Posted by michaelp on Saturday, May 13, 2017 in 2017 Blog post.

Michael Pellegrino

Experience Blog 1
I had an idea of the way Italians eat meals and the difference in service, but finally getting to experience the long drawn out dinner devoid of intruding servers intent on rushing your party out of the restaurant. The closest I have had to this is our Pellegrino family tradition of eating dinner around 1 or 2 o’clock on sundays which lasts three hours of feasting on typical Italian dishes. I am so used to eating a meal as quickly as possible so I can move on to the next item on my to-do list that it became an eat-to-live situation versus the Italian live-to-eat style. This is typical of the busy American culture, but what I learned in class today is that Italians, specifically Sicilians, prefer a more laissez-faire attitude with the saying, “la pazienza”. This can be witnessed in restaurants across the country in the amount of courses in a typical Italian meal (3 to 4 courses versus 2 to 3 in America) and in the time that waiters allow in between the courses (30 to 45 mins per course versus 15 to 30 in America). At the same you never feel rushed here and the waiters seem to visit your table only when they are certain your party is ready to proceed in the meal. It gives this relaxed sense of ease which Sicilians seem to live their life by and it allows one to appreciate how much Italians love their food. These extended meals give you time to enjoy each and every dish, savor each and every flavor, and enjoy the company of friends and family. The last part can often get lost in our busy lives and sometimes we forget to appreciate the ones we love, but having an extended meal, as often as the Italians do, really gives people a chance to become more involved in each others lives. Even when the table is not flooded with hysterical laughs and sarcastic remarks the pure time spent at the table gives one a chance to relax and enjoy the day in the absence of stress and responsibilities. It is a change of pace we often fail to enjoy in our American lives, but I believe that this style of eating leads to a happier life and better relationships and if us Americans were smart we could really learn something from these Italians and their local ristoranti.