A few years ago I backed packed through Western Europe to compensate my background in history studies. I steered off course from all the touristy areas and really went deep into the country side of France and, tried to do the same in Italy but I felt a little intimidated to do so. One of my main objectives was searching for local cuisines. Maybe it was because of the language barrier but I was quite disappointed with the Italian cuisines I stumbled upon in Italy. My travels took me through Genoa, Naples, Heracleam, Pompeii, Rome, Bologna, Pisa, Florence, Ravenna, and into Venice. While searching for local cuisines and tasting it I realized how much I missed our American versions of Italian foods. Maybe I wasn’t used to the taste that Italy had to offer, but one thing for sure is that American Italian cuisines are heavier and richer in taste and of course in bigger portions as well. This is just my opinion and, of course not being an Italian local I may still have ventured into the touristy restaurants that may have altered my judgements of this fine cuisine. However, one thing that was on my mind while abroad was coming back home and going straight to Maggianos after loosing fifteen pounds…

BRANDON