Rome: Restaurant by Restaurant

Since we were staying in Rome for 3 weeks, Michele and I decided to try a few restaurants that we had not tried before. Some we always wanted try, but never made it and others we were told about by friends. One was a place we had not been to in a long time.

Flavio Al Velavevodetto – Via di Monte Testaccio 9     Tel   06 57 44 194

This restaurant is around the corner from one of our favorites, Checchino al 1887. It serves traditional Roman food.

We had Bruschetta with burrata and anchovies, bollito meatballs (made from the boiled meats of a bollito misto), rabbit alla cacciatore, fettuccine with pork ragu.

The wines are on the wall in a room to the dining room and diners can go up and choose what they want.

De Cesare Via Del Casaletto, 45-47-49      Tel    06536015

The restaurant is a 20-minute ride from the center on the #8 tram. Take it to the last stop and the restaurant is right across the street. This was our first time here and we really enjoyed it.

Michele and I ate the same things, fried fiori di zucca stuffed with mozzarella and anchovies, fried totani (small squid), skate and broccoli soup, shrimp with tomatoes and sour cherry tart, crostata di visciole.

We drank a Tebbiano di Abruzzo 2014 from Pepe

Osteria Le Mani in Pasta, Via dei Genovesi,37 Trastevere   Tel  06.5816017.

We went here on a Saturday and the restaurant was very crowded and noisy. But it was a good noise — that of people eating good food, drinking wine and having a good time.

Many of the customers were regulars who stopped in at the kitchen to say hello to the chef on the way in and on the way out.

Many people were sharing the pasta dishes, as they were very large. However they were not doing it to eat less as they then ordered another pasta course to share.

To start, we had artichokes alla Romana, and octopus and potato salad, one of our favorites.

Michele had Fettuccine with ricotta salata and pancetta, which she really liked and I had spaghetti Vernaccia with white wine, caramelized onions and bacon. It was very good.

We drank a bottle of Falanghina.

Cul de Sac   Piazza di Piazza di Pasquino 73    Tel  06 68 80 10 94

On our way to The Piazza Navona, we passed an old favorite, Cul de Sac.

We used to go there often but for some reason we had stopped, so we decided to give it a try. It is perfect for lunch, less crowded than at dinnertime.

The salumi, cheese, and pate is much better than the hot food here and you can make a great meal of them. We had the boar pate, prosciutto, finocchiona salami and an assortment of unusual cheeses. They also have a great wine list and the staff is very nice and interested.

Trattoria Perilli,  Via Marmorata 39   Tel  06 575 5100

One review of this restaurant said that they value food over service; therefore the writer did not recommend it for North American tourists who, in his opinion, value service over food.  Michele and I do not agree. It is a true Roman restaurant, full of locals that know good food.

We had rigatoni carbonara, and roast suckling pig.

La Tavernaccia da Bruno – Via Giovanni da Castelbolognese 63    Tel 06.5812792

We had Bruschetta with grilled vegetablies, tagliolini with wild boar ragu, roast pork (yes, again),

mand a delicious ricotta torta with pistachios. The owner is from  Umbria so there is a mixing of Rome and Umbria in the food.

 

 

When in Rome-Our Favorite Restautants

Michele and I rented an apartment in Rome again in February.

We have decided that for us it is better than a winter vacation to Florida, Mexico or the Caribbean. While it may not be as warm, the food is much better and Rome is Rome and we love it. These are the restaurants that Michele and I go back to every time we are in Rome.

Trattoria da Giggetto– Michele and I always go to the same place for lunch when we arrive in Rome.  We drop off our bags and walk to Da Giggetto (39-066861 05) at Portico D’Ottavia 21/A-22 in the Jewish ghetto.

I do not need to look at the menu because I always order the same things: fiori di zucca ripieni con mozzarella e alici.  The flowers were small and crunchy and very good.

I also get carciofi alla giudia  (fried artichoke) and spaghetti con vongole veraci.

The tiny clams were tender and seasoned with just the right amount of parsley, garlic, olive oil and a hint of hot pepper.  Michele had carciofi alla romana, braised artichoke and fettuccine with ragu. We drank the Passerina del Fruisnate IGT 2014 from Feudi Del Sole. It went very well with the food even with the fried artichoke.

Trattoria Armando al Pantheon-Salita de’ Crescenzi 21 This is one of Michele’s favorite restaurants in Rome and one of the restaurants that you have to make a reservation for lunch or dinner. We only started going here a few years ago and have been going there ever since.

I started with grilled bread Roman style with butter and anchovies,  while Michele had Buffalo mozzarella with braised Roan artichoke.

Then we had spaghetti alla Matriciana, chicken in white wine with peppers, and grilled sausages with lentils.

We drank Ghemme 2005 “Collis Brechema” Antichi Vigneti di Cantalupo

IL Martriciano Via dei Gracchi, 55    06 32 13 040-06 32 12 327

Michele and I have been coming here for the last 35 years and nothing changes, the owners, the waiters and the menu are the same. I started as usual with a carciofo romano, fried zucchini flowers stuffed with mozzarella and anchovies and of course bucatini matriciana

I had the roasted baccala with potatoes in a tomato and onion sauce, which was delicious.

Michele had Vignarola, peas, artichokes and fava beans.

And for dessert

Ristorante Ar Galletto Piazza Farnese 104   06 686 1714

Michele likes to come here when the weather is warm so we can sit outside because the restaurant is in the Piazza Farnese and she loves the view.

We had fiori di zucca, fried artichoke, spaghetti with fresh anchovies and pecorino.

and crostata for dessert.

We drank Offida Pecorino 2014 “Merlettale” from Ciú Ciú.

Checchino Dal 1887 (www.checchino1887.com), Via  Monte 30 Testaccio.

The Mariani family has owned the restaurant since 1887. Francesco Mariani takes care of the front of the house while his brother Elio is in the kitchen.

Michele and I have been coming here since 1981. It is the restaurant where I drank Fiorano Rosso for the first time. The vintage was 1961

We went with friends that live in Rome and they were surprised when the Francesco came over and the first thing he said was, “I have one bottle of Fiorano Rosso left, the 1983, do you want it?” That was a trick question. Of course I wanted it!

Considering the wine and the food, it is the best restaurant in Rome with over six hundred wines from Italy and all over the world. The wine cellar is dug into Monte Testaccio, a hill made from broken amphorae, which date back to Ancient Rome. Francesco gave us a tour of the cellar that holds over 600 wines.

The slaughterhouses of Rome used to be located here and the restaurant still specializes in the so-called quinto quarto, the fifth quarter, or innards and other spare parts.

We ate Artichoke alla Romana

Bucatini all’Amatriciana

Fegato di Vitello ai ferri, and grilled baby lamb chops.

For dessert

We also drank a Cesanese 2013 “Amarasco” Principe Pallavicini.

 

 

 

Eating and Drinking in Rome

If I were a rich man I would have and apartment in Rome and a house on the Amalfi Coast.  While I cannot buy a house on the Amalfi coast, I can rent one for a vacation and on the way, why not spend a few days in Rome?

We always go to the same place for lunch when we arrive in Rome.  We drop off our bags and walk to Da Giggetto(39-066861 05) at Portico D’Ottavia 12A, in the Jewish ghetto.  The afternoon was sunny and too hot to dine outside so we sat in a newly opened room with big glass windows onto the Portico D’Ottavia and the synagogue.

Fiori di Zucca e Carciofi

I do not need to look at the menu because I always order the same things: fiori di zucca ripieni con mozzarella e alici The flowers were small and crunchy and very good.  I also get carciofi alla giudia  (fried artichokes) and spaghetti con vongole veraci. The tiny clams were tender and seasoned with just the right amount of parsley, garlic, olive oil and a hint of hot pepper. Michele had il filetto di baccala (she loves the way the Romans fry) and the puntarelle in salsa d’ alici, her favorite salad, a type of chicory.  It was a relaxing start to our trip.
For a number of years now we have been trying to go restaurant Armando al Pantheon but somehow never get there because it is always booked up.  This time, Michele made a reservation on line from NYC.  We started off with what I always order in a traditional Roman restaurant:   zucchini flowers, bucatini alla matriciana and abbacchio arrosto. The dessert was a strawberry crostata with a lattice top.    Michele really loved the food here.  The wine was the 2005 Montepulciano D’Abruzza, from Emidio Pepeit was less than 40 euro–a real bargain in a restaurant. The wine was big but with a lot of fruit and not as tannic as I would have expected. Most of my experiences with these wines are ones that are 25 years and older. The wine prices in Rome, especially for non-local wines, were better than on the Amalfi coast.

At Checchino dal 1887  V (www.checchino1887.com), Via  Monte 30 Testaccio, Francesco Mariani takes care of the front of the house while his brother Elio is in the kitchen. A number of years ago Francesco did us a big favor by getting us on a train to Genoa during a train strike.   Aside from that, it is in my opinion that with over six hundred wines from Italy and all over the world, this is the best restaurant in Rome for both wine and food. I always have long conversations with Francesco about Italian wine and which wine I should order with what I am eating.  Every time I go, Francesco remembers the wine I ordered the last time I was there.  This time he recommended a wine from Lazio, Cesanese del Piglio 2005 DOC  from Azienda Agricola Marcella Guliano. They no longer have any Fiorano Rosso or older vintages of Colle Picchione “Vigna dal Vassallo”.  They still have a number of vintages of the Fiorano Bianco, but serve it as a dessert wine.

Traditional Amatriciana

Once again I ordered the tasting menu because it had all of my favorite foods. I started with a tortino of eggs, peppers and tomato; this was followed by pasta alla Matriciana (yes again).  It could not have been better.  Then rabbit (coniglio alla olive di Gaeta con rughetta and pomodoro) followed by torta de mele (apple tart).

Checchino is still a member of L’ Unione di Ristoranti del Buon Ricordo, a group of restaurants that give you a plate if you order their signature dish or tasting menu. Since we both ordered the tasting menu we were given two plates.  We have almost 100 of these plates and eight are from Checchino.

Pierliugi(39-06-6861 302) Michele loves to sit al fresco at this seafood restaurant, which is in the charming Piazza dè Ricci but it was close to 95 degrees so we opted to do what all the Italians were doing- -eat inside and enjoy the air conditioning.

Amatriciana with Shellfish

We started with the stuffed fried zucchini flowers, and then I had bocconcini di polenta con baccala, polenta bites with salt cod.  Michele had the very Roman cacio e pepe.  They have their own version of pasta all’amatriciana made with paccheri, a wide pasta tube.  The sauce includes shellfish and of course I had to order it. It was very good but I would have enjoyed it more if there were less pecorino cheese, which seemed a bit much for the shellfish. For the main course I had scampi (langoustine) and large shrimp on the grill. The waiter was very good and we had a long discussion about wine.  I ordered the Fiano di Avellino DOCG 2009 made from 100% Fiano from Guido Marsella.  Pierluigi’s wine prices were higher than any restaurant we visited in Rome on this trip.  When we told the waiter we were from NYC he told us that the owner might want to speak with us since he is opening a restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. After we finished lunch the owner, Lorenzo Lisi, came over and told us all about his plans for the new restaurant and that it would open in September.

Carbonara

Roscioli Salumeria Vineria con Cucina – Via dei Giubbonari 21-22. This is not only a restaurant but also a salumeria, a shop specializing in salumi and

“Hamburger”

cheese. Michele likes the restaurant because she believes it has the best carbonara in Rome. It also has some very creative items like the hamburger di bufala with grilled ham and a balsamic drizzle, and the burrata e alici, both of which we ordered along with the carbonara. I usually order the matriciana but Michele is right, the carbonara was terrific.  The wine was the 2003 Cerasuolo (Rosè) 100% Montepulciano d’Abuzzo from Eduardo Valentini. It was less than 40 Euro. For more on Rome see Wine in Rome a great blog by Tom Maresca.