Michele and I are in Rome and in our first two days had dinner and lunch in two of our favorite restaurants: Ristorante Due Ladroni and Trattoria IL Matriciano.
Ristorante Due Ladroni This is one of the best appointed restaurants in Rome and we usually go there when we first arrive. It is a family restaurant now run by the younger generation who maintain their parents’ tradition of food and the service at its best.
The Food
We shared a plate of Moscardini Fritti, tiny crisp fried octopus to start. They were impossibly crunchy, nutty and juicy at the same time.
Michele had Alice alla Diavola, grilled spicy anchovies with with lemon.
I had grilled octopus and mushrooms on a bed of chick pea puree.
Michele’s pasta was Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe con Chip
s di Carciofi
I had Ricci di Mare with Bucatini, sea urchin with thick spaghetti.
We shared the wonderful Crostata alle Visciole con Gelato di Crema for dessert. Visciole are sour cherries that baked in a buttery crust. The custardy ice cream was a perfect complement.
The first time we went to Il Matriciano (39-06-32500364) Via dei Gracchi, 55, was in 1983. The Colasanti Family has owned and operated the restaurant since 1912. Alberto Clasanti greets the guests and oversees the operations. There is a nice outdoor space but we like to sit inside, which seems to be favored by the Romans.
I always order stuffed zucchini flowers (I cannot get enough of them) and artichokes alla giudia to start. Both were also perfectly deep fried and the flowers contained a small amount of mozzarella and more than a hint of anchovy stuffing.
We both had Puntarella Salad. Puntarella is Catalonian chicory which is very popular this time of year topped with anchovy dressing.
Michele had a tender braised artichoke alla Romana, which she prefers to the crunchy fried artichokes.
We both had pasta all’amatrtciana, bucatini with guanciale, tomato and pecorino cheese.
For desert Michele had tiny, fragrant fragoline del bosco, wild strawberries with crema gelato. I had the berries plain with a squeeze of lemon.
Falanghina Campi Flegrei DOC 2020 La Sibilla made from 100% Falanghina from vines 65 years old. The wine remains on the lees in steel for 6 months and then one year in bottle before release. The wine was golden in color and a different style of Falaghina, richer with more dry fruit flavors. We enjoyed this wine at Due Ladroni.
Looking forward to many more great meals
Over the last few years it has become our first stop in Rome.
We like everything about the restaurant, the atmosphere, the hosts, and of course, the food and wine. 
I started with the Alice alla Diavola, grilled spicy anchovies with a salad dressed with lemon.
Michele had grilled octopus on a bed of chick pea puree.
Next I had Pici alle Vongole Veraci Sgusciate, thick spaghetti with clam sauce.
Michele had Pasta alla Norma with red tuna. Rigatoni pasta in a cherry tomato sauce with chunks of fried eggplant and sauteed red tuna. Served with ricotta salata cheese.
We shared a plate of Moscardini Fritti, tiny crisp fried octopus. They were impossibly crunchy and juicy at the same time.
Sicilia Menfi DOC 2021 “Cometa” Planeta made from 100% Fiano. The training system is espalier with guyot pruning and there are 4,500 vines per hectare. The grapes come from two different vineyards, Dispensa at 75 meters and Gurra at 35 meters and the soil is mostly lime and chalk. Harvest is at the end of September. After picking by hand, the grapes are stripped of stalks and sent to the press. Soft pressing and static sedimentation takes place in stainless steel at a low temperature of 6-7°C. The clear part is decanted and ferments in stainless steel tanks for 90% and for 10% in 35 hl oak barrels, at about 14-15 °C for 12/14 days. At the end of fermentation the tanks are filled up with similar wine and left on the primary lees with daily stirring. This is a well structured and
This is the Due Ladroni version of the classic Torta della Nonna. Here it was an individual tartlet filled with vanilla pastry cream and topped with pastry crumbles and pinenuts. I devoured it! 
Charles Scicolone on Wine 