cbrezi

Yesss! What is it with cutting in line in Italy?! And it's so blatant! We've literally been elbowed aside so someone can wedge themselves into a perfectly orderly line. What's the protocol there? Can you call them on it? ← of course you can, but how's your italian? i suppose you can just tap them on the shoulder and point them to the back of the line, i've seen it done hundreds of times here.

A friends family from El Salvador are opening a restaurant very soon in the U-district. The name is going to be Guanaco's Tacos it is located on 47 or 48 and brooklyn. the food will be el salvadoran and mexican.

oh really? that's a shame, that book made me love mario even more and introduced me to the legendary Dario. in fact, i use the book and specifically the dario section in during my lessons (i teach english here in roma) and my students love it. Thanks for the info.

was there a coperto included as well? it's great that you tipped on top though most italians probably would have left much less. contrary to what most people think, servers/barmen (i'm one of them) in italy make very little money in terms of hourly wage in most restaurants and bars.

Are you open now? i need to get out of Roma sometime very soon and would love to come to your restaurant. i hope everything is going well for you and yours in the meantime.

well, sounds like you had a great time and i'm salivating waiting for my next chance to go to napoli and palermo. I was waiting for you to show up at the pub, it would have been fun to talk to a real life egulleteer. too bad you didn't make it to the vittorio emanuelle market, next time perhaps. also, i got a good laugh about the suppli from Franchi. i've eaten there on a few occasions and the food is always good (expensive). so last time i decided to try their suppli, touted as made in the house, turned out to be really disappointing for me as well. i'm not sure why everyone is so crazy about the place, i would never go there except for the fact that they have cheddar cheese, most of the time. i guess i'm spoiled with my cheap, neighborhood places within walking distance. san crispino is also pretty average to me, so don't feel bad cause everyone else swears it's a gift from god herself. but i'm rather surprised that you didn't find roman gelato to be outstanding. as for the panna, it's crap and i don't ever let them put it anywhere near my gelato. no flavor ever. once i made whipped cream for an italian, he was shocked by how good it was.

uh, well yes, there is some truth to this statement. I've discussed it with my students (adult students from the north to the south) numerous times, they find asian cooking to be dirty and generally unsanitary, especially chinese and indian cooking. that said, every time i go to my favorite chinese take out place there are italians waiting for food just like me. honestly, italians just don't like to admit anything is good if their mother didn't prepare it. for me, it's a huge compliment when i make something and italians actually ask for the recipe, this doesn't happen often. I'm not sure about the age of thirty thing either, to me, the younger italians seem more open minded but that's just my experience over the last year. best wishes

When you come to rome, come visit me at the Abbey Theatre Pub, if you're happening to strolling through piazza navona and you'd like to speak with a fellow egulleteer, hint, it's directly across from Pizzeria Bafetto, maybe i spelled that wrong. i'll recommend going to Monte Carlo restaurant near piazza navono rather than anyplace in the piazza, it's a place where the italians at my job suggest to everyone, though i haven't tried it yet. buona fortuna

like FX said, no one is safe in Napoli. I have a Roman student who had her earrings ripped out of her years on a bus, even with that, she still loves the city. all of my students warn me to not bring anything, so this time around i'll be looking italian, except pasty and blond of course.

I must now return to napoli as soon as possible to gorge myself sick. last time was slightly dissappointing, well the pizza at da michele was good but i didn't get to really get into the city. we had only been in italy for a few months and it was our first trip out of roma. that and our italian was very fragile, it's still terrible but we're doing better. great thread, great pics.

wow, that's really all i can say. those tacos make me long for a taco truck. and of course, all good cherries are bought out of the back of an old van, from hispanics on the side of the road. or from the little store attached to the fields.

Na, don't feel bad for picking the sheep's milk ricotta. In the little town of Zagarolo where i lived for the last 6 months the cheese guy always looked happy when I chose the ricotto pecora. next up to try is Formaggio Ubriaco (drunken cheese), of course, now i need to get an Italian cheese guide and a journal too. As for Grana Padano, it's a fine cheese to grate over some pasta but it doesn't touch Parmigiano Regg. But Grana is great when you're broke, like me!

ok, since the weather in Rome is getting hot, i've been trying to stay out of the kitchen and have more sliced meats and cheeses. I've recently tried Bra Tenero and Teleggio which have quickly become a couple of my favorites. All of my friends that have visited have fallen madly in love with pecorino romano. Which cheeses were your favorite while you visited or lived in Italy?

Ha ha. Sounds very Italian Are you thinking of the one located in the old looking hall with the large archway? About the cherries, we had some for dessert one night at Dal Bolognese and they could have used another few weeks...quite tasteless. I just have this memory of cherries in Italy from a childhood trip to Milan and needed to indulge. ←

oh yeah, i know now. It's on Cola di Rienzo, i only venture out that way to visit castroni for cheddar cheese and sour cream!

I live in Roma, they are still selling chestnuts on the street though they aren't falling from trees any longer. I was surprised to see the cherries at the market, though. Which market was it? All the pictures looked great and you've inspired me to go to a new pizza place this evening.

I would make them some candied fruit peels. simple and tasty. if you want to get a little fancier, dip them in some homemade chocolate. put them in a cute little bag and that's it.

Miner's is ok, at best. i lived in eburg from 2001 to 2006, i can honestly say, that every restaurant in town is pretty much average at best. i really, really tried to like the valley cafe, pearls on pearl, and the yellow church cafe but for the cash you are getting ripped off. The yellow church is good/acceptable, only for breakfast or lunch. I cooked at rodeo city bbq for over a year, i would not recommend it. unfortunately, everything is tossed into the microwave and covered in sauce, not good. For a good grease burger, campus-u-totem, fries aren't good, milkshakes are For pizza, don't even try it. drive to seattle like i used to, damn near twice a month Panda Garden is the only place to get "chinese" in eburg. I'm not saying it's going to thrill you, but it's pretty solid for cheap, chinese food. Now, the restaurant no one has mentioned is the one i'll recommend: The Starlight Lounge, 402 N. Pearl, now i worked there for over 2 years but i'll be honest about it. If you happen to be in eburg from 3-6 on any day of the week, stop in for a great happy hour. It's the only place in town to get an actual "cocktail". appetizers (good ones, not just fried whatever) are half price and drinks are also discounted. For dinner, I actually, struggle to recommend the place. It's way too inconsistent and for the price it can be a let down.

Carnivale 2007 Finally, after seven months, my wife and I had our first moment of bliss in an Italian restaurant. Osteria da Alberto was fantastic, the service was good, the food was excellent, the prices were on point as well. The tiramisu made me want to cry and it made me ashamed of what I've been making and calling "tiramisu" all of these years. 1 Antipasto + 2 Primi + 2 Secondi + 1/2 liter vino + 1 liter water + 2 cafe + 2 desserts = 70 euro! I would have gladly paid more, almost everything was outstanding, one pasta dish was just kind of ok, nothing great but I'll let it slide.

Went here during Carnivale 2007, the pastas were good but the secondi were decent at best. actually, the one I had was quite terrible, my wife had a chicken dish that was pretty good. friendly service but for the price and quality, we won't be going back.

Gelateria Pasqualetti - My wife and I have been hitting this place every Friday for a month now for a mid-afternoon treat. Solid gelato near the Pantheon, in fact, we recently went to San Crispino but were unimpressed by the selection so we walked back to Pasqualetti. Prices are a little high but the quality is good and they are in the Gambero Rosso (not sure if that really means anything). Capriccio with ribbons of Nutella is a current favorite and the lemon flavored sorbet is great too. Piazza della Maddalena 3A, Pantheon 066878940

After living in Roma for the last 7 months, I can only give a couple recommendations, which is slightly disappointing. I Molisani - a small gastronomia near Piazza Fiume (10 minutes on the 80Express from Termini). This place is always packed full of Romans, the staff speak a little English but are very helpful, as it can be intimidating to try to figure out what to do. Generally, we have two to three dishes, a side, great bread, dessert (mille foglie!) and a liter of water and a couple coffees and we walk away for under 20 euros. A great gastronomia, simple, high quality food. http://www.imolisani.com/ Da Otello - in Trastevere. I would have guessed this place to be a tourist trap just by the location but we were taken to lunch here by a real Roman, born and raised. The food was good and definitely appropriate to the price. I had oxtail (next time I'll eat it with my hands like a real Roman), my wife had the amatriciana and our host had saltimbocca. We were all pleased. 47/53, v. Pelliccia - 065896848 Filetti di Baccala - Not the actual name of the place but it's what the sign says over the door. The best fried fish we've had in Rome, they supposedly open at 5 but if you go, think more like a little after 6. At four euros a piece, the place is no longer cheap but it's a great to stop in a grab a filetto to go. The bill for two with, cheese, two small beers, puntarella (highly recommended) and four "fish sticks" and bread/service charge was 30 euros. Piazza S.Barbara - near campo di fiore