Adam Richman's ultimate Italy food guide: From 'tag bol' to chocolate fountains

This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.

If you weren’t hungry before listening to Adam Richman describe food, you certainly will be after. The presenter of Man v Food, Adam Richman Eats Britain and Adam Richman Eats Football has worked in New York kitchens since he was 13, so the Brooklyn native knows his stuff.

For his new series, though, he’s munching his way across 10 Italian cities – and letting RT in on his very best bites from the trip…

ROME - Porchetta sandwiches at Er Buchetto

“Er Buchetto opened its doors in 1890. The name literally means ‘little hole’, and it’s an itty-bitty restaurant that’s known for serving porchetta sandwiches. Porchetta is pork, and here it’s a deboned suckling pig stuffed with rosemary, spices and olive oil, cooked for three to four hours. It has crispy skin and it’s super juicy inside and they serve it cold on traditional Roman bread, though some people get it with cheese or other condiments.

“The owner, Alessandro Fioravanti, is the fifth generation of the family running it; his son is now representing the sixth generation. Get there early though: there’s normally a line out the door and they can sell out by the afternoon.”

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FLORENCE - Bistecca alla Fiorentina and Brunello at FrancescoVini

“I really try to do my homework, but that does not mean I can’t be wrong – there have been times when a chef has corrected me, like at FrancescoVini. The wine cellar there is in the remnants of the fifth largest amphitheatre in the Roman Empire, and I was talking to the owner, Fabio La Brusco, about Super Tuscans [red wines from Tuscany]. He said, ‘That’s what we make for Americans. If you’re having Bistecca alla Fiorentina [a steak dish], you’re having a Brunello.’

“Afterwards he apologised to me and said, ‘I know you just spoke about this whole thing, we can cut it,’ and I said, ‘We are not cutting it.’ The showrunner of Man v Food taught me that the worst thing any host can do is play cool, like, ‘I got this, I know this.’ How can I know Florence better than a Florentine?”

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BOLOGNA - Tortellini en brodo at Ristorante Biagi

“There’s no spag bol in Bologna – the real thing is technically tag bol, because it’s tagliatelle bolognese. But in Bologna, you have to have tortellini en brodo. It’s tortellini with, usually, pork, mortadella, prosciutto, Parmigiano Reggiano and some spices – salt, pepper, nutmeg – in a clear broth. At Ristorante Biagi, it’s one nonna [Italian for grandma] who comes in and makes around 5,000 tortellini a day, all by hand. There’s no machine.

“I thought I was going to be eating big, bold, bright tomato sauces and mozzarella on everything, but that’s just what you get in America. Dishes in Italy look deceptively simple. Some of them, like the one in front of me, are beige, yet eating it felt like getting a back rub or a hug from your grandma. It is truly delightful.”

VENICE - Bigoli in salsa at Osteria al Cicheto

“Bigoli in salsa has hardly any ingredients: rough pasta – which itself is just two ingredients – with Chioggia onions, olive oil, a clove of garlic, salted anchovies, maybe some wine. It’s a peasant pasta: it’s called cucina povera, the cuisine of the poor. It has produced mine, the crew’s and the world’s favourite recipes. The rationale was that peasants in Venice only had an onion, a bag of flour and some salted fish and that’s it. It’s unbelievably moreish.”

FLORENCE - Lampredotto at Da Nerbone

“Lampredotto is the fourth stomach of a cow. It’s where the rennet enzymes come from to curdle milk into cheese. It’s a very traditional Tuscan dish, and Da Nerbone is a stand that opened in 1872. It’s now run by Fabio Giolli, who made me the lampredotto sandwich. And it was spectacular, with the flavours of his two sauces, salsa verde and a chilli/pepper one, with the bread soaked in the cooking broth.

“All morning, I was making these eye-rolling jokes, like, ‘Wow, I have to start my day with a stomach sandwich.’ I was grossed out by it without trying it. And yes, I am acutely aware of just how disrespectful I was being. Poor people ate it out of necessity, but it’s endured because it’s so good. It was one of the best bites of the whole show.”

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AND FOR DESSERT… ROME - Ice cream at Gelateria Come il Latte

“They have these chocolate fountains that are always running, and their cones are made fresh. They fill the cone with chocolate first, then put your gelato in. After, they hit it again with the chocolate and threw this little cookie in. It was such a joy and I regressed to being a little boy again.”

Adam Richman Eats Italy airs Monday at 9pm and 9:30pm on Food Network.

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