One of our favorite ways to learn about a new city and its culture is to take a food walking tour.
During our late November visit to Milan, we participated in a delicious food tasting and cultural tour with the Milan Food Tour company.
Our first stop was at an Italian bakery and pasta maker called Panificio. While we sampled cannoli and other sweets, we learned about variable styles of Focaccia in different parts of Italy.
The bakery also made and sold fresh pasta, which looked delicious.
Next we headed to Parma & Co, where our guide taught us how to identify a true prosciutto of Parma (you’ve got to look for the brand on the meat.)
We tasted our way through cured meats from different parts of the pig.
Most of us agreed the Culatello con Cotenna was just as tasty, if not more so, than the prosciutto from Parma.
They are both delicious, just a slightly different flavor to each.
After washing down salty pig parts with an Italian beer, we headed to our next stop.
After all, it would not be an Italian Food Tour be without gelato, would it?
I tried the dark chocolate and the coffee flavors at the Gelateria Solferino.
As we walked through the upscale area of Milan and enjoyed our gelato, our guide shared many insights on the history and the culture of Milan.
What if you are a busy Italian woman with no time to cook in this food obsessed city? You buy take-out foods that are prepared just like they would be at home at a place such as Antico Pastificio Moscova.
Here, we sampled the eggplant parmigiana plus two different types of Italian meatballs well-known in Milan.
The cocktail hour is important to locals in Milan. We were told that you can’t end a real Milanese day without drinking an aperitivo – which in Milan, often means something like a Campari or Aperol Spritz, a traditional “aperitif” cocktail made with a bitter orange/herb spirit prosecco, served with snacks such as green Italian olives or a side of potato chips.We tried some of the typical drinks and snack accompaniments at the Take Away Bistrot (more of a bar than a take-away place.)
The wine and liquor selection was artfully displayed at Enoteca Cotti, where our guide offered us a spray of grappa, in addition to the tasting of an Italian wine. This traditional Milanese locale opened in 1906 and has been run by the Cotti family since 1952.
The last stop was at Princi, a trendy pizza place. Everyone on our small group tour was stuffed by this point, despite the walking we did in between food tasting locations.
If you are visiting Milan and want to learn more about the food (and the best places to enjoy it), we recommend the Milan Food Tour.
Have you visited Milan? What was your favorite activity? Please share in comments below.
You may want to check out these posts on other food tours we’ve enjoyed around the world:
- Eating Our Way Through Chinatown with Food Tour Singapore
- Eating and Drinking Our Way Through San Juan, Puerto Rico with Spoon Food Tours – Part 1
- Walking and Eating With Chicago Food Planet Tours
- In Search of Milwaukee’s Best Pizza on Milwaukee’s Pizza Bus Tour
- Eating Our Way Through Budapest With Taste Hungary
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