In Search of Herb

While I was cookin' up some soup, I realized that instead of buying basil at the market, I bought mint. While that would've been an interesting experiment, I needed basil and I needed it quickly.

I looked at my watch: 8:30. I thought the supermarket would still be open, so I ran there, but no luck. Closed. I ran around to various little markets that were for some reason still open, but the closest I got was sage. So then, I decided to go into some restaurants and ask (in my best Italian, of course) if I could buy some basil from them.

Now this is something I wouldn't even consider doing back at home. But here, it seems to be a lot more acceptable. The first place had about 5 leaves to offer me, but that wasn't enough. I tried to pay, but of course he wouldn't accept any money. The next place I tried didn't have enough to give away, so I had one more restaurant in mind. It's not a very good place, but I've gone there a few times because you can get a cheap takeaway pizza, and it's right across the street. The woman recognized me, and of course, wouldn't let me pay, but gave me just what I needed. I thanked her profusely and got back to cooking.

What I think is different here is that owners see their restaurants as more of an extension of their home and personal kitchen. Food here is about sharing, even at mediocre places that I only frequent due to convenience. You just don't get that back in the states.

You do, however, have access to groceries 24/7 basically wherever you are.