• Where is Soriano? (click here)
• Food in Soriano (this page)
• The People of Soriano (click here)
• Soriano's History (click here)
• Soriano's Weather (click here)

When eating in Italy, you may wonder why the Italian food is so much better in Italy than anything you have had back home. Besides the obvious answers, it is important to understand how important food is in the Italian culture. It is all about the delicate balance of flavors, quality and the experience of the meal. At home, we ignore the balance of flavors, and think that the more sauce we throw on top of the pasta, the better. We ignore quality of ingredients in favor of lower prices. As a result, even the best Italian food in our Italian restaurants pales in comparison to the real thing. Finally, we attempt to convey experience visually. That is, we concentrate on making the meal look good, and on atmosphere in the restaurant. Italians don't often concern themselves with visual presentation. Their experience is all about the actual food, and the people they share it with. A dish of pasta will rarely look like a piece of art. The art is in the flavor, and no matter how spectacular a plate may look in your favorite Italian restaurant at home, the flavor will never come close to the amazing meals you will have even in the simplest of family restaurants in Italy.

Regional Cuisine

Food in Soriano

Probably the most obvious thing on all menus will be dishes based on Porcini mushrooms. Porcini are extremely rare and unbelievably delicious mushrooms that happen to grow wild in the local forests. People come from far away to eat Porcini based dishes here, so there is no shortage in any of the restaurants.

Soriano is also famous for it's Porchetta (roasted baby pig), which is made with a fennel seasoning. You won't necessarily find this in the restaurants. This is typically something you pick up at food stands in town and eat in a sandwich.

Soriano's most popular local pastas are 'Gnocchi col Ferro' and 'Strozzapreti'. Gnocchi col Ferro are not Gnocchi as you know them. It is actually a long and thick pasta that is made entirely by hand (no presses). It has an amazing feel in the mouth. StrozzaPreti literally translates to 'Priest Stranglers', which is another long and think pasta. It is delicious.

You will find that when you order Bruschetta as an appetizer, you will not get the Bruschetta we see outside of Italy. We normally consider Bruschetta to be toasted bread with chopped tomatoes and garlic on top. While you will also get that, Bruschetta often comes with Porcini mushrooms, olive paste, sausage, etc on top.

Boar hunting is a popular sport around the area, and as a result, you will find many dishes with sauces based on Boar meat.

Of course, you will find many broader regional dishes as well, such as Spaghetti Carbonara, Amatriciana, Marinara, Lasagna, and some cream based sauces. A few of the restaurants serve Ragu, but it is not popular here.

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