Cheers!

How to Toast in Italy
Take your glass, hold it up and say “Salute!” (pronounced SA-LOO-TAY) In Italian this means: “To your health!”

(“Salute” is also something that is said when someone sneezes. But as a young Roman stranger once told me, it is something you can only say to close friends. So when you are in Rome and someone sneezes, be silent and don’t wish them good health!)

When your glass touches your company’s glass you can say excitedly, “Ching, ching!” But make sure you make eye contact! Because as my Italian roommate said, “If you don’t look in the eye..seven years BAD SEX!”

Gloss Wine Bar is a tiny joint on a hidden street and you won't know it's there unless you're looking for it. Just a small room with a bar, a few seats available but the thing to do is go outside on the street and enjoy your glass of wine. (Drinking out on the streets is thee thing to do.) I sampled a couple of sweet biancos from the older woman behind the bar before settling on Müller-Thurgau. This bar is perfect for people getting off work on a Friday afternoon and are in need of a cheap but high quality glass of wine. The atmosphere is so laid back and I felt like I was just invited over to an Italian family's place for a nice glass of wine.
I found The Bench Bar & Grill's Italian equivalent when I stumbled into Open: Baladin. There are over 40 beers on tap (alla spina) of Italian artisanal beers and another 100 different kinds in bottles (in bottiglia). They were happy to let me sample a few different kinds, including an Italy Blue Moon twin called, "Nuova Luna." The Brune stout was splendid. They also have imported beers and I got the chance to say hello to my good friend Mr. Brooklyn Lager. Mi piace la buona birra! I like the good beer! As for food, the cheeseburger that I saw them serve looked out of this world. In August, they are opening a bar in NYC and the same Italian beer will be available for thirsty New Yorkers.