4 Dishes You Need To Try On Your Next Visit To An Italian Restaurant

Pizza and spaghetti get a lot of press when it comes to Italian food. However, there are so many other things on the menu you can try. Whether you are adventurous with your palate or you like to stick with more traditional offerings, here are four dishes you need to try on your next visit to an Italian restaurant.

1. Cheese ravioli.

When it comes to ravioli, most people envision the pasta filled with questionable meat that comes out of a can. However, in Italian restaurants, you can find the ravioli filled with cheeses like ricotta, parmesan, and provolone. In many Italian restaurants, you have a choice between a traditional red, tomato-based sauce or the white, cream-based sauce. In other Italian restaurants, the cheese ravioli is only served with traditional red sauce. Whichever sauce you get with your cheese ravioli, it is one Italian dish that is sure to delight your taste buds. 

2. Chicken/veal/sirloin marsala.

The marsala dish can be made with either chicken, veal, or sirloin. The most common versions that you find in Italian restaurants only use chicken or veal, however. The marsala sauce is made using marsala wine seasoned with onions, herbs, and mushrooms. However, some restaurants may add other ingredients to their variation of the marsala sauce.

The sauce is served over the meat of choice that has been lightly coated with flour and then sauteed in the pan very briefly. The dish can be served alone, with sauteed vegetables, or with your favorite pasta.

3. Penne alla vodka.

Although the origins of this dish are dubious, at best, penne alla vodka is still a delicious meal to choose the next time you go to your favorite Italian restaurant. The sauce is made with vodka, cream, crushed tomatoes, and onions, along with various herbs and is served over penne pasta. Some restaurants will add meats such as Italian sausage to the sauce upon request.

This particular dish is a culinary delight because it combines both of the main Italian sauces (Red sauce and white sauce) into one. Even though it is made with vodka, the alcohol cooks out of the sauce.

4. Tiramisu.

Often times, dessert is overlooked in Italian restaurants because patrons are usually full from their rich entrees. It is worth it, however, to save room for dessert - especially if tiramisu is on the menu. Tiramisu is an Italian dessert made out of ladyfinger cookies that have been soaked in coffee and sandwiched between layers of mascarpone cheese, eggs, and sugar that have been whipped together, and topped with cocoa powder. It is a delicious dessert that is worth saving room for on your next visit to an Italian restaurant. To learn more about Italian food, speak with a business like Ynot Italian.