From "What the Bartender Really Thinks About Your Spritz/You might expect the fizzy summer drinks to be a downer for the people who make them by the hundreds. But think again" (NYT gift link).
Are tourists hoping to emulate the social elite of the places they visit? Take Venice. I'd imagine the vibe of the old gondoliers and prostitutes would suit them just as well. I don't know. I don't travel too much, but when I do, I don't indulge in fantasies of oneness with the locals. So much mental work involved in that, and what does it get you? Or do you think that if you drink the right drink the fantasy will open itself up to you. But it's not the right drink, the article tells you. The bartender is laughing at you (but happy to take your money for a drink made in 2 seconds). Well, then, everyone wins. Everyone is happy, more than happy, including me, standoffish me, just writing a post about tourists who order spritzes in Sicily and Venice.
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४१ टिप्पण्या:
Rochester garbage plate sounds a little like poutine. Maybe Trump (or Zelinsky) will rename the Canadian treat "garbage plate."
In the Alps this June, the Aperol Spritzes and to lesser extent Hugos were ubiquitous during the late afternoons. I had a few.
Cosplay.
Bellinis were supposed to be the Venetian treat. Can you get them in Palermo? Should you? Maybe "eat local" means respecting the local cuisine and not making demands on it. Or is global fusion the future of food and drink?
Yes, embrace the fun of knowing you are and acting like a tourist: "I don't indulge in fantasies of oneness with the locals."
If your concerned what a bartender thinks, you might be a dilettante.
"I'll have a Shirley... No, a virgin... No, a children's... Oh, what the heck? You only live once. Give me a white wine spritzer... spritzer... spritzer!"
Ned Flanders
Guilty New York Times readers are the only people on earth who worry what the help think about them.
...my emotional reaction to this spritz thing is it's <a href="https://www.instagram.com/popular/instagram-vs-reality/?hl=en>Instagram vs Reality</a>. I can hear the first grader with the recorder as I read this...
..oh fudge: Instagram vs Reality.
"If your concerned what a bartender thinks, you might be a dilettante."
And what are they if they're concerned that a random blog commenter regards them as a dilettante?
What is anyone who travels concerned about? Some are concerned about what their friends and family back home will think of them. Some are concerned about how it looks on social media.
What is the truly creditable and admirable concern of the tourist?
Think deeply. If you can't come up with anything at all, then you've opened the door to freedom. You don't have to go.
And, by the way, you don't need to drink.
In preparation for a trip to the Piemonte region of Italy this fall, I've been working on learning Italian. It surprised me when an early lesson had me asking for a Spritz when getting an aperitif. Among the places we'll be going to is the capital of the Piemonte region, Turin (Torino). Turin is the birthplace of the aperitivo tradition. It is still widely a part of the day there- stopping for an afternoon aperitivo. And nothing, not one thing, is going to make me order un spritz. Not in the land of vermouth, Aperol, Campari, etc.
And by the way, Ann. I do have to go. And I will need a drink.
And finally, I was a bartender once. You don't want to know what we think.
From the Galliano post above, I had a Galliano spritz in Italy when I was there in the '70's and my memory is that it was quite good. The Campari Group bought Aperol a few years ago and put out a massive marketing effort for the Aperol Spritiz. It worked. In Europe it was the most common drink you would see at a sidewalk cafe this past spring.
Spritiz's are popular now because they are low alcohol - between a beer and a glass of wine. It seems the younger crowd is looking for less alcohol these days.
I was in Venice a few years ago with work colleagues (all male). We found a bar and all ordered beers, one person ordered a spritzer of some kind. Bar tender said 'no' and brought a beer.
Life is much easier when one is a teetotaler
Harry's bar in Venice is awful. It is very small, but they pack you in like sardines, the drinks are stupidly expensive, and the goal is to move as many people through as quickly as possible. Worst kind of tourist trap.
The American version of the spritz is a seven and seven, a VO seven whiskey and seven up with ice. Prized not by gondoliers and whores, but by older women with permed hair and men in t shirts in apartment kitchens on the hottest days of August with the windows open. And, you know, they are surprisingly refreshing.
"I was in Venice a few years ago with work colleagues (all male). We found a bar and all ordered beers, one person ordered a spritzer of some kind. Bar tender said 'no' and brought a beer."
Something similar happened to my wife in Rome. She was eating scallops and asked the waiter for some parmesan cheese. He refused. Italians think cheese on seafood is disgusting.
I haven't been to Scotland yet, but various friends have and they tell me that it doesn't matter what you order at a bar, if it isn't a beer you are going to get Scotch.
Which is interesting because the scotch distilleries in Scotland import used white oak barrels that were previously used to age Bourbon from the US to age scotch in. By US law you can only use white oak barrels to age bourbon once.
It'd never occur to me to go to somewhere and "drink like a native", drink meaning alcohol. I suppose if I went to munich I'd have a beer though. And if i went to ireland, I'd have an irish whiskey or stout if I wanted to have one. Probably wouldn't drink vodka in russia though, since it tastes the same everywhere. Same with Rum and tequila in carribean and mexico.
When i go to NYC, I do have bagels and pastrami sandwhiches because they really are better there. And the croissants in paris are the best I've ever eaten.
For what i can tell a Spitzer is just champagne/white wine, some sort of bittersweet citrusy mixer and some fizz water. you can see why its "Low class". Elite drinkers don't like to mix drinks. And its low alcohol. A martini is much more potent.
Going to Venice and ordering a "Spitzer" in a high end bar would be like going to high end bar in Kingston and ordering a daiquiri. Or going to a high class mexico city bar and ordering a margarita.
Drink what you enjoy and f*** what anyone else thinks, says I.
"Thank you very much for your support."
Are tourists really demanding spritzes, or are they just ordering what's on the menu?
Althouse says **What is the truly creditable and admirable concern of the tourist?**
To enjoy the destination like a local on a staycation.
What is anyone who travels concerned about?
Just got back from Moraine Lake in Banff National Park, where hundreds of tourists arrived on shuttles and busses to see the sun rise over the Canadian Rockies and light up the lake. When it happened, at least 50% stood with their backs to the spectacle and clowned or made kissy faces at their cell phones, which were on large tripods they brought with them for this purpose. You be the judge.
My stepmother who was a retired seamstress loved spritzers back in the 70s. She was from Vienna by way of Toronto so I don’t know where she picked up the habit. Her parents ran a cafe until the Nazis turned up.
My wife always comes home from vacations with new drinks. The Aperol spritz was one, from either Switzerland or Venice. Something elderflowery from Southern Germany. Something new from Bruges that I can't recall. It's nice in that I always have a revolving gift selection for her. I just stick with local beer. My BIL and I did introduce Irish Car Bombs to several Dublin pubs. They'd never heard of them. We couldn't pay for our drinks after that, they absolutely loved them, so it's a two way street.
When I visit Wisconsin I make sure to order a Brandy Old Fashioned. Anywhere else, forget it.
Ignore and make a Gin Basil Smash. You can make it longer and into a Spritz should you wish. That is the drink for the summer.
Basil Smash is my road name. CC, JSM
Hey RC--if you order a "Spitzer" in NYC it will probably cost you a lot more than a drink.
I love the bitter aperitifs, but if I make them into a spritz they go down too fast. Better just over ice for me.
But for the most part, I tend to sample local beers - they seem to me to be a better deal than either wine or liquor because I can't drink beer quickly and their volume is highest (and alcohol lowest). The one exception so far is the local Gewurztraminer in the Dolomites - what an unbelievably delicious wine! We don't "do" sweeter wines do we weren't even going to try it, but or server insisted on bringing us a taste - holy moly! Utterly dry, mineral, aroma that I can't even describe. The bottle we sampled was too rich for our blood, so our server brought us a bottle of the same varietal in our price range and it was only a hair less delicious. And I can't find anything close in the US (maybe if I went to a specialty importer, but that's not how we roll).
Of all the things that I have read on this site over the years, I never expected to hear about Nick Tahou’s Garbage Plate. I went to college in Rochester in the early 80's, and Nick Tahou’s was famous/infamous. I had fraternity brothers who made the trip to get a Garbage Plate regularly, usually after consuming more than their fair share of beer (Genesee (Genny) Cream among others). Was invited any number of times to tag along, but the descriptions of the...after effects of the cuisine prevented me from over coming my mild curiosity.
An elliot spitzer can cost $1000 - but it last an hour.
With a name like Garbage Plate, it has to be good.
My favorite cocktail is the Negroni - 3 shots with an ice cube and orange peel. Like an ice bath but all warm and sexy.
I've switched to just straight Campari on the rocks. Much less powerful, but I love the complex taste and the color which is derived from a particular beetle with no song writing skills but a flare for color.
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