Written by Solveig Steinhardt
Florence-born travel writer who loves street food, Bach, beaches, underrated cities, and architecture. You can find more of her writing here.
Think Italy, and endless lunches in the countryside spring to mind, with large dining tables set under grape-covered pergolas that protect diners from the Tuscan sun. Though it’s true that Italian cuisine is mostly a seated affair, street food delicacies abound across the peninsula, going far beyond your usual slice of pizza al taglio or the good old panino al prosciutto. Here is a list of all-time favorites.
tramezzini
Venice
As any Italian will tell you, a tramezzino is a triangular sandwich made with soft, crustless white bread. A common find in any Italian espresso bar, it’s often nothing to write home about. In Venice, however, the whole tramezzino concept has been taken to the next level, with a focus on the filling, which is generous and bulging. The most common types are stuffed with tuna and olives or onions, or a roll of thinly cut prosciutto with raw or cooked vegetables. You’ll find tramezzini all across Venice, but for guaranteed satisfaction visit Bar alla Toletta (Dorsoduro 1191) or Il Caffè on Campo Santa Margherita.
Wine Pairing:
A crisp glass of classic Prosecco or Prosecco Sur Lie (on the lees)
the lampredotto sandwich
Florence
Offals, such as tripe and liver, have always been a staple of Italy’s “cucina povera” (poor people’s cuisine). In Florence, this translates into one thing: the lampredotto sandwich, Florence’s street food par excellence. Made with the cow’s fourth stomach (the abomasum), lampredotto is boiled before the eyes of hungry customers in what looks like an aptly made mobile kitchen fitted with bicycle wheels – or, in less traditional situations, simply a food truck. Once cooked, the meat is chopped and topped with salsa verde and then served in a rosetta bun cut in half, its top part quickly dipped in the broth where the meat was boiling. Head to the Bambi stand at Florence’s Mercato Centrale for an authentic lampredotto recipe that’s stayed in the family for over a century.
Wine Pairing:
Chianti Classico (a younger vintage would be great!)
chickpea pies
Genoa and Livorno
This peppery flatbread made with chickpea flour is traditional in a few Italian coastal towns, but as often happens when recipes are shared across places, each city claims its own to be the original and best version. And though these pies are all quite similar, they go by different names depending on the city: so you’ll be ordering torta di ceci in Livorno, cecina in Pisa, farinata or fainà in Genoa, and pane e panelle in Palermo. Whichever version you are served, you can expect to be eating hot slices of what looks like a frittata, with lots of pepper on top and stuffed inside a crunchy bun, to be enjoyed on the go. For a great fainá in Genoa, head to Antica Sciamadda (Via San Giorgio 14).
Wine Pairing:
Vermentino della Riviera Ligure di Ponente
Fried cod, fried sage, fried everything!
Rome
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. That is, eat as much fried food as you possibly can! Romans love to fry things in batter and have turned “fritti” into a real local specialty: the fried courgette flowers with a mozzarella and anchovy filling that you’ll find as appetizers in most pizzerias are a real must-try, but make sure to also look for freshly fried artichokes, whether “alla giudia” or not, and fried sage leaves – so crunchy and savory! For a traditional fried food place, check out Dar Filettaro a Santa Barbara, a hole-in-the-wall shop that specializes in freshly fried cod filets to go, hot and crunchy on the outside and soft and juicy on the inside.
Wine Pairing:
Sparkling Frascati
Trapizzino
Rome
If you loved tramezzini, you’ll certainly go crazy for the trapizzino, a mix of pizza bianca and tramezzino invented in 2008 by Roman chef Stefano Calligari. The idea is simple, as it’s nothing more than a triangular slice of pizza bianca filled with a sauce. What’s special about this sauce, however, is that it’s usually made with revisitations of famous Italian recipes, such as eggplant parmigiana, meatballs with tomato, or anchovies and cream, to mention just a few. In Rome, visit the original Trapizzino eatery in Testaccio for some real gourmet street food, or check out the website for branches in Milan, Turin, Trieste or even NYC!
Wine Pairing:
It’s drinking out of the region, but I love a Lambrusco is Sorbara (Emilia-Romagna)
Arrosticini di pecora (grilled lamb skewers)
Abruzzo
These juicy lamb skewers, simply grilled with salt and pepper, are historically a tradition of the mountainous Abruzzo region in central Italy, but after WW2 they also became a popular dish in Rome, brought to the capital by Abruzzese war refugees. Today, arrosticini are a staple appetizer in most of Rome’s meat restaurants, but you can also buy them “to go” and eat them while sitting on the steps of your favorite church. You can order arrosticini to go from Pizza e Arrosticini, in the Monteverde neighborhood.
Wine Pairing:
Montepulciano d’Abbruzzo
Arancino or arancina?
Sicily
When Sicilians talk about their delicious fried rice balls with tomato sauce and saffron, filled with mozzarella, the conversation always turns into an animated discussion: should they be called arancino or arancina? And the answer is… it depends where you are! In fact, they are considered feminine (arancina) in Palermo and masculine (arancino) in Catania and surroundings. It’s also a matter of shape, experts say; while arancina is round, arancino has a pointy top. And although both versions share the same recipe, in recent years this grammatical dispute has gotten a bit out of proportion, and each city sees their way of calling arancini as an important part of their cultural identity. So when in Catania or Palermo, be culturally sensitive and make sure you use the right word when ordering!
For some of the best arancini out there, check out Serafino Arancini Espressi in Catania and Arancinando in Palermo.
Wine Pairing:
Try a Classic Method sparkling wine from Etna
Olive Ascolane
Marche
These delicious meat-stuffed olives, breaded and deep fried to create a crunchy yet juicy appetizer, were invented in the late 1800s by the cooks of the Ascoli nobility as a way to use meat leftovers. Back in the day, they were served as a second course together with other fried foods, but now they are a well known street food, to be savored while visiting the city. If you are in Ascoli, do not miss the olive stand Migliori Olive Ascolane in Piazza Arringo 2, which sells the round delights in paper cones.
Wine Pairing:
Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi
