that you mentioned!

Thanks again!

travelista

Hi Sinfonia, I traveled back with a kilo of cheese in February with ZERO problems! And it was amazing..... and actually you can purchase salami too; all the food just has to be vacuum-sealed. We were in Bologna for a few days (not too far from Verona area). They have amazing food there... and you can find salumerias and cheese shops. I'll try and find the name of the cheese shop we went to. It was divine!

Perche

There is a recent thread in this forum written by someone coming back from Bologna, I think, he bought food back on the advice of the store owner who told him it was legal if shrinker wrapped. He wound up losing all of his meat ad a lot of his money. Someone who knows how to search this site better than me can probably provide the link to his post and subsequent comments.

Just because you have gotten away with it doesn't mean it's legal.

Check the US Customs website. It's basically going to come down to the person staring at you when you try to get back in to the USA. And if you are carrying prohibited food, you'll be pulled out.

JMN57

And be particularly careful if you have Global Entry. If you try to go through, violate GE rules and get caught, you can lose Global Entry.

travelista

So... appears that most cheeses are fine, but meats are a no-go. I only brought back Parmesan, and my brother brought back Pecorino.

I researched a bit and this is what I found:

http://www.cbp.gov/travel/internatio...ted-restricted

www.aphis.usda.gov

The following food items are generally allowed entry:

Condiments such as oil, vinegar, mustard, catsup, pickles, syrup, honey without honey combs, jelly, and jam.
Foodstuffs such as bakery items, candy, and chocolate.
Hard cured cheeses without meat, such as parmesan or cheddar.
Canned goods and goods in vacuum- packed jars (except those containing meat or poultry products) for personal use.
Fish or fish products for personal use.
Powdered drinks sealed in original containers with ingredients listed in English.
Dry mixes containing dairy and egg ingredients (such as baking mixes, cocoa mixes, drink mixes, instant cake mixes, instant pudding mixes, liquid drink mixes containing reconstituted dry milk or dry milk products, potato flakes, and infant formula) that are commercially labeled, presented in final finished packaging, and require no further manipulation of the product are generally allowed.

Perche

That's about right. The only food you can bring back is more or less what you can already buy in most major cities in the USA. As far as hard cheeses, you should be able to buy the same parmigiano-reggiano and pecorino romano in the USA (never ever, buy parmesan cheese). There are a few other foods you can squeeze through customs, but really, it's not worth the potential trouble to go beyond bringing back chocolates, biscotti, etc.

To Forstbetrieb and ckendall, I forgot about pistachio di Bronte, thanks for reminding me. Last night I was walking by Al Covo in Venezia and saw outside on the menu a pasta with bacala, with sugo di pistachio di bronte. I just had to get it, and it was out of this world!

ckendall

Sounds delightful; now that I am back in Milan I will have to pick some up. [my dinner last night was not terrible either, near Bergamo, featuring an out of this world bresaola (and apple slices and cabbage) and coniglio "nostrano" obtained from a local hunter...]