Eat Amalfi – New App

It’s taken me a while to add one of my favorite areas of Italy, the coast south of Rome, to the EAT ITALY app collection. One of the reasons is because I wasn’t quite sure what to call it. While it’s easy to figure out what the names Eat Rome, Eat Venice and Eat Florence refer to, the places that I go to south of Rome, along the coast, are grouped together more in my mind than on any map.

I first thought of calling this app Eat Positano, since there were so many places (I thought) in Positano. Then I wanted to extend it to include even more places, so thought of Eat Amalfi (referring to the Amalfi Coast more than the town itself). Or should I call it Eat Campania, and so include Naples in what (in my mind) an app basically about beach places? But when I started going to Ponza, an island off the coast of Lazio that has nothing to do with the Amalfi Coast but is certainly near enough to it to be included in a general guide, the problem got even more confusing.

In the end I decided to not really dwell on what this app is called and just get the information out there to you!  So I’ve kept the name EAT AMALFI (since the name Amalfi Coast is very recognizable to most people) but added the “& More” as my way of saying I can tack on any other beachy destination in the general vicinity that I want to. This is why you’ll find Ponza here, when it really has nothing to do with The Amalfi Coast. I’ll also most likely be adding Ischia and possibly even a few spots in Capri. My reasoning  is that since this is my app, I can pretty much do what I want, right?

Needless to say, this list of places to to find food or drink,  in a loosely defined geographical area of Italy, is not at all exhaustive. As always this is simply a list of places that I’ve personally been to and liked. And since you have to sleep somewhere, I’m including a few hotels as well.

EAT AMALFI is one of the guides that I am offering free of cost. That is because while it still represents my favorite picks, it’s not as complete, or large, as some of the other bigger cities that are available as in-app purchases (Rome, Venice and Florence)

One of the specific challenges of this particular app is including opening hours.  I’ve tried my best to be as specific as possible. Unfortunately many restaurants change their hours – and especially their vacation and holiday closures – at whim. Nowhere is this more true than in places like Ponza. They live by their own schedule and things may be open, closed or somewhere in between from day to day, or even year to year. Sorry. That’s island life.

Also, since most of the places in this app cater to people on summer holiday, many are only open from roughly May through September. If you are looking for a specific opening or closing date sorry, there usually isn’t one. And don’t tell me to look at their websites. Hah! If only. Some places do manage a Facebook page, but many haven’t been updated since 2012. Don’t fight it. Embrace it. And have another glass of white wine with peaches floating in it.

And while all of the places mentioned here are definitely open during the summer months, and mostly closed during the winter months, I am not advising you to only go during the summer. Actually? Many of the places mentioned here, especially Positano and Ponza are much much better off season, even if you will see more chiuso signs. I just spent 4 days off season in Ponza when all it did was rain and there was really only one bar open. And it was heavenly.

Thanks to the miracle of digital publishing, I’ll be updating the content constantly. Once you download EAT AMALFI you will automatically receive notices of new updates. And in fact, I have at least a dozen more entries ready to go, and will be adding them in the next month or so. So stay tuned. Once you download the app, the updates will appear magically. And if you have already downloaded EAT ITALY? Surprise!! Eat Amalfi is already on your phone, just waiting for you to use it.

EAT ITALY is a free app, with in app purchases for Rome, Venice and Florence. Other cities and regions (Milan, Torino, Umbria, Puglia, Naples, Amalfi) are completely free. Thanks to the miracle of digital publishing, I’ll be updating the content constantly. Once you download EAT ITALY you will automatically receive new updates. The app is available for both iTunes and Android.

For more about traveling around Italy, following your appetite to out of the way places , buy my book Eating My Way Through Italy. And if you’d like to recreate your own Italian meal at home, my book The Italian Table: Creating Festive Meals for Family and Friends, has all the recipes you’ll need (plus an entire chapter on Positano)

If you’d like to join me for a Week in Italy, exploring places like these, I’d love to have you! For my current schedule see my website. And for day tours in Rome and Puglia, contact my daughter Sophie