Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: "Feel like you got gouged in Rome? You probably did"

Un articolo del New York Times mette in guardia i turisti americani,
avvertendoli che a Roma rischiano di essere "gouged" da bar e ristoratori.
Forse qualcosa c'è di vero, ma mi pare decisamente esagerato! Per esempio,
non penso che perdono tempo a cambiare tipo di pasta per turisti e per
romani. E ha riportato solo i pareri negativi. Ad ogni modo, un gustoso
pezzo di cronaca...
===
Feel like you got gouged in Rome? You probably did 
Many restaurants charge tourists more, even sub ingredients
Peter Kiefer, New York Times
Sunday, August 13, 2006
(08-13) 04:00 PDT Rome -- Any tourist here knows the sensation: that
gnawing feeling that Italians do not pay $3 for a tiny cappuccino or $4 for
an unordered basket of bread. 
To no one's surprise the suspicion often reflects reality, as restaurateurs
will admit in candid moments. It might be an extra 30 cents for an
espresso, or a $5 tithe tacked onto a bottle of wine. It may even mean the
substitution of lower-grade ingredients. But the practice of charging
tourists more does exist and is committed daily, even hourly. If executed
properly, the turista will be none the wiser. 
"You think you are being taken care of," said Christian Boyle, a Londoner
who has spent some months in Rome. Soon after arriving, she and some
friends displayed fatal naivete, when they were not sure what to order at a
restaurant just off the Piazza del Popolo. "We couldn't decide," she said,
"so the waiter said he would bring us some things to try." 
"One thing kept arriving after another," she said. Things were fine until
"he charged us full price for all these little dishes that we thought we
were just trying." 
Taking advantage of a tourist is not surprising here or anywhere, but some
residents say the Romans have their own flair. 
"They don't see it as a crime but as a kind of justification," said Tegan
Shioler, a Canadian chef and sommelier who has worked in restaurants and
hotels around Rome for several years. "It is part of the Italian psyche,
and I don't think it is done without humor. Italians are very possessive of
their culture, which makes them beautiful. But some Romans disdain
visitors, so they humorously justify the fact that to be served is some
sort of privilege." 
While clearly illegal, the gouging fits into Italy's notorious black
market. Some surveys estimate that as much as 30 percent of the Italian
economy takes place off the books. 
The chicanery may not rival the multibillion-dollar fraud at Parmalat, the
Italian dairy company, but it does display a certain subtlety. Fuzzy math
on an unitemized receipt, an inflated bread and cover charge, pricing
discrepancies between the English menu and the Italian one or even that
stupefying, disproportionate service charge for taking your coffee seated
at a table instead of standing at the bar. 
If it is not your wallet that is suffering, it may be your palate. 
"It is all just a matter of cost," said Tony Bussi, who has been running
the well-regarded Hostaria Del Moro in Trastevere for the past 22 years and
knows what tricks other restaurants will pull. This is how the racket
works, by Bussi's account: an unscrupulous waiter will flag an order of
say, pasta carbonara or amatriciana, as having come from a foreigner and
not a proper Roman. It is then up to the kitchen to proceed with whatever
cost-cutting tricks it deems necessary. That can include anything from
watering down the sauce to using precooked pasta to substituting
lower-grade or even day-old ingredients for the appropriate ones. 
"If the menu outside says it is 7 euros for a plate of pasta carbonara --
then it's 7 euros for everyone," Bussi said. "But if you try and give a
real Roman the low-quality version they will throw it back in your face." 
The city maintains a special enforcement outfit known as the Polizia
Annonaria to keep tabs on the marketplace. But, with just 100 officers
patrolling a beat consisting of thousands of cafes, bars and restaurants,
there is plenty of wiggle room -- especially considering that about 16
million tourists visit Rome each year. 
"They have so many things to deal with, so clearly this is a difficult
thing to control, and of course there is a certain amount of cunning that
goes on," said Ettore Corsale, a spokesman for the city government. "But
everyone needs to realize that tourism is good for us all." 
Needless to say, not a single restaurant owner spoken to would admit that
the practice went on at his establishment. But most of the dozen restaurant
managers interviewed said they were perfectly aware that it went on. 
"It's unfortunate, but it happens," said Fabio Massimo Bongianni, who
recently opened That's Amore on Via Dei Lavatori near the Trevi Fountain.
Bongianni said, though, that he had received a surprise visit from the
restaurant authorities. "They came by the other day and told me I couldn't
have two separate menus, an Italian version and an English version" -- a
convenience to the diner, but also an opportunity for restaurants to play
with the prices. "How was I supposed to know?" 
For most tourists, beyond increasing their vigilance -- or the sensitivity
of their palates -- little can be done. But visitors can seek solace in the
fact that the tourist tax does not entirely exclude natives. 
Chiara Basso, a native of Mantova, Italy, who now lives in Rome, found
herself paying inflated rates for her morning coffee. "I come from the
north so I have an accent," she said. "They must have thought I was a
tourist." 
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/08/13/MNG4BKE8MI1.DTL
===

 wrote in message
news:e977h0p7...@news.lillathedog.net...

Anyone foolish enough to frequent tourist traps deserves to get ripped
off.
Joe from Massachusetts

 off.
I have a different take on the subject. If you have the felling you're 
being ripped off then tell the restaurateur you will call the police and 
have them to check if the restaurant is paying waiters under the counter 
and whatnot. I can't put up with my boss making so mush dosh and 
grabbing my tips whereas I get paid so little. bust'em all!

 grabbing my tips whereas I get paid so little. bust'em all!
Hmmmm....whereas doesn't sound good in that sentence.  I would use
"while"
I thought you were going to go work at "Steps of Rome".  What happened
to that?
Ari

 to that?
I've been keeping it in mind for a while though it's hard decision to 
make. By the Italians London has always been said to be good to 
experience the life as a waiter and all and when you come back Italy you 
totally rule! It goes without saying that to go work and see life in the 
US would be great as well! Actually I ain't set my mind on anything 
yet...

 > grabbing my tips whereas I get paid so little. bust'em all!
-- 
Enrico C
=======================================
http://www.lillathedog.net/icling/dizionari_inglese.html

 British slang for "money".
Ah..ecco.  Sospettavo fosse cosi'  perche' non sono riuscita a trovarlo
nel dizionario.
bye
ari

 British slang for "money".
does it stem from "dough" or viceversa?