Italian Food, Part 1: Sardinia (and also a little bit on cycling)
Sure, southern Spain has fantastic roads, great climbs, charming white-washed hilltop villages, unbelievably courteous drivers, and wonderful weather. And Sardina has very good cycling, but honestly, it’s not Spain.
The Sardinian coast and island interior
But, while the Spanish cycling is amazing, the food can be a bit tedious. Yes, great food can be found in nicer restaurants, but the menus can become repetitive. When cycling and wanting to grab something relatively quick, the options are often deep fried.
Italy, and in this case, Sardinia, makes eating a great joy.
[But both countries have a limited definition of breakfast: In Southern Spain its toast with tomato purée and lashings of olive oil with jamon as an option; in Sardinia (and most of Italy), it’s maybe a croissant accompanied by an amazing coffee (though, this morning the B&B did put out a great spread).]
Now, the Italian dinner is something else entirely. Perfection all the way through…including the wine and digestif.
Wine and a big pizza: $10
I remember on a recent trip to Rome (but it could have been anywhere in Italy), reading a blog comment about “the best” restaurant, and suggestions for “great meals”… really? That’s total BS… You can close your eyes and stumble into the first place you hit and you have about a 90% chance it’ll be good. A 75% chance it’ll be great.
OK, I’ve had a bad meal in Italy…but it’s damn rare.
Carte musica…
Oh yes, so far Sardina cycling: 168 miles & 17,447′ of gain… Which is damn fortunate ’cause there’s a lot of eating going on here.
robert j. mang cycling/travel 
That dish with the mussels looks fantastic. And I see what looks like chile-infused olive oil in a couple pictures – is that a Sardinian thing? I don’t think of spicy oil when I think of Italian food, usually.
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Robert: I agree with your comment on the great cuisine in Italy – and as for that bad meal you mentioned, I still haven’t found that place yet! 😉
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It was just over the Swiss border…mountain food
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Yup…pepper infused oil. So far I’ve only seen it a few times.
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