Gustiamo has partnered with a  ristorant located in the village at 91 Christopher Street called Il Cantuccio. Every Tuesday from 5 til 7 pm Gustiamo sets up a table in the front and have a free tasting for the neighborhood locals. Yesterday was my second time attending the tasting.

I enjoy going even though I am usually the only person working who can not understand Italian. I enjoy going because of the culture feeling, the decor and most of all because of the food!

Il Cantuccio is in New York so it is not like I am really experiencing a new culture all together; but because I am not familiar with this part of the city, or even the people I am working with it is a new culture for me.

The people who I am working with have one main thing in common, they are from Italy.

I, on the other hand, am kind of out of my comfort zone when I am there because the dynamics are very different.

It is outside of the Bronx and I am used to hearing Spanish being spoken around me as the language that I don’t understand. (It’s gotten to the point where I can understand some Spanish and even respond in Spanish).

However, at Il Cantuccio Italian is spoken. Which for me is a good. It makes my mind race and broadens my desire to learn something new.

Not only am I learning and listening to the language often, but I am learning about the people and their personalities (but I guess that is someone one does anyway!).

It seems Italians are very nice and like to eat. And I am not sure if their way of dressing is American or Italian but I enjoy looking at their outfits which seem to be vintage with a twist.

In addition to learning about the people, the store seem to have a feeling of home for these Italians.

The store is decked out with great photography on the wall (a blown up picture of the owners of the store, Camilla, Lorenzo and Simone has a vintage feeling…I overheard Martina from Gustiamo say how “Italian” it looked),  there is also a bicycle in the window surrounded with bread baskets and holiday decorations which make the place more festive and fun.

The color of the walls (brown and white) and the furniture creates a homely feeling. Apparently, it’s a great place for a date too. I always see couples there who always seem to be in love. It must be in the food. If someone took me to Il Cantuccio and fed me some good Italian food, I think I would fall in love too!

Il Cantuccio is basically a bread place. It is known for its schiacciata which is a type of well-known Italian flat bread. I think the schiacciata is very good when mixed with Gustiamo‘s ingredients. What ever Gustiamo plans to put on the bread, it always seem to be an excellent plan. I haven’t gotten a chance to taste anything else from Il Cantuccio but I notice that they sell everything from desserts to pizza and the customers always seem satisfied.

In this photo is staff from Gustiamo and Il Cantuccio and ChC PR & Consulting, Inc..