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Italian meals- can you suggest anything

CarolCarol
edited June 2007 in - Writing Problems

Comments

  • CarolCarol
    My short story has a scene in a small Italian restaurant, but I don't have any idea what sort of meals they might do- obviously they have spagetti and such.
    Can anyone suggest anything or the best place to look on the net.
    Thanks.
  • *SA**SA*
    there is a gorgeous italian restaurant in liverpool city centre, called il forno. all of the chefs and staff are actual italians!!
    they have a website with menus to look over. here's the link...

    http://www.ilforno.co.uk/menus.php

    hope that helps a bit...
  • CarolCarol
    That's just the sort of thing I need, thanks SA.
  • JennyJenny
    Just looking at menus makes me feel hungry!
  • MrD MrD
    I am sorry  I looked at the menus, dinner looks rubbish now in comparison.
  • HowardHoward
    Il forno... the oven? (El horno in Spanish). I hope they don't do weddings etc, it might be il forno-cate-ring!!
  • *SA**SA*
    it is one of the nicest restaurants that i've been to. as it's my sisters favourite, we'll be going there for our dinner on her hen day/night.
    oooh! 4 weeks on saturday!! i can't wait!!

    what i'm organising for her is-

    *i'm going to go to her house, where i'll give her what i've got for her "old-new-borrowed-blue" (old- a pair of my pearl earrings,
    new- a pearl necklace
    borrowed- i've written her a poem that i'll give to her in a gorgeous frame. my idea is that she can't actually have the poem from my head, so it would always just be a copy, hence it will always be borrowed!
    blue- a blue garter.
    i also picked up a little horseshoe, and a silver sixpence (for her shoe!)
    all the bits are boxed up, in a silver box with red and silver foil filling- the colours that she's chosen for the wedding.)
    * a pamper day for the bride, maids and mums, including having our hair done, lunch and lots of wine in the salon,
    * home to get all dollied up,
    * out to il forno with the girls from the day, plus other ladies from the family and other friends,
    * out to town for a good knees up!!

    i want it to be one of the best days of my sisters life, because she totally deserves it. i just want her to know how much i love her, and how happy i am for her that she's getting married.
  • JennyJenny
    SA - What a lovely sister you are!!!!

    You could print your message and give that to your sister as well.
  • Tessa TangentTessa Tangent
    One word, gnocchi.
  • SilentTonySilentTony
    "One word, gnocchi."

    LOL after that long and lovely post by SA that popped up. It made me giggle.
  • HowardHoward
    I never know what to order in an Italian restaurant. I mean I get all the first and second courses mixed up!
  • CarolCarol
    What a lovely thing to do SA.
    The menu choices were great, found something suitable for the dinner scene that the reader would easily understand.
    I just haven't decided whether my female character waits around for the dessert before revealing who she really is, or the waiter warns her that her date is a serial seducer.
  • Crazy HorseCrazy Horse
    Does anybody remember that wonderful scene between Peter Sellers And Sophia Loren When in an excruciating Italian accent he complains of all the Italian food she makes him eat? He covers almost all the options  'Justa like your mother usta make'
  • JennyJenny
    In an alternative universe Gnocchi could be a word complimenting SA on her post. Perhaps it would mean "Brilliant"!
  • CarolCarol
    Well I've just finished the story. Revised it and it's ready for handing in tomorrow night at the club meeting.
    I've never managed nearly 2000 words before for a short story, 1900 in fact.
    I'm happy with it, ideally I could have done with more time to revise but there isn't, so that's life.
  • *SA**SA*
    ah thanx for the compliments! but it's nothing really. any effort i make for my sister will be worth it, and i know if our roles were reversed (and hopefully they will be one day) she would do the same for me. i just hope that the day goes as well as i want it to.
  • CarolCarol
    Even the best and most enjoyable wedding has minor hitches. Hope it is a good day.

    As to the story, I went with the Ciao Bella in the e-mail problem. The dinner lasted until just before the dessert, and the waiter did warn her about her date- after she'd accidently on purpose knocked the glass of Rossini over her 'date.'
    Talkbackers are as good as an encyclopaedia. Thanks.
  • Jay MandalJay Mandal
    Ah, finocchio! My favourite. (Yes, forno is oven. I suppose that's where furnace comes from.)
  • Jenny DarlingJenny Darling
    Jay - Some of us remember what finocchio is a euphemism for! (Apologies for ending the sentence with a preposition!)
  • Jay MandalJay Mandal
    I'd hoped you might, Jenny Darling. (You're not related to Captain Darling, are you?) For those who don't remember, it's along the lines of queen's pudding.
  • JennyJenny
    Jay - the Darling is superfluous!! It took me a while yesterday to realise that's what I was logged in as. Jenny Darling only posted a couple of times in September 05.

    Do you know any more useful euphemisms in Italian?
  • Mike CoombesMike Coombes
    In my humble opinion the best Italian restaurant in the world is Caruso's in Sorrento. http://www.ristorantemuseocaruso.com/

    Their menu is on the website. If ever you go, don't even look at the wine list - prices go up to €1,500 per bottle.
  • Jay MandalJay Mandal
    It's OK, Jenny, I saw who you were on another post. I'm afraid my vocabulary of dodgy words is extremely limited. I worked in a bank, and they can be rather staid places. The finocchio probably cropped up when we went out to eat in the evening - fennel's popular out there. It's an easy one to remember. Must find out if there are any limericks using it and Pinocchio!
  • JennyJenny
    Let us know if you come up with a bilingual limerick, Jay!
  • Jay MandalJay Mandal
    There was a young man called Pinocchio
    To whom our Maria gave the glad occhio.
    But, oh, how she sighed
    And, oh, how she cried
    When she found out he was a finocchio!
  • neilneil
    Almost, but not quite, a year ago.
    I wonder how the hen night went - even the wedding. And did Carol get her story published? The reason I mention this at all is, since reading this post, Il Forno has become one of my favourite restaurants too. So thank you sianies_auntie and congratulations to your sister on, more or less, her first anniversary.
  • CarolCarol
    It was a short story for a club competition and it came in the top three- think it was third. I'm thinking of revising it a little and submitting it to one of the weekly women's magazines- so I'm researching which might be better for it.
  • neilneil
    Go for it Carol. The idea sounds a winner.
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