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May 6th, 2012

Parla Italiano: Lesson 4

Ciao a tutti! At our last Italian conversation night ‘Professor’ Gabriella taught us all about numbers and time. To start, let’s review how to count to 100.

When -tre is the last digit of a larger number, it takes an accent: ventitrè, trentatrè, quarantatrè
The numbers venti, trenta, and so on drop the final vowel before adding -uno or -otto: ventuno, ventotto
The masculine singular definite article is used with years

Now you can answer questions like -

Quanti anni hai? (How old are you?) Ho trenta anni. (I am 30 years old)
Che anno è? (What year is it?) E’il 2012. (It’s 2012)

Learning the numbers is also important for being able to ask ‘Che ora è?’ or ‘Che ore sono?’ (What time is it?). To answer this question simply say sono le + number of the hour (example: Sono le tre). You can add the minutes by adding e + minutes (example: Sono le tre e venti).

Un quarto (a quarter) and mezzo (a half) often replace quindici and trenta. Un quarto d’ora and mezz’ora mean a quarter of an hour and half an hour. You can also exchange è mezzogiorno for noon and è mezzanotte for midnight.

And finally, if you want to indicate AM add di matina to the hour. For PM, add del pomeriggio (Noon to 5PM), di sera (5PM to midnight), or di notte (Midnight to early morning).

Looking to practice your Italian? Join us Tuesday, May 8 for our next Italian Speaking Night. For reservations email Andrew. Until next time here is a video showing how to count in Italian. Ciao ciao!

Filed in Bridge Street, Parla Italiano

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April 14th, 2012

Parla Italiano: Lesson 3

Ciao a tutti! This past Tuesday was our third lesson with ‘Professor’ Gabriella. We were lucky enough to have five Italians from five different regions join us – each with their own unique dialect & sayings.

For our third lesson, Gabriella focused on gender & articles. Like many Latin based languages, most words have a specified gender and require an article. But beware – there are many exceptions. The common endings are -

If you follow the common endings you can usually figure out whether the word is masculine or feminine. Once you determine whether the word is maschile or femminile you can add an article.

In Italian, there are two kinds of articles - derterminativi & indeterminativi. When you are speaking about a specific noun (ex: the pizza I’m eating tastes delicious) you use the determinativi. If you are just speaking about a topic without reference (ex: a pizza would be good for dinner) you use the indeterminativi. The articles are -

Determinativi Indeterminativi

Lo (pl. Gli) is used before masculine nouns beginning with s + consonant or z.
L’ (pl. Gli) is used before masculine nouns beginning with a vowel.
L’ (pl. Le) is used before feminine nouns beginning with a vowel.

If this seems confusing to you – rest assured you’re not alone. Articles are one of the trickiest parts of learning Italian. The good news? We’ll be meeting again on Tuesday April 24 where you’ll get a chance to practice (in between bites and sips, of course). To reserve your spot email Andrew. Until next time here is a video lesson on how to ask “What is your name?” – ciao ciao!

Filed in Parla Italiano, Pizza Culture & Italian Traditions

Tags: italian speaking night, parla italiano

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March 30th, 2012

Parla Italiano: Lesson 2

Ciao! This Tuesday we had our second lesson with “Professor” Gabriella at PPS Bridge Street where we learned how to ask questions in Italian. Here are the words used to create a question in Italian:

Chi? (kee) (Who?)
Che? (keh) (What?)
Che cosa? (keh koh-zah) (What?) (This is the preferred use.)
Dove? (doh-veh) (Where?)
Quando? (koo-ahn-doh) (When?)
Perché? (pehr-keh) (Why?)
Come? (koh-meh) (How?)
Quanto? (koo-ahn-toh) (How much?)
Quale? (koo-ah-leh) (Which?)

Now that you know the basics, let’s put some questions together.

Chi è? (Who is it?)
Chi viene? (Who is coming?)
Che ore sono? (What time is it?)
Che giorno è oggi? (What day is it today?)
Che cosa stai facendo? (What are you doing)
Che cosa prendi? (What are you having (taking)?)
Dove sei? (Where are you?)
Dove vai? (Where are you going?)
Quando vieni? (When are you coming?)
Come stai? (How are you?)
Come è la pizza? (How is the pizza?)
Quanto costa? (How much is it?)

Benissimo!

Missed the first “lessons”? Not to worry. If you’re looking to practice your Italian or to learn a new phrase or two, join us at our next Italian conversation night on Tuesday April 10. To reserve your spot email Andrew. Until next time here is a video lesson on greetings – ciao ciao!

Filed in Events, Parla Italiano, Pizza Culture & Italian Traditions

Tags: Italian culture, italian speaking night, parla italiano

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March 26th, 2012

Wine Time with Andrew – Vino Rosso

This week we continue our exploration of the new Southern Italian wine list with a closer look at two of our reds available by the glass – Nero d’Avola & Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.

Vino rosso by the glass at Pizzeria Prima Strada

Nero d’Avola – Nero is the grape first grafted in Avola, a town in Syracuse. Nero d’Avola is a late ripening grape that does well in the heat, making it perfect for Sicily’s scorching climate. There are many who suggest similarities to syrah, and often they are blended together. Either way, nero d’Avola is quickly becoming Sicily’s number one grape with many producers making excellent single vintage wines. This wine is spicy, slightly jammy and full of great, new world fruit character. If you typically drink merlot, cabernet or shiraz you will find this wine sufficiently plump and fruity. The Nero d’Avola pairs wonderfully with the Diavola’s spicy calabrese salami.

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo- Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is a nostalgic Italian wine. It has a medium to light body, good tannins and that characteristic, old world, leather belt in a cedar box charm. This wine is a perfect match with any high acid meal (read tomato sauce). Cantina Tollo has been perfecting their Montepulciano d’Abruzzo for over 40 years. The winery is tucked in a tiny, mild pocket of a truly amazing land. If you’re looking for a red that pairs perfectly with any pizza or the polpette al forno – this is the wine for you.

Have questions about our new wine list, feature wines, or pairings? Send them to Andrew and he’ll be sure to address them in our next installment of Wine Time.

Interested in learning more about Italian food, wine, & culture? There are still tickets available for our next Long Table Dinner where we toast the Trentino – Alto Adige region. Visit our events page for more info. Salute!

Filed in Beer & Wine, Pizza Culture & Italian Traditions

Tags: mezzogiorno, montepulciano, nero d'avola, southern italian wine

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March 15th, 2012

Parla Italiano: Lesson 1

Buongiorno a tutti! Last Tuesday was our first Italian Conversation Night at PPS Bridge Street – and it was a blast! Thank you to everyone who attended our first lesson with “Professor” Gabriella. Just in case you missed our first lesson I will be posting notes from each session to keep you up to date.

For our very first lesson Gabriella started with the basics – pronunciation. Although Italian uses many of the same letters as English they pronounce them very differently. Luckily Italian is a phonetic language, so if you master this step you can read every word like a pro.

This chart explains how to pronounce vowels in Italian. Use the English pronunciation to feel the shape of your mouth when you say each letter.

Italian Vowels			English Pronunciation
[i]	Vino		ee as in meet
[e]	Vedi		ay as in bait
[ɛ]	Era		eh as in bet
[a]	Cane		ah as in father
[u]	Uva		oo as in boot
[o]	Sole		oh as in boat
[ɔ]	Modo		aw as in law
[Soft Break]Semi-Vowels
[w]		quando, uomo	wuh as in won
[j]		piano, ieri, piove	yuh as in ye

Next, we will work on common letter combinations found in Italian. Take note of the differences between what it sounds like in Italian compared to the way it’s read in English.

Italian consonant + vowel combinations	Sounds like	Examples
c + a, o, u, he, hi	k	amica, amico, amiche
c + ia, io, iu, e, i	ch	bacio, celebre, cinema
g + a, o, u, he, hi	g	gara, gusto, spaghetti
g + ia, io, iu, e, i	dj	Giotto, gelato, magico
sc + a, o, u, he, hi	sk	scala, scuola, scheda
sc + ia, io, iu, e, i	sh	sciarpa, sciupato, scemo
gn + a, e, i, o	ny	legna, gnomo, lasagna
gl + ia, ie, io, iu		Figlia, teglie, taglio

And finally (to test yourself) try saying the word bruschetta. Did you say something that sounded like broo-SKET-tah? Congratulations! As someone who has mispronounced this word for decades I look forward to ordering bruschetta correctly!

For more information on our Italian Conversation Night visit our previous blog post. If you’re interested in joining us for our next Italian Conversation Night on Tuesday, March 27 please email for reservations. Until then, here is an excellent video on how to say the alphabet in Italian. Ciao!

Filed in Parla Italiano, Pizza Culture & Italian Traditions

Tags: Italian culture, italian speaking night, parla italiano

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Pizzeria Prima Strada

Parla Italiano: Lesson 4

Parla Italiano: Lesson 3

Parla Italiano: Lesson 2

Wine Time with Andrew – Vino Rosso

Parla Italiano: Lesson 1

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