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Ordering Pizza

I really like pasta (cacio e pepe is my favorite), gelato (fragola, every day all day), and cheese (pecorino forever and ever), but pizza? I love pizza.

For the first few weeks that I lived in Rome, the only people I knew were the ones who sold pizza. (If you’re ever in Monteverde in Rome, my favorite pizza al taglio shop is the one on Viale Villa Pamphili.)

For those of you who aren’t familiar with a pizza al taglio shop, it’s basically a place where they make large sheets of varieties of pizza and when you walk in, they cut a piece off for you, hence the “al taglio” part.

They also have delicious fried things like arancini, supplì and depending on the location, roasted chicken and potatoes.

To help you navigate this experience with more ease and confidence, here are some phrases to know.

— C’è qualcosa con… (il pesto)? – Is there something with (pesto)?

— Vorrei / Prendo un pezzetto di quella con il prosciutto. – I would like / I’ll talk a little piece of that one with the prosciutto.

— Quanto? Quanta? Quanto grande? – How big? (At this point, the person will show you how much they’re going to cut, and you can say

— Sì, perfetto. – Yep, perfect.

Or…

— Un po’ meno – A little less

— Un po’ di più – A little more

— Vuoi / Desideri qualcos’altro? – (Do you want) anything else?

— Mangi qua o porti via? – Are you eating here or are you taking it away?

— Porto via. – I’m taking it away.

Ordering Gelato

And after? Of course you’ll want to get some gelato.

If there’s one thing you want to be able to know like the back of your hand when you go to Italy, it’s how to procure yourself a cone of whatever flavor gelato you want.

So, to get you started, here are four must-know phrases.

1 – Vorrei un cono piccolo di / alla (stracciatella). – I would like a small cone of stracciatella gelato.

There is also “un cono medio – a medium cone” and “un cono grande – a large cone.” If you prefer a cup, you would use the word “coppetta.”

Since you can get different flavors in a small cone, you’ll likely be asked…

2- Solo stracciatella? – Just stracciatella?

If you want another flavor, you can say something like “E anche fragola. – And strawberry, too.”

3 – Vuoi la panna? – Do you want cream on top?

4 – Altro? – Anything else?

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Special thanks to The Creative Impostor Studios for producing this show, to Patreon supporters for helping fund the show, and to the lovely Timarie Harrison for putting all of the pieces together. It takes a village.

NEED HELP PLANNING YOUR TRIP TO THE SOUTH OF ITALY?

Whether you’ve been wanting to visit the tiny town where your Italian family is from or you’re tired of waiting for your friends/family to commit to a trip with you, you need to know Catherine and Nino Santoro. They run a small group tour company that specializes in trips to Sicily, and they’re all about helping you become immersed in the language and the culture. For more info to go on a small group tour with them or have them personalize a solo trip for you, visit their website here.

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