Of all the places in the world, nothing evokes a passion for food like Italy. After all, if it wasn't for Italy, what would college kids, single dads and football parties eat? Ya got me. Although Milan surprised me in it's more broken down look and feel that the Armani-land villa I expected, we still had a fun time with the cuisine. Everything from gelato stops, cannolis and steaks, and even the quintessential pizza had us in heaven for the fresh flavors. Of all things not expected, was my wife's absolute desire for Chinese food. What? Hello, we are in Milan, home of global fashion and frangipani spaghetti! Oh brother, OK, so we find the sign we passed in the car on the way to the hotel, whatever, it's our first night and we are trying to settle in. The location of our Hilton hotel is interesting at best. Seemingly in a more industrial part of town, turns out most Milan is just an industrial part of town. Funny thing, sitting in this Chinese restaurant was my first true experience of globalization. This old Chinese lady comes out from the kitchen, same old Chinese lady that comes out from the back of the Chinese restaurant in Los Angeles or San Francisco or New York. And then she starts speaking perfect Italian. Whoa! Mind blown. Awesome! Don't get me wrong, I know people speak different languages, but this had a different appeal than just a non-native speaking the native language.

Tom and Jerry

Day 1 of the tour, the next morning we wake and venture out once everything is open. We walked past a place called Tom and Jerry. Wait, like the cartoon? Yes. OK, let's try it. Inside was a dose of Italian hospitality like no other. This place was a mad house of people walking and talking about. The area is industrial, so I'm guessing these are factory workers on lunch break. The host catches our eyes and comes over. I say, "Bone jorno." "Oh, you're American. Come on in, sit down." Wow, was I that obvious. Note to self: watch nothing but Fellini films the month prior to next trip to Italy. We sit, a lady comes takes our order, and everyone is so nice to us, almost apologetic. How cool. My first day in Italy and I'm loving it. We sit there, and I just take in all the patrons sitting, most are at 6 and 8 person tables, just chatting away, hands flailing in the air. I almost start to cry they're so beautiful. We share a quick pasta dish, very tasty. The pasta is light, the sauce herbal-flavorful, and what the hell, I have a beer...make that a birra, a Moretti. So much better than the bottles back home. Yum!

We spend the day walking around the neighborhood, head into Milano Centro and see Il Duomo for the first time. The galleria Vittorio is pretty spectacular, and then we see the Park Hyatt and realize that in two days, this will be our home. Wow! Pretty cool and bustling scene, but now it's munchy time...oh! Ferrari Store! We go in and the place is packed, to be expected.

Gino's 1928

We look around for somewhere to eat, and here it is. complete with open store front to the street, my favorite, and hustling waiters and hosts trying to convince you to come in. OK, you got me. Gino's 1928 is staring us right in the face. We go in, and at first, are seated upstairs. Nice but no cigar. I want to experience Milan and Mangia Italiano, the food as it meets the people. Not tucked away in some dark corner in the VIP section. I let the waiter know we are heading downstairs and are seated right at line between outside and inside. So we see the waiters running around ordering and bussing, but we also see all the fun people walking the street and heading into the Ferrari shop. We order a pizza to share, a couple glasses of wine and extra Parmesan please. What comes out ids just beautiful. The arugula tastes as if just picked. So fresh, and I normally hate the bitter taste of normal store bought Arugula, but this has almost a sweetness to it. And the Mozarello...oh please... best pizza ever. And from a shop in the middle of tourist central, wow, daddy happy!

Eataly Milan Smeraldo

Day 3: Tonight we attempt to correct a mistake we made in New York in 2016, Eataly. In New York, this was rated one of the best rooftops to dine. When we got there, we had no idea what we were doing, or where to eat. When we were leaving, we walked past all these little eating stalls, and then realized how big the place was and what was on offer. Now, here we are getting a second chance. The Eataly Milan Smeraldo is a huge location. It sits inside an renovated building, looks to be an apartment complex, taking up the first 3 floors. Replacing the old front facade of brick and mortar with steel and glass, is eye catching and a modern twist on the early century building. Inside is a marketplace, 3 floors of wine and food, and long waiting lines to dine. I grab a white wine from the second floor shop to pair with the quarto-mani pizza we plan to order. A huge Neapolitan pie consisting of four flavors in one pie: Cheese, Feta and Anchovy, Pancetta and mushroom, and a veggie with roasted tomatoes and squash. The pie is huge, 8 pieces in all, so we both got one of each. Needless to say, we were stuffed by the end of it all. And again, the friendliness of the people. We had a problem with the order, and the guy at the table next to us, jumped in to help out speaking with a New York  to clarify the issue. That surprised me, because the whole night he was talking to his buddy in Italian, so was he a New Yorker speaking Italian, or an Italian with a New Yorker accent?

Granaio Coffe e Cucina

Day 5: And already,. it's time to head home. Tonight, we are spending the last in Milan going to Teatro alla Scala, Milan's grand theater. And to support that, we are having a fine dining experience to say thank you and farewell to Milan. What a wonderful experience it's been, so let eat at a wonderful cucina we've been walking past for the last couple of days. Granaio Coffee e Cucina is located directly across from Park Hyatt, and has both inside and outside seating. We take a seat outside, but of course, and are rewarded with a wonderful filet. Tender and juicy, and perfect medium-rare, it's so wonderful, combined with the perfect location, a looming sunset and tender tasty spinach with a perfect garlic hint to it. But As much as I love the steak, I'm really looking forward to desert. Inside, the display of Cannoli is just making me drool. So when the waiter asks if we would like desert, oh yes! I order the pistachio per Nancy's suggestion, and I get not only a great tasting Cannoli, light fluffy creme filling surrounded by a perfectly crisped crust, but I also get one of the best food photos I've ever taken. The food, the lighting, all perfect!