The Local

Hard on the heels of stoking anger over plans to open a restaurant in the Vatican, McDonald's has filed a $20-million lawsuit against Florence for blocking a proposed outlet in the city's most revered square. The US fast-food chain told AFP Monday it was claiming 17.8 million euros ($19.65 million) in damages after the city rejected an application to open an outlet in the historic Piazza del Duomo, one of the most visited places in Europe.McDonald's said the suit was being filed with the administrative court, which arbitrates in goveance disputes in Italy. The firm gave no other details.Florence's centre-left mayor, Dario Nardella, tued down McDonald's application in June, in a decision that was confirmed the following month by a technical panel in charge of preserving the city's ancient heart."McDonald's has the right to submit an application, because this is permitted under the law, but we also have the right to say no," Nardella told the city council, saying he wanted to support,mcdonalds,mcdonald's menu,mcdonalds breakfast menu,mcdonalds jobs,mcdonalds prices,mcdonalds careers,mcdonalds stock,mcdonalds salads,mcdonalds breakfast hours,mcdonalds calories ...ادامه مطلب

Can you name these types of pasta? That's not spaghetti on the left... Photos: David Adam Hess, Edsel Little, Sreebot/Flickr&WikicommonsIn case you hadn’t noticed, Italians take pasta very seriously. There are dozens of varieties - it's much more than just spaghetti and fusili - and menus can be hard to decipher to visitors and newcomers. Pasta is an art form; not only does each region have its local specialities, but there are rules as to which sauce goes best with which pasta. To start with, Italians would never pair chicken or meatballs with pasta - and don't even think about topping a seafood pasta dish with cheese. There are so many different kinds that sometimes you don't realize it's pasta, let alone what shape, from reading the menu. Waiters have been known to draw pasta shapes in order to help diners understand what they're ordering, while many foreigners in Italy have sat through lectures from Italian housemates on why you should never, ever order spaghetti bolognese. So to help you blend in and impress your Italian friends, here is our guide to the country's favourite food... Capelli d’angelo Photo: David Adam Kess/Wikimedia CommonsLiterally translating as 'angel hair', this pasta is very thin and light, meaning it cooks very quickly. It is sold either in strands or 'nests' and should be eaten with light sauces or can be used in soups. Capelli d'angelo is in the same pasta family as fidelini (slightly thicker), spaghetti (even thicker) and vermicelli (thickest), all of which work best with lighter sauces, often seafood-based, and can be used in soups. Bucatini Photo: stu_spivack/FlickrBucatini is another long, skinny pasta, but with one crucial difference - it is hollow. The tube shape allows sauce to flow through it, making it a great partner with thicker, meatier sauces than the thinner strands can handle. Bucatini is particular popular with amatriciana, a Lazio sauce made from guanciale (pig's cheek). Mafalde Photo: Yaksar/Wikimedia CommonsNamed af, ...ادامه مطلب

Italian pizza maker masterchef Gennaro Cervone gives a lesson of homemade pizza during the pizza festival in Naples in 2014. Photo: Mario Laporta/AFPItaly has finally prepared a dossier, ready to be sent to Unesco, as part of its bid to get Neopolitan pizza listed on the Intangible Cultural Heritage list. The plan to get “the art of the Neopolitian pizza maker” protected has been mooted for some time, but the Italian National Commission for Unesco has now agreed on a proposal by the Ministry of Agriculture to endeavour to get the culinary skill listed because “it represents Italy in the world”. “We continue to value ‘made in Italy’, especially after the success of Milan Expo last year,” Agriculture Minister Maurizio Martina told Ansa. The dossier will now be sent to Unesco, where it will begin a long and complex negotiation process involving 200 countries before a decision is made in 2017. Pierluigi Petrillo, the legal editor for the dossier, said the process would be especially challenging because, until now, “Unesco has never listed a cultural tradition linked to food production”. The list "is composed of intangible heritage elements that conceed communities and states parties consider require urgent measures to keep them alive", according to the Unesco website. Naples has long been determined to maintain its reputation as the spiritual home of one of the world's favourite foods. Photo: Joanne Wann Neapolitan pizza is characterised by its raised crust rendered golden by oven cooking, by the crispy yet tender consistency of its pastry, and by its acid tomato taste, along with aromas of oregano, garlic, basil and mozzarella. The role of the pizza maker, or pizzaiolo, and the wood-fire oven are also determining characteristics of the Neapolitan pizza. The base should be no more than 3 millimetres (about an eighth of an inch) thick and cooked for between 60 and 90 seconds in a stone oven with an oak-wood fire. Story continues below… The Neapolitan pizza was invente, ...ادامه مطلب