Two Days in Rome

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Emma for the best pizza. The organic iberico chorizo pie is one of the few edible items that really stand out for me as just short of life changing.

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do not forget Espresso, Roman (strip) Pizza, keep a lookout for places where locals get their stuff and skip the tourist places. Hard to get bad espresso or poor pizza in Rome.
 
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Since you have visited the Coliseum and Vatican, time to get your fill of Renaissance Period art. Villa Borgese flies under the radar, but is one of the best places in the world to see sculpture.
 
For food prioritize small trattorias. Look for the less tourist crowded ones. If you like Carbonara, rome is the place . Make sure to eat whatever is in season
 
Drop by at Bono - Bottega Nostrana
san pietro in case you're visiting st peter's basilica.

No fancy seating but fantastic sandwiches.
Checkout their menu https://www.botteganostrana.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/menu-sito.pdf

Pic from yesterday (we were lucky, only one table with such a view, don't go here to sit fancy)



Really good porchetta sandwiches (especially the one with porcini mushrooms and Scamorza)
 
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I went in May. We stayed in Trastevare which is a great neighborhood to check out and walk through just south is city center. My favorite place we ate at was Glass Hostaria. I can't believe I'm saying this. But I highly recommend the tartar of young donkey.
 
stringer said:
I went in May. We stayed in Trastevare which is a great neighborhood to check out and walk through just south is city center. My favorite place we ate at was Glass Hostaria. I can't believe I'm saying this. But I highly recommend the tartar of young donkey.
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nice, just curious....how did you come about to choose that dish and how did it taste (usual answer is 'like chicken' but I'm curious if it's anything like horse meat) ?

(I know I would pick this dish out of sheer curisiosity)
 
MarcelNL said:
nice, just curious....how did you come about to choose that dish and how did it taste (usual answer is 'like chicken' but I'm curious if it's anything like horse meat) ?

(I know I would pick this dish out of sheer curisiosity)
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It was actually a tasting menu. Very small, intimate, modern place. The chef came to the table and asked for our dining preferences. My partner and I were traveling with another couple. One of them is a vegan so she has to go through all of the list of stuff that she wouldn't eat. After that was done my wife told her about her increasingly scary avocado allergy. Other than that the three of us will eat anything. The chef had a little glint in her eye. "Anything." Yup anything.

Next thing you know we are being served first course. "For the omnivores, you will be enjoying a tartar of young donkey." I have not had horse. I saw it in the grocery stores in Rome and thought about trying some. But never pulled the trigger. I would say that it is very similar to veal tartar except less fattiness and sinew. The texture of it is just amazing. That it can be so lean but still so soft and moist. Every course we had there was excellent. We did several Michelin restaurants while we were there and this is the only place that I can remember the name of off the top of my head 4 months later.

I also second the Borgese villa if you get a chance. It's like getting to see a lot of the best Renaissance stuff from the Vatican but with one tenth of one percent of the crowds.
 
Thanks for that!

Find a good butcher specializing in horse meat, I guarantee you'll like it!
The fancy steak resteaurants in Amsterdam and Antwerp serve horse, even when not advertized very clearly.

Avocado allergy is something to watch carefully, often it's a cross allergy so it could be that a latex or pollen allergy is responsible for a rection to (a.o.) avocado (and kiwi banana chestnuts).
 
'Osterie & Locande d'Italia' is often an excellent resource (Italian slow food movement)
 
Yeah horse is the most underrated meat on the planet. Pretty much any piece of horse meat I've ever had, no matter how cheap, was right up there with some of the best beef I've ever had. It's just really hard to find here these days.
 
MarcelNL said:
Thanks for that!

Find a good butcher specializing in horse meat, I guarantee you'll like it!
The fancy steak resteaurants in Amsterdam and Antwerp serve horse, even when not advertized very clearly.

Avocado allergy is something to watch carefully, often it's a cross allergy so it could be that a latex or pollen allergy is responsible for a rection to (a.o.) avocado (and kiwi banana chestnuts).
Click to expand...

Yes, she is also allergic to an increasing list of other related things. Latex, Ibuprofen for some reason, tobacco. Not bananas yet or plantains yet, but her allergist has warned her that she could be susceptible to developing that too.
 
i second Glass Hostaria. legendary place and chef who runs it.

close by, in a 'nicer' part of trastevere you'll find great (!), if not super traditional, gelato at Fatamorgana.

i second trapizzino. one of their places is also close by to the above. has become a chain, but the bread is like nothing else.

go to the testaccio food market. just go. for instance, mordi & vai is a rustic (to say the least) classic.

one out of hundreds of great restaurants is Pianostrada. great stuff. more elegant than rustic though.

Il Goccetto is an excellent wine bar. So is Enoteca La Vite (simple, but I love it).

dario argento used to have a super cool weird musuem below a store in town. don't know if its still there, but if you know who i'm talking about, you know you wanna go.

rome is not small …

.
 
Thanks! I ended up not eating much (lots of walking and gelato).

Ended up at Bonci Pizzarium for a late lunch. Couldn't help myself after seeing the Chef's Table episode. I had a slice of prosciutto and arugula and potato and leek. It was very good. Probably in my top 10 slices.

Dinner at Ristorante Mamma Mia with a huge group. We reserved most of the restaurant and received excellent service. We ate mortadella with balsamic; fried ndjua & cheese balls; vegetable tempura; mushroom and truffle risotto; broccoli greens; t-bone; tiramisu; and maybe a couple other things. One of our companions is a serious oenophile, so we drank a lot of excellent wines of his choosing.

I saw most of the usual sights. Domus Aurea was a great tour, especially if you like underground tours. My hotel was about 3 minutes from Villa Borghese so I didn’t miss that!

Fun trip - but two days of free time in Rome is definitely not enough!
 
A (pescatarian) freind went last year, I wrote this for them, may help

Things to see:
Pantheon (free) Largest unreinforced dome in the wold and it's 2000years old! Pantheon · Piazza della Rotonda, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
St. Peter's Basilica St. Peter's Basilica · Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Città del Vaticano, Vatican City, free to look in the church, you can pay to go up the dome, if a nice day its a great experience. The pope gives his speeches in the piazza outside, time it right and you may see him.
Trevi Fountain (free) If you are out at night, worth another look, get lit up and you have it to yourself.
Basilica di Santa Maria in Ara coeli (You will probably walk past it without noticing if you go to the colloseum) (free) Basilica di Santa Maria in Ara coeli · Scala dell'Arce Capitolina, 12, 00186 Roma RM, Italy

If you see a church and you have time, just go in, you will be amazed at some of them.

If you are passing:-
Trastevere An area of rome on the vatican side of the river, not done much there myself, but should be handy for you, more of a "locals" area supposed to be very nice.
Campo de' Fiori Campo de' Fiori · Campo de' Fiori, 00186 Roma RM, Italy If you are passing, there is often a proper italian food market on, which is interesting.
Largo di Torre Argentina Largo di Torre Argentina · Largo di Torre Argentina, 00186 Roma RM, Italy. more ruins, now home to abandond cats. But it is where Julias Ceasar was murdered.

Snacks
Giolitti Giolitti · Via degli Uffici del Vicario, 40, 00186 Roma RM, Italy Best ice cream (gelato) I found in rome! Also sit outside, have an Aperol Spritz. and watch the world go by.
MAMI MAMIPIZZA - Google Search
Slices of pizza, they cut off what you want, weigh it and heat it. Also do cones of fried fish/arancini/vegetables.
Pasticceria Boccione Pasticceria Boccione · Via del Portico d'Ottavia, 1, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
In the Jewish Ghetto if you are passing, buy a slice of cake/tart. Looks a dump! and run by famously grumpy old ladies.
Coffee
Don't order an "Americano"!!! "Filter Coffe/French press" don't even exist out there!
have an espresso, cappuccino or macchiato. If you see someone wearing a uniform going in or stood at the counter, it will be good.


Eve Meal
Be warned, in the evening, the good restaraunts dont open until at least 730pm! If they are open before they are probably touristy. Have a look at what you fancy lucnch time.

If you stop for an alcoholic drink, you always get a snak included to go with it. sometimes its just crisps, sometimes its almost a meal in its own right.

Local vegetarian dishes to look for
Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe - Pasta with cheese and pepper
Roman artichokes (the romans love artichokes)
Frito Misto - breaded mixed fried fish.
Anti Pasti. Normally lots of Salami! but often you can get Cheese, vegetable of fish.
Limoncello - Lemon liqueur, try one after a meal.

Restaurants i've been to that were good:
Osteria Pasquino Osteria Pasquino · Piazza di Pasquino, 1, 00186 Roma RM, Italy Good pizza, and the best Carbonara I had in rome. (not that you can eat it!)
Virginiae Ristorante Virginiae - Cucina Tipica Romana · Via di Parione, 41, 00186 Roma RM, Italy (prob best book) If you want to treat the lady! not ridiculously expensive for the setting.
Ristochicco ristochicco - Google Search if you have the foccacia, share it, its huge!
‪I Pizzicaroli‬ i-pizzicaroli-piazza-navona - Google Search I really liked this place, Anti Pasti Platters of local produce, may not be much vegetarian wise though! Will be cheese ones, though.
 
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