How to Plan Your Trip in Italy so you Feel Like a Local by Margaret Cowan - HTML preview

Apps for Italy Food Lovers: Perfect Gifts

From Mama Margaret’s Italy Travel & Food Newsletter, November 30, 2011

Looking for a gift for a food lover who’s traveling to Italy? Someone traveling with their iPhone, iPod or iPad? They’ll jump up and down with joy when you give them an app with local food experts’ advice on eating well at good value in Milan, Venice, Florence, Tuscany, Umbria, Rome and Puglia. Good gifts for you too.

Two Venice Eating

For 15 years Michaela Scibilia’s book, Venice Osterie, has been the go-to guide for locals eating out in Venice (tapvenice.com). Michaela describes a huge variety of spots from down home style trattorias, to wine bars with quick snacks to famous but good value restaurants. She features only places she’s eaten at.

In this iPhone version of her book, you’ll find 130 eateries in Venice and 30 near Venice: restaurants, trattorias, wine bars, specialty food shops, bakeries, bars, chocolate shops. Her descriptions include photos, maps, closing day, hours open, prices. Search by categories like “scenic view” or “tables outside”. You can even search multiple categories like a restaurant on Monday for a romantic dinner.

Available at Apple’s iTunes store at $2.99. Updated September 2010.

Eat Florence

Rome resident and food journalist Elizabeth Minchilli
(elizabethminchilliinrome.com) has written six books on Italian living and many articles for over 40 newspapers and magazines. Now she’s published two foodie apps, Eat Rome and Eat Florence.

With Eat Florence, you’ll avoid tourist trap eateries through her expert suggestions and lively comments for 110 carefully chosen restaurants, bakeries, wine bars, kitchen and food stores, coffee bars and more. You can see over 800 photos and share reviews, photos and user comments.

Available on her web site and sutromedia.com/apps.html at $2.99. Updated August 2011

Umbria Slow: Food, Culture & Travel

Alex Leviton has written the Umbria part for four Lonely Planet Tuscany & Umbria guides. Rebecca Winke, with her husband, owns and runs an agriturismo, Brigolante, near Assisi and blogs regularly about Umbria.

Along with uniquely Umbria spots tourists rarely experience, Alex and Rebecca tell you about family-owned restaurants, a zero-emission winery, their favourite cooking classes. You learn about the food like truffles, a truffle hunter’s restaurant, the wines and where to ride on horseback through vineyards.

You can easily sort listings by category, name, price, area or distance. Check out hundreds of travel hints, tips for local events, weather or history. Look at step by step photos like how to pay for parking and share your reviews and photos. Available at sutromedia.com/apps.html at $2.99. Updated September 2011.

Other Italy food travel apps:

Tuscany For Foodies by James Martin at sutromedia.com/apps.html

Rome For Foodies by Katie Parla. See her web site at parlafood.com

Eat Rome by Elizabeth Minchilli

Other app guides with lots of food and wine spots at sutromedia.com/apps.html:

Milan and More by Stef Smulders

Florence Explorer by Leif Pettersen

Rome Dream of Italy by Kathy McCabe

Puglia Travel Guide by Martha Bakerjian