A simple guide to an Italian menu

There is nothing worse than going to an Italian restaurant with the mere wish to eat some pasta, but when it comes to the menu you understand nothing at all.

To help guide you through those tongue twisters, check out the below meanings of common Italian food:

• Melanzane – eggplant or aubergine, so if you see this anywhere and you like aubergine, order it.
• Arrabbiata – this one you will pretty much always see in the pasta section. Arrabbiata literally means ‘angry’, therefore this is a spicy sauce. If you are not one for chilli, don’t go there.
• Pollo – chicken
• Fegato – liver
• Al forno – anything that has ‘al forno’ in it, simply means it has been oven baked.
• Aglio – be careful of this one, as this is garlic.

Which pasta is it anyway? 

• Penne – These short tubes or “little quills” are a good option if twirling spaghetti is not your strong point. Also a safe choice on a date, as you will not have to deal with any slurping or potential flicking of sauce over your white blouse or all over your face while you try to work your way through that big plate of spaghetti.
• Linguine – Meaning “little tongues”, this word could be seen as cute or rather disturbing, but either way linguine is a little wider and flatter than typical spaghetti.
• Fettucine – This is the even wider and flatter cousin of Linguine and means “little ribbons”.

Remember, unlike English, there are no silent letters in Italian, so say what you see and presto!

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