Traditions originate from tiny repeated gestures, from rituals that begin randomly and that, equally by chance, quickly become indispensable. R. and I started our own personal tradition to celebrate the start of the weekend: the Friday toast at Toasteria Italiana.
Since toast (toasted bread usually stuffed with ham and cheese or other ingredients) in English also means “toast” (to cheer with a drink), many of you may consider me as a person with very little imagination, who brags of having invented some kind of tradition when in fact her way to welcome the weekend is identical to anyone else’s. I’ll immediately stop the scolds by saying that I’m speaking of THE toast, the classic hot sandwich with a crispy crust. Boring? Too easy? Ok, I get it: you haven’t eaten at Toasteria Italiana yet.
In Toasteria Italiana the cup of wine with which you welcome the weekend can be matched with different gourmet toasts, all made with top quality Made in Italy ingredients. With the intent to celebrate our culinary tradition, sandwiches are named after the most famous Italian cities. So, on the menu there are Capri, Genoa, Turin, Merano, Tropea … my favourite is the La Spezia sandwich, with smoked salmon: a must try, along with a glass of Prosecco! For those who want to pair their toast in soft drinks, I recommend the smoothies and juices, freshly prepared with 100% bio fruits and vegetables.
It is true that toast is a simple dish, but often it’s within simplicity that you can find excellence. Just think of the concept of Made in Italy: our tradition is appreciated and celebrated all over the world for its innate simplicity, its natural elegance and intrinsic sophistication. Italian beauty is never showy, in any of its manifestation: it is only slightly perceived. This concept has been grasped by Toasteria Italiana and efficaciously expressed in its slogan: “Excellence in the simplicity of a toast.”
When, on Friday, R. and I meet in Toasteria, we choose the Italian beauty of simple things. We choose chatter between friends and the holiday atmosphere. We choose to have a toast to the warm crunchy sandwich that, in its simplicity, contains all the excellence of our wonderful culinary tradition.