Cheap Eats in Italy : The Savvy Traveler's Guide to the Best Meals at the Best Prices

The culinary bounty of Florence, Rome, and Venice--Italy's most visited cities--is more affordable than ever to travelers using this handy volume. Includes twelve original maps.

If you're planning on visiting Florence, Venice, or Rome on your next trip to Italy, Cheap Eats in Italy could be your best friend. Author Sandra A. Gustafson starts off by initiating readers into the ins and outs of eating cheaply in Italy. (Rule number one: eat standing up when possible--breakfast or lunch at the bar can be as much as 50 percent cheaper than sitting at a table.) She clues you in on Italian fast-food joints such as rosticceries and cafés that offer tavola calda (hot table) where the food is plentiful, good, and inexpensive, and she explains the ground rules of dining in an Italian restaurant. ("If the waiter does not bring Parmesan cheese, it probably does not go with what you're eating. Parmesan is never used on pasta with fish or with lots of garlic, but it is offered with many types of soup;" and "Coffee is served after a meal, never with it.")

General information in the sections devoted to each city gives way to specific details about the restaurants listed. Gustafson provides a thorough review of each restaurant that covers specialties of the house, ambience, and what to look forward to--or avoid. (Concerning desserts at the otherwise highly-recommended Il Vegetariano in Florence, Gustafson writes: "Desserts are in the lead-ball category. I recommend skipping them.") With Cheap Eats in Italy you'll know what you're getting before you get it.