Authenticly Italian: How to Spot It

For starters, Italians don't eat pasta all day. No spaghetti in the cereal bowl, thank you. Breakfast is typically a cold meal; most start out with espresso and a pastry, both available from eateries at the local piazza, a square that functions as the social center for the entire town. Espresso, as you will find, is actually a vital part of the Italian way of life. It can be quite bitter, so traditionally a little bit of chocolate is used as a complement.
After this light meal, Italians are ready for something more substantial. Lunch is usually warm and can consist of two or three courses along with wine. It's a crime to drink water while you are eating Italian food, so you should drink at least a glass of wine. This is an eating culture, so lunch is not hurried as in other places. People take their time, enjoy the food and talk to each other. In America, it's the opposite: you have a warm breakfast like eggs, sausages and a very fast lunch, usually cold, like a sandwich or salad.
Dinner is the grand finale, with varieties of courses and dishes intermingling to create the perfect meal. There are, however, two key elements that set authentic Italian apart from imitators: its freshness and its simplicity. That's the difference between a meal that is merely so-so and wonderful. You could have the same pasta dish, but it would be the fresh tomatoes that make the experience wonderful. Fresh means not frozen, canned or jarred in any way; just picked fresh from the market.
This offers a full sensory experience. Even when the ingredients are combined, you can taste each element. You can taste the tomato. You can taste the olive oil. You can taste the basil. When you eat it, it's all very genuine, not sauce that has been boiled and had many items added to it over the hours to take away the acidity. Canned sauces tend to contain a lot of sugar which make the meal solid and heavy. Instead, you can feel satisfied when you've had something fresh and know exactly what you've eaten, without feeling overfull. The Italian likes to taste each element, not cover it up. That's the art in Italian cooking. A good Italian chef can put together five or six ingredients and you really appreciate the fact that you can taste each of them.

Piero Caramella is an award-winning, veteran restaurateur with a 30-year history of opening and managing successful restaurants and cocktail lounges in Europe. With a passion for food and people, Caramella has spent decades perfecting the craft of creating restaurants that turn dining into a pleasurable and memorable event. He is now opening Divino, an authentic Italian fine dining experience in historic downtown Clearwater, FL., modeled after an Italian piazza and offers a unique dining experience that cannot be found anywhere else in the Tampa Bay area. From the cafe-style style dining around the fountain to the fine dining balconies overlooking the restaurant, Divino transports the diner to Italy where you can enjoy fine dining, coffee with friends, pizza, Panini or salad before indulging in homemade pastries. Visit www.divinorestaurant.com