weinoo

PIZZA!! There - do I have your attention? Pizza always gets everyone’s attention. I mean, New Yorkers will argue over who has the best pizza as if it had some sort of greater meaning in the universe, as if it was as important as something along the lines of who was the greatest Knick of all time. Seriously. I wonder if Romans do the same thing…argue about pizza, that is. Because on our recent trip to Rome, we got to try some of the highly-touted pizza being served up by one Gabriele Bonci, as well as the pizza at a place we first tried maybe more than a dozen years ago – and which I’ve been recommending ever since. In between, there was a sandwich or two at Roscioli, another old fave dishing up classic Roman pizza bianca by the meter, sometimes sliced in half and stuffed with delicious mortadella, as a matter of fact… Bonci, if you haven’t heard, might be Rome’s answer to Dom DeMarco, and at his emporium Pizzarium, you may wait close to an hour to sample the wares, just like you do at Di Fara’s. Only in this case, the wait is worth it, because at Pizzarium, once you’re lucky enough to get up to the counter, you’ll want to taste everything. Look at how beautiful it all looks… Significant Eater and I were trying to be reasonable (and leave ourselves room for a big dinner), so we only tried 3 of the perhaps dozen or more varieties of pizza al taglio offered on this particular day. It’s fun, because you tell ‘em (or point to) how big of of a slice you want, and it’s priced by weight. We spent around €20, could’ve eaten more, but walked away feeling good. Just like at home, I prefer my pizza with less on top; that way I get a better idea about the crust, which is basically my favorite part. Here’s the assortment we inhaled… And we both decided that this slice of zucchini, fresh ricotta and orange zest was our favorite… Signore Bonci is a star. I mean, once Bourdain has been to your joint, you’ve been anointed, haven’t you? Well, maybe, but more important to me are the opinions of Katie Parla, Gina Tringali and Elizabeth Minchilli, all of whom have written extensively about the man. And they say go, so do I and so do they... Our final night in Rome was melancholy, as it often is when a vacation ends. We took a long walk, past the Pantheon… Through Piazza Navona… And past Chiesa di Santa Maria Della Pace… To our final destination… Da Francesco is a ristorante/pizzeria that Significant Eater and I “discovered” on our first trip to Rome a dozen years ago. Back then, for around $10, you could load up your plate with a selection of antipasti from a serve yourself antipasto bar. We often laughed watching guys the size of American football players go back to their tables with plates piled high with so much food that it was a wonder it didn’t spill all over the floor. That’s no longer an option, as they were probably losing money on every plate, but the pizza, as it was back then, is still very good. I went with the porcini mushroom pie… This is real Roman pizza, thin-crusted and crisp, and you can nearly see through it... Sig Eater had sausage on her pizza… And after a nice, satisfying meal, we wandered on back to our apartment, passing this poor bastard along the way… As well as the French Embassy, better known as Palazzo Farnese… Rome's pizza offerings are certainly more extensive now than they were back during our first visit. So I suppose, just like here in NYC, there will be arguments all around as to whose pizza is the best. While I don't think you can go wrong at either of these two places, please leave me out of the discussion as to who was the greatest Roman soccer star - I've got no idea.

I was in a restaurant last week on Avenue B named "26 seats." Unfortunately, they had a few open ones for us.

Ciabatta? Ciabattini?

Checking Open Table, there are over 300 restaurants that appear to be taking reservations for Christmas Day lunch. Many of those restaurants may not be in line with what some of the previous posters feel are worthy as dining destinations, but if your request is for a the following may be good possibilities: The Mark Restaurant by Jean-Georges (in a hotel) other Jean-Georges as Kathryn mentions above David Burke Townhouse Ed's Chowder House Park Avenue Winter Many of the steak houses are also open. And there is always high-end Chinese at... Shun Lee Palace

And don't richer doughs require more yeast to help them rise?

I think jmolinari has it right. You have to try each method and see what you like best, science be damned. I've made great pizza doughs, for instance, using my Cuisinart. But yesterday, using my Cuisinart, I was about to pull whatever hair I have left, out of my head - things just weren't working right. I've just started baking again - as the weather cools, it's much less aggravating to turn the oven on. And it seems like I have to learn everything all over again.

Eric Asimov really likes the place, and tried way more food than I did before writing the above... Full review in the Times.

Thanks, Maureen, for filling in all the luscious details. You are one of the various "advisers" whose advice I took on this trip. Anyone heading to Rome - be sure and check out Maureen's web site for some great info... Of course, Trattoria Monti serves some classic Roman dishes, but isn't what I'd necessarily call a true "Roman" restaurant, if indeed there is such a thing in this day and age. And I guess claustrophobia depends on what one is used to; as a frequent restaurant diner here in NYC, I found the place to be roomy and calm. Now, Pizzarium, on the other hand...

Or something similar... . This is an image I am having a hard time with... .

I don't understand the whole not worrying because of vinegar. When was the last time a doctor or nurse rubbed vinegar on your arm before administering an injection? Besides the disgustingness of the practice, it's actually stealing. And ends up costing all customers more in the end.

We might have had that at one meal. I also love the way the vegetable sides are cooked and served - whether it's spinach, rapini, chicory, or something similar, they all end up looking exactly the same after they are cooked till their bitter ends.

Arriving in Rome after a mid-morning flight from Palermo, Significant Eater and I found ourselves significantly hungry. It was the heart of the lunch hour, popular restaurants are pretty full at lunch and if you show up without a reservation, you take your chances. But after we checked into our apartment and got a quick tour of the pad and how to turn on the heat, we took off to a popular restaurant without a reservation, because after all, I like taking chances. The place we were heading to came recommended via a variety of sources; you know - bloggers, boards including this one, books, newspapers, you name it - they all say go. Of course, it has its detractors, or at least those who say it isn't as good as it used to be, or that they recently went and the service was awful...and so on. What should a couple of hungry tourists do? In this case, we headed up the hill to the Esquiline, and Trattoria Monti. Guess what awaited us? A full house, but after a little begging and pleading (and perhaps some name dropping) we were told to come back in an hour and they’d be happy to serve us. So we headed down the street, took a walk around the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, and when we returned we were greeted like old friends and seated at a table with a view of the kitchen and the duo of female chefs (always a good sign, imo). I don't know about the detractors, but the food we had on this Thursday afternoon was good...really good. Incidentally, Trattoria Monti doesn't serve "Roman" food. The family is from Le Marche and much of the food is informed by that region, which lies to the northeast of Rome's region, Lazio. We started with a shared antipasto, and it included all manner of fried goodies, including meat stuffed olives (wow!), zucchini flowers, slices or artichoke, a little sweet nibble and Significant Eater and I were already settling in nicely. Oh, did I mention? The place is run by some of the nicest and best looking Italian guys in the biz (that's according to Sig Eater) - and I’d have to agree, even though I liked the olives more... Following up on our antipasto, we shared the special risotto of the day, with fresh porcini. The kitchen split our order (it actually looked as if they’d made two orders) and we were soon enjoying one of the finer risotti we’d had in recent memory…the rice perfectly cooked and the mushrooms adding their earthy flavor. No need for any truffle oil here, thank you. For our entrees, I had a roasted squab, stuffed with more squab meat and it got me thinking – I need to make squab at home...it's delicious. Sig Eater went with the roasted pork shoulder, a hunk of meat more suited to Fred Flintstone, which worked out well, since I ate half of that too. Delicate, crispy skin, moist meat and just-right salty. We eat our fair share of roast pork – it’s one of my go-to dishes when feeding a crowd at home, pernil is a neighborhood specialty, but to approach Trattoria Monti’s, I have some practicing to do. Since we liked lunch so much, we decided to come back again – this time with a reservation, for Sunday lunch. I ordered the same fried app for a starter but Sig Eater ordered a house specialty for a starter – sformato of eggplant napped with a sweet tomato sauce. Light as air, we fought over the last bite... We both had pasta for our primi; SE had rigatoni with crumbled sausage and oil, while I went with another specialty of the house, the tortellone...a giant ravioli-like creature filled with ricotta, spinach and yes, an egg yolk, making for an utterly delicious combo... And lucky for us, there was another roast on the menu…this time, it was lamb and it gave the roast pork we had on Thursday a run for its money. A really good run, all crispy skin, gamy lamb and little bones to nibble on, atop a ration of potatoes... After all that food, do you think there was room for dessert? Well, it being Sunday, dessert was necessary and we decided to share another sformato, this one of apple and napped with an awesome zabaglione, a delicate custard made with sweet Marsala wine... Go? Well, only if you want some of the most delicious food we ate over the course of a week in Rome. Served by some of the nicest staff you'll ever meet and try to communicate with. After all, how happy does this Significant Eater look?

Sour cream and applesauce - you're on the right track. If there's meat being served and you want to keep it kosher, eschew the sour cream. Haroset is just wrong with latkes. You can make potato pancakes without eggs. When I do pancakes that way, I shred the potatoes (always russets), squeeze them and save the potato starch which is added back to the mixture.

That is the way I like to see them and the only way I'll buy olives and the like.

Yesterday I was at my "local" Whole Foods and was thinking about buying some olives, along with some other pickly things that are displayed in this store's "Antipasto Bar." That is, until I saw an older guy (well, maybe my age) walk up to it (and I knew what was going to happen next), and stick his fingers into the assorted olive bin to extract a particularly juicy morsel. A minute later he was circling back, pit still in his mouth, but this time he made his way to the opposite side of the bar, whereupon he picked up another tidbit and popped it into his mouth. Needless to say, I didn't buy any olives yesterday. This, in my opinion, is part of what's wrong with the human race. People are disgusting, and they don't give a damn about anyone else - but that's a different subject for a different board. My questions are these: Do you ever partake thusly? If yes, why? Do you buy stuff from the antipasto/salad bars? My answers are no and no, for the reasons stated above.

A very good number of points. When I was first investigating my "entry-level" setup, going a step above Silvia/Rocky meant spending about double - an outlay I wasn't willing to invest at the time since I first wanted to learn as much as possible about pulling a proper shot at home. If I was buying today, I might go a different route, but I'd still take a long, hard look at Silvia. Since I don't pull a lot of milk drinks, and hardly ever pull shots for a crowd, Silvia still fits the bill perfectly for me. And almost 3 years in, still works like a champ.

Are you going to be in South Beach, North Beach, downtown, etc.? We've had very good food at Sardinia, and of course, Michael's Genuine.

Exactly - at least not in this thread. But there are indeed two definitions for olive loaf; one being the bread you just described and the other being a luncheon meat.

I always preferred the "brown paper bag" style ...

When I was in high school, I worked behind the deli counter for a large supermarket chain on Long Island. I was in various stores over the course of my "career," depending on the need for a good slicer...Island Park, Franklin Square, Malverne, Lawrence, etc. I also worked the fish counter and in the meat department - yes, there were real butchers cutting meat in a supermarket back in "the day." We sold plenty of olive loaf, along with a product called New England bologna. If my memory serves me correctly, those products were probably from Boar's Head. Anyway, to my taste, olive loaf was quite similar to bologna, but studded with green pimento stuffed olives. Made for a decent sandwich, whether on white, rye or a Kaiser roll. And mustard, please, because if you put mayo on that sandwich, I might have to turn away!

And I think I saw geese (frozen) in Chinatown, though I'll have to look the next time I walk around.

I think farmed mussels are a pretty safe bet. They should be in a bag with a harvest date on them. If they're recently harvested and closed up tight, then no problema.

Trust me, I don't go upstairs either.

Not only is Birch & Barley our fave, it just won Eater's 2011 Restaurant of the Year Award...click.

I find that how I add them to the pot of boiling water makes a difference. So, I add them similar to how I would add polenta to boiling water, letting them run through my hands and making sure they hit the water individually. Then, stir fairly often. But, as Sam says above, there will always be a few "nesters."