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I'm Italian (now in the US), and I had some friends come visit in Italy a while ago, and went out to lunch with some of my family. One of my friends ordered a c

I'm Italian (now in the US), and I had some friends come visit in Italy a while ago, and went out to lunch with some of my family. One of my friends ordered a cappuccino mid-lunch and my family almost passed out :)

yardie 6y ago
I spent some time in Sicily and one of the things I discovered was I could not get pizza for lunch,only dinner. I thought it was just one restaurant being obstinate but town after it was the same response. And to this American who enjoyed a slice between classes I could not understand why. I concluded it was too hot and no one wanted to turn up the pizza oven. Is that correct assumption?
- simonh 6y ago
  Traditionally pizza dough should be made on the same day, but takes several time consuming stages and at least 3 hours to rise, so I suspect it’s just that the dough isn’t ready until later in the day.
  - piaste 6y ago
    A lot of the better-quality pizzerias now offer a 48-hour dough option. IIRC the longer it is left to rise, the less yeast it requires, and the easier it is to digest.
    - riffraff 6y ago
      That is correct but traditional flour would not be strong enough for such leavening. Easy to digest pizza is a modern innovation.
    - Skunkleton 6y ago
      Not an expert, but you should end up with more yeast in the end product for a long fermented dough. The yeast population will grow exponentially from whatever initial population was present. You should also end up with the sugars in the flour being more completely broken down into their byproducts (e.g. alcohol, co2).
- anuila 6y ago
  Restaurant owner in Italy here: We usually don’t offer pizza at lunchtime because it takes time and wood to fire up the oven and keep it at temperature. Low request volume means it’s not worth it, at least for small pizza places. If you want pizza for lunch you head to a bakery or “bar” and they have squares (not “slices”) ready for you to pick up.
  - slim 6y ago
    sorry for asking so bluntly, how did you discover HN ? I'm amazed by the diversity of this population
    - anuila 6y ago
      Technically it’s a family business that I grew up into and I ended up being a developer because at 14 I made the restaurant’s website with Macromedia Fireworks and Dreamweaver.
- pengaru 6y ago
  The last time I was in Palermo with my OG Italian father we had Marinara pizzas and beer for lunch, there was nothing unusual about it. But pizza stuffs was the restaurant's clearly advertised purpose.
- bjourne 6y ago
  Yes, you can get pizza for lunch in Italy. I know because I had it in Sorrento. :) But I had to insist on it (hey, it's on the menu!) and the owner grumbled something something about dumb tourists and about having to heat the oven and charged me extra for it.
- FanaHOVA 6y ago
  You should get pizzas at pizza al taglio places, not restaurants, in the afternoon! :)
jfengel 6y ago
I arrived in Milan after two days traveling without sleep, found a restaurant for lunch, and asked for a coffee. "Yes, absolutely, right after lunch". I begged. He brought it to me, and was very nice about it. I am so sorry to put him through that. Fantastic meal, by the way. I had never understood risotto until then.
crispyporkbites 6y ago
It’s hilarious how people are so ingrained in their culture that these things affect them so much. Like if I ate a roast dinner for breakfast or took a shower every lunch time, I’d be considered a madman. It sounds absolutely silly but really there’s few good reasons for most of our habits.
- mikelward 6y ago
  My wife insists I'm not allowed to have curry for breakfast! :)
  - phaemon 6y ago
    Just call it kedgeree!
    - OJFord 6y ago
      We'll wait, what are you calling 'curry'? Because British kedgeree (as kedgeree is) is distinct from what any Briton I know would call 'curry' - even given the disservice we do India by calling almost everything 'curry' - and further distinct even from khicadi (खिचड़ी) from which it takes its name, and moves to breakfast. Sorry, I know you were just joking.
      - OJFord 6y ago
        Well* (missed edit window)
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
- reaperducer 6y ago
  It sounds absolutely silly but really there’s few good reasons for most of our habits. The sign of a seasoned traveler is someone who enjoys the quirks of various cultures, instead of ridiculing them. One of the things that dismays me about the European Union is that each country seems to be losing its identity. Ditto for the United States.
mikelward 6y ago
I ordered an espresso macchiato in Naples around 12pm. Without saying anything, the barista gave me a plain espresso. Maybe they'd already packed the milk away for the day?
- 1_player 6y ago
  They probably didn't understand. People drink macchiato all day long.
Oletros 6y ago
My wife is Italian and she and her family drink cappuccino after lunch

yardie 6y ago

I spent some time in Sicily and one of the things I discovered was I could not get pizza for lunch,only dinner. I thought it was just one restaurant being obstinate but town after it was the same response. And to this American who enjoyed a slice between classes I could not understand why. I concluded it was too hot and no one wanted to turn up the pizza oven. Is that correct assumption?

simonh 6y ago
Traditionally pizza dough should be made on the same day, but takes several time consuming stages and at least 3 hours to rise, so I suspect it’s just that the dough isn’t ready until later in the day.
- piaste 6y ago
  A lot of the better-quality pizzerias now offer a 48-hour dough option. IIRC the longer it is left to rise, the less yeast it requires, and the easier it is to digest.
  - riffraff 6y ago
    That is correct but traditional flour would not be strong enough for such leavening. Easy to digest pizza is a modern innovation.
  - Skunkleton 6y ago
    Not an expert, but you should end up with more yeast in the end product for a long fermented dough. The yeast population will grow exponentially from whatever initial population was present. You should also end up with the sugars in the flour being more completely broken down into their byproducts (e.g. alcohol, co2).
anuila 6y ago
Restaurant owner in Italy here: We usually don’t offer pizza at lunchtime because it takes time and wood to fire up the oven and keep it at temperature. Low request volume means it’s not worth it, at least for small pizza places. If you want pizza for lunch you head to a bakery or “bar” and they have squares (not “slices”) ready for you to pick up.
- slim 6y ago
  sorry for asking so bluntly, how did you discover HN ? I'm amazed by the diversity of this population
  - anuila 6y ago
    Technically it’s a family business that I grew up into and I ended up being a developer because at 14 I made the restaurant’s website with Macromedia Fireworks and Dreamweaver.
pengaru 6y ago
The last time I was in Palermo with my OG Italian father we had Marinara pizzas and beer for lunch, there was nothing unusual about it. But pizza stuffs was the restaurant's clearly advertised purpose.
bjourne 6y ago
Yes, you can get pizza for lunch in Italy. I know because I had it in Sorrento. :) But I had to insist on it (hey, it's on the menu!) and the owner grumbled something something about dumb tourists and about having to heat the oven and charged me extra for it.
FanaHOVA 6y ago
You should get pizzas at pizza al taglio places, not restaurants, in the afternoon! :)

jfengel 6y ago

I arrived in Milan after two days traveling without sleep, found a restaurant for lunch, and asked for a coffee. "Yes, absolutely, right after lunch". I begged. He brought it to me, and was very nice about it. I am so sorry to put him through that. Fantastic meal, by the way. I had never understood risotto until then.

crispyporkbites 6y ago

It’s hilarious how people are so ingrained in their culture that these things affect them so much. Like if I ate a roast dinner for breakfast or took a shower every lunch time, I’d be considered a madman. It sounds absolutely silly but really there’s few good reasons for most of our habits.

mikelward 6y ago
My wife insists I'm not allowed to have curry for breakfast! :)
- phaemon 6y ago
  Just call it kedgeree!
  - OJFord 6y ago
    We'll wait, what are you calling 'curry'? Because British kedgeree (as kedgeree is) is distinct from what any Briton I know would call 'curry' - even given the disservice we do India by calling almost everything 'curry' - and further distinct even from khicadi (खिचड़ी) from which it takes its name, and moves to breakfast. Sorry, I know you were just joking.
    - OJFord 6y ago
      Well* (missed edit window)
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
reaperducer 6y ago
It sounds absolutely silly but really there’s few good reasons for most of our habits. The sign of a seasoned traveler is someone who enjoys the quirks of various cultures, instead of ridiculing them. One of the things that dismays me about the European Union is that each country seems to be losing its identity. Ditto for the United States.

mikelward 6y ago

I ordered an espresso macchiato in Naples around 12pm. Without saying anything, the barista gave me a plain espresso. Maybe they'd already packed the milk away for the day?

1_player 6y ago
They probably didn't understand. People drink macchiato all day long.

Oletros 6y ago

My wife is Italian and she and her family drink cappuccino after lunch