[Culturechat] Food, etc

[Ann Cricchi]

What I find intriguing about the food issue isn't so much whether the
French, Italian, or Germans do it best but how differently the European
attitude toward food seems to be from ours.  Many of us are of "European"
descent yet somehow the American experience seems to have changed our
ancestors' original sense of priority for enjoying meals.

We have just returned from a month in Italy where your lunch or dinner table
is yours for the duration.  I rarely feel that our restaurant folks feel
that way.  In Italy, even in tourist-driven Venice, people stop for several
hours in the middle of the day to enjoy their afternoon meal.  Truckdrivers,
families and the men in suits all seem to consider an hour and a half/two
hour lunch part of the Mon-Fri routine and, of course, on weekends, all the
stops are out and three hours can be easily consumed around the table along
with lots of fantastic food and drink.

How about the numerous coffee bars, cafes, etc. where you are never hassled
for sitting with a single cup or glass of something and a newspaper watching
the world go by.  Doing so seems to be embedded in the culture. Why don't we
have a similar attitude?  What is there about the European attitude that
manages to minimize the impact of today's busy world on day to day living?
Or maybe I don't really want to discover "why" but "how to maintain" that
wonderful European feeling after I return home.  Each time I make a vow to
do so, even if it's just to sit down and drink that afternoon cup of tea
more slowly.  But the European aura never stays with me and soon I'm back to
bad habits.  Are some of you more successful than I am at integrating the
European attitude toward the importance of enjoying food/drink in a relaxed
way into your daily American lives?

Ann Cricchi