Food: You Do Not Get What You Pay For

One thing that I am starting to realize in Rome is that you really do not get what you pay for here for food, in quality or quantity (especially quantity). I have had my fair share of touristy places and small local places where you could not find a tourist and they barely spoke any English. Believe it or not, I have found that you get the best deal with the touristy places because they know what kind of food we are expecting and cater to that as best as possible. The small local places give out the absolute worst portions. I am trying to figure out where the stereotype of Italians eating tons of food at their meals came from, because I have yet to see anything even remotely close to what I have been brought up to think. I am dying for a Maggiano's type dinner where you get obnoxiously huge portions that taste fantastic and are moderately priced. I have only had one meal here so far at a restaurant that left me full, but that also was probably because I had an appetizer and the bread with olive oil, and then my meal. I have a firm belief that there is absolutely no one plate meal in this city that could fill me.