Milan Food
Milan's passion for fashion extends to the dinner table, with the city's restaurants and cafes always the first in Italy to embrace new foodie trends. In recent years this has seen the city flirt with Chinese, Japanese, African and Middle-Eastern cuisine, among others. Luckily for travellers hoping for a more authentic taste of Italy, however, Milan is currently touting its own traditional cuisine as the new black (cod).
Food in Italy tends to be deeply parochial, with the different regions having their own signature dishes and ingredients and being deeply defensive about local authenticity. Milan, however, has been influenced by the massive influx of workers that headed there during its industrial boom, meaning that the traditional Lombardy fare is enhanced by influences from Sicily, Tuscany and more.
That said, Milanese cuisine still has its own distinctive flavour, with many travellers surprised by how the northern regions of Italy fail to live up to their expectations of Italian food.
Olive oil is less frequently used in cooking than butter while pasta is passed over in favour of rice or polenta. Pasta dishes are available but they tend to be stuffed and baked, often with cheese or meat. Risotto is hugely popular, often made with rich, meaty stocks and even flavoured with bone marrow. Fish is also popular, fished straight from the many lakes in northern Italy, with trout and pike featuring particularly heavily. Meat is popular on many menus, particularly veal and pork, with shin of veal being a local specialty. Veal is also customarily served with a mayonnaise, tuna, capers and anchovy sauce. Gorgonzola traditionally comes from just outside of Milan and the strongly flavoured cheese is justifiably popular in the city. Mascarpone is also a local specialty and appears regularly in puddings.
As Italy's business hub, Milan has inevitably been shaped by the needs of fast-paced men in suits, forcing it to relax the traditional Italian adherence to long sit down lunches. For travellers on a budget this can be a bonus, with it being perfectly easy and acceptable to pick up a cheap and simple pizza or sandwich for lunch. The huge number of university students in the city has also helped to spawn a large number of cafes, inns and pizzerias offering simple, low-cost food.
For those preferring a larger meal, it is traditional to begin with an aperitif. The local classic is a Negroni, a potent blend of bitter Campari, gin, red Martini and ice. This could be followed by an antipasto such as nervetti, a Milanese staple of boiled calve shank and knee cartilage seasoned with onion. A popular first course is Risotto alla Milanese, which is flavoured by beef broth and saffron. Following the meat-heavy theme, cassouela provides the authentic second course, although not all diners will have the appetite for the pig feet, ears, ribs and more, which are traditionally cooked with green cabbage and other vegetables.
Milan is the birthplace of Panettone, the traditional Italian Christmas cake, although there's nothing to stop visitors ending their meal with a generous wedge of the fruit-studded bread at any time of the year. Torta di tagliatelle, a sweet cake made from egg pasta and almonds, is also popular, with most puddings served with mascarpone cream.
As should be expected in Italy, wine is the traditional accompaniment to meals, or indeed any social occasion. Sparkling wines are a regional staple. Franciacorta is particularly recommended, offering sweet whites and mellow reds, while Grumello, Sangue di Guida and Bardolino are also all good.
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Eating and Drinking
