After the Salone del Mobile celebrated the best in design at Milan’s fiera and throughout the city, the fashion centre of Italy is now preparing itself for the 2011 Milano Food Week. Plenty of events open to the public will be available to taste the best in regional Italian cooking, including special menus and Italian cocktails on offer, and cooking classes and demonstrations.

If you’re really interested, you can become part of the Milano Food Lovers association, getting a special pass costing €15 and exclusive access to the events and discounts during the food week. More than 200 Milan restaurants and bars will be participating, so there is plenty to see - and eat!

The Milano Food Week runs from May 7 to May 15 and you can find all the various events - wine tastings, cooking demonstrations and happy hour in Milan - at the Milano Food Week website.

Video | You Tube

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The top 50 best restaurants in the world list has been released, with six Italian restaurants making it to the classification. The awards are organised by Restaurant Magazine and are now in their 10th year. Prizes are given to a pool of restaurants that form part of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy with 27 regions around the world and 31 members in each region made up of food critics, chefs and writers.

The awards are obviously not without controversy though, as different judges visit different restaurants with criteria possibly being interpreted in different ways. For food buffs who know their stuff and can afford to eat in these restaurants, there will be a “World’s 50 Best Restaurants Guide”. You can see all the restaurant winners here.

Italian restaurants missed out on a podium place this year with first place going to Noma in Denmark, second place to El Celler de Can Roca in Spain and third place also going to a Spanish restaurant, Mugaritz. In fourth place on the best restaurants list is Osteria Francescana in Modena, up two places from last year and one of Italy’s two-star Michelin restaurants. It is well ahead in the Italian representation, in front of the other five. The list for Italy’s best restaurants is as follows:

Continue reading: Italy's best restaurants on the world's best 50 list

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Just a stone’s throw away from Via Vittorio, there’s one of Rome’s best pizza restaurants. A great favourite with the Romans, the pizzeria La Monte Carlo offers its customers a wide range of delicious pizza (served in a metal plate, so it keeps warm) with an extensive variety of toppings; from cheese and vegetables to meat and seafood. With dozens of celebrity pictures on its white walls, the restaurant exudes a warm atmosphere, leaving you with the desire to come back here again and again!

Pizzeria La Monte Carlo
Vicolo Savelli, 13
Tel 066861877
http://www.lamontecarlo.it/index_ita.htm

Photo | Flickr

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The Italian three-star Michelin restaurants for 2011 remain unchanged from the previous year with the following restaurants named at the top-end of Italian and international cuisine in the country: ‘ Al Sorriso’ in Soriso, Novara, ‘Dal Pescatore’ at Canneto sull’Oglio in Mantua, ‘Le Calandre’ in Rubano, Padua, ‘Enoteca Pinchiorri’ in Florence, the world famous ‘La Pergola’ in Rome and ‘Da Vittorio’ in Brusaporto, Bergamo.

Italy’s two-star Michelin restaurants number 37 as in 2010 but with two restaurants being replaced by new entrants. The one-star Michelin restaurants have gone up in number from 229 to 233 restaurants but there is a lot more movement in that ranking, with 32 new establishments gaining the list.

Lombardy heads Italy’s best dining out region with a total of 52 restaurants on the Michelin list. ‘Da Vittorio’ in Brusaporto and ‘Dal Pescatore’ at Canneto sull’Oglio are the three-star restaurants, followed by another five restaurants with two stars and 45 restaurants with one star. Lombardy is followed by Piedmont, on the list with the best provinces being Bolzano in Alto Adige, Cuneo in Piedmont and followed by southern Italy’s leader, Naples.

The 56th Michelin guide to Italy was presented at the Prince Savoy hotel in Milan (the Principe di Savoia) and marks the work of the various Michelin inspectors in 6,097 restaurants around the country. Quite incredible, if you think about it - that’s a lot of dining out in Italy but only a lucky few (or perhaps individual) got to go to La Pergola in Rome.

Source | Gustoblog.it

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A great favourite with the rich and famous (among which the king of Morocco and the Spanish infanta), the Camponeschi restaurant in Piazza Farnese is one of best places where to eat in Rome. It goes without saying that the restaurant is really expensive and to have dinner there will cost you a small fortune, but the effort is worthwhile! A few days ago I had the opportunity to dine there and everything was simply superb; from the exquisite starters to the delicious dessert (a sponge cake with cream and chocolate).

So if you are in Rome, want to eat superbly well and feel like mixing with the mighty, the Camponeschi restaurant is the place to be!

Ristorante Camponeschi
Piazza Farnese, 50
00100 – Roma
Tel 066874927
camponeschi@mclink.it
www.ristorantecamponeschi.it

Photo | Camponeschi and Roberta Barbi

Camponeschi

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If you are in Milan and looking for a good pizzeria, this post could help you find out which restaurants serve the best pizza near the area where you live or work. One of the best pizzerias in Milan is Il Pomodorino in Via Crema just behind Porta Romana; the place not only serves an exquisite Napolitan pizza but also offers delicious starters such as bread stuffed with aubergine . Two other good pizzerias can be found in corso Lodi, one called Romano specialising in Egyptian pizza and the other Monterosso selling Italian pizza by the slice (it has a thick, soft crust! Really delicious). Prices vary from 7,50 to 12, 50 euros.

Continue reading: Where to eat the best pizza in Milan

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Looking for a posh restaurant in Milan? If so you don’t need to go any further in your research! The restaurant Acanto in Piazza della Repubblica 17 is one of the most fashionable dining spots in Milan; in the old days it was quite easy to bump into Gianni Agnelli and his wife sitting at David Rockefeller’s dinner table or overhear a conversation between Princess Grace of Monaco and Rudolph Nureyev. In short the place was - but still is - the haunt of the rich and famous! Being part of the Principe di Savoia hotel, the restaurant has always attracted the attention of a wealthy clientele. Today the Acanto offers exquisite modern cuisine in stylish surroundings, with a menu which includes delicious dishes such as crudité with shrimps, pane carasau and carpaccio with figs. It goes without saying that to eat there will cost you a small fortune!

Acanto restaurant
piazza della Repubblica 17
phone number: 0262301

Acanto: il ristorante del Principe di Savoia

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If you have a passion for Italian cheese, then you could have the time of your life at the Locanda del Buon Formaggio or Good Cheese Inn in Tito, near Potenza. The owners also run a dairy farm, so you will be able to gorge on delicious Italian cheeses like gorgonzola, caciocavallo, burrata and fior di latte. The place has 11 lovely rooms (single and double rooms) and the price is quite affordable; a night there will cost you only 60/70 euros per night (breakfast included).

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To have dinner at the restaurant C’era una volta in Turin is like stepping into a world where time has stood still; its atmosphere and superb cuisine hasn’t changed a bit since the famous restaurant opened years ago. Situated on the first floor of an old building, the place reminds one of those old country houses where before the Great war broke out the well to do used to spend their long weekends hunting or giving parties. So if you are in Turin give it a try, you won’t be disappointed; the menu is simply superb and includes traditional dishes from Piedmont such as bagna cauda, tofeja (a divine soup with beans), bagnet ross and the famous gianduia mousse!

Restaurant C’era una volta
Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 41
10125 – Torino
phone number 011/655498
www.ristoranteceraunavolta.it
closed on Sundays

Photo | Yubuk.it

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I have just fallen in love with Torre del Colle, a picturesque hamlet in the heart of Umbria. The place id idyllically situated, surrounded by rolling green hills and thousands of old olive trees which produce an amazing extra virgin olive oil! Last week as I was walking down one of its narrow streets, I came across a lovely restaurant called Alla via di mezzo. On a whim I decided to have lunch there and for only 22 Euros I ate like a pig! The menu featured such classic entrees as pasta with gorgonzola and lasagne and the house specialities included grilled vegetable and delicious frittatas ( the restaurant also has a welcoming interior with an amiable, laid-back atmosphere) ! So if you are in Umbria, give it a try, you won’t be disappointed!

Photo | Facebook

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