Rome Restaurants: Reviews & Recommendations

[RickBehl]

I was just at Da michele.. very minimum.. you can have one there and then go across the street to Trianon and have one there too!

At Da Michele you need to walk up and tell them how many people.. they will give you a little paper with a number..stay near by so you know..

Very stark... was good, more funny than great.. as it was sort of uncomfortable eating at the little formica tables..

I would try Pizza in Rome as it is totally another thing..

←

Out of interest, what is the difference between Roman and Neapolitan Pizza ?

(Apologies in advance if this has already been covered in another thread).

Rick

[albiston]

Out of interest, what is the difference between Roman and Neapolitan Pizza ?

(Apologies in advance if this has already been covered in another thread).

Rick

←

Quite a few times actually , no problem repeating it though. Neapolitan is made with a "wet" dough: it pizza is soft, has a bubbly cornicione, the outside rind of the pizza, and baked very quickly at higher temperatures, traditionally in wood burning ovens. Roman round pzza is usualy thinner and crispier with a tiny cornicione, it is baked longer at lower temperatures. On top of that, there's the pizza al taglio I mentioned before; here the dough id definitel thicker than for the previous two (not as thick as a focaccia though) and is often eaten to go.

This is just a short version of the differences, let me know if you want to know more.

[balex]

I would put in a caution about Gusto. The food is pretty patchy and it is very much not a Roman restaurant. It feels much more like a restaurant in New York and London. The people watching is good, and it's cool but don't spend one of your preciious 5 meals there.

Pizzeria Remo is good. There are lots of other good restaurants in Rome. Go to one of the Florentine steak places, since you won't be going to Tuscany. My current fave is the one on Via Sicilia by the Via Veneto. Just have the big anipasto and then a huge steak. They have a good wine list too.

[Kevin72]

Alberto, is the Roman pizza crust you described similar to pizza bianca, or is that a different thing altogether? I'm wanting to track down pizza bianca after reading about it in Cooking the Roman Way.

[albiston]

Alberto, is the Roman pizza crust you described similar to pizza bianca, or is that a different thing altogether?  I'm wanting to track down pizza bianca after reading about it in Cooking the Roman Way.

←

They're two different things. Pizza bianca dough is, in a way, more similar to the dough used for pizza al taglio. The dough for normal round pizza in Rome is, I believe, not too different from the Neapolitan one. There are some differences, especially regarding water percentage used, I believe, but I need to check to be sure, or better I'll try to get an expert to reply on this .

[Pizza Napoletana]

In Rome pizza meant usually the focaccia baked in a large and thin baking tin.

They sliace it in square and sell by the kg.

It needs a very wet dough, with percentage that can be as close as 1,1kg of flour per 1 litre of water. To achieve this, it is necessary to use a mixing method which involve a phase called "rigeneri".

This type of focaccia (also called pizza bianca, and the one with potatoes and rosemary is supposedly very good) when done properly (like at Pizzarium) can be very, good.

However, when instead you will order the classic round pizza baked in the wood oven, you will be greatly disappointed. This type of pizza in Rome is very thin and crispy, almost crackery...

Hope to have helped with your queries...

Take care

[divina]

I have lived in Italy for 20 years.. and loved Gusto!

The place is filled with Romans, and perhaps what it is.. is that we all get typical food at home with mom.. BUT..

My white pizza there was fabulous, lots of mozzarella, zucchini blossoms and anchovies!!! really great!!!

and the chocolate chili mousse is one of the best I had... anywhere!!!!

I have been very disappointed in TRADITIONAL trattorias, and in general in Rome, compared to FLorence for flavor.

I found the tomato sauce to be SWEETENED .. I have totally blocked out of my memory a very famous place ( was written up in the GREAT Gourmet that was all on Rome about 1 1/2 years ago , get a copy if you can) written up as one of the BEST roman places.. for the wine list.. and food.. wine was fabulous and expesive..and my lovely baby lambchops were served in this horrible tomato sauce instead of just grilled which is so famous in Rome.

In another touristy place.. on Piazza Navona, we had a heavenly potato gnocchi served in a parmesan cheese cup...light and perfect!!!

foto's of the owner on the wall with Sinatra!!!

On Pizza..

besides water content. flour also plays an important part on pizza.

The thin crusted pizza's tend to use what we would consider pastry flour, low gluten, and less water. The breadier pizza's as mentioned are the wet dough.. and usually are made using a higher gluten flour to get that chewiness and the crust.

In Rome.. they are split between northern style lighter pizza's and the southern Chewier crust..

Also what they call White Pizza, is what we call Schiacchiata, a flat bread brushed with oil..

also the pizza al Taglio's are great for keeping up your energy!

Try Dittirambo(06/6871626 for some New ROman! Piazza della Cancelleria,74!

fabulous

also winebars!!!

We enjoyed CUL DE SAC, get a number !!! and wait to be seated.. lost os students..

great wines.. and I like getting the mixed pate plate.. my favorite is the wild boar.. with its bitter chocolate center!

I am also looking forward to trying the new JApanese looking OBIKO mozzarella bar

Capranica Enoteca Piazza Capranica ( fancier winebar)60 Euro tasting menu looked fab!

Dar Filettaro a Santa Barbara(06/6864018 is the next one on my list to try.. the place served huge fried cod ( sort of Roman fish and chips!!!) another place packed with locals.. and in the nice weather they set up tables in the street!

So little time.. so much food!!!

[balex]

I have lived in Italy for 20 years.. and loved Gusto!

The place is filled with Romans, and perhaps what it is.. is that we all get typical food at home with mom.. BUT..

My white pizza there was fabulous, lots of mozzarella, zucchini blossoms and anchovies!!! really great!!!

and the chocolate chili mousse is one of the best I had... anywhere!!!!

I have been very disappointed in TRADITIONAL trattorias, and in general in Rome, compared to FLorence for flavor.

I found the tomato sauce to be SWEETENED .. I have totally blocked out of my memory a very famous place ( was written up in the GREAT Gourmet that was all on Rome about 1 1/2 years ago , get a copy if you can) written up as one of the BEST roman places.. for the wine list.. and food.. wine was fabulous and expesive..and my lovely baby lambchops were served in this horrible tomato sauce instead of just grilled which is so famous in Rome.

So little time.. so much food!!!

←

Criminal -- but this is quite common in Rome with the more upmarket places -- they lose that simplicity which is so important.

I know my opinion on Gusto is a minority one, and I haven't been for a couple of years so ..

Their brunch used to be quite fun but it was a terrible scrum to get a table. I kind of agree it is more fun for Italians and expats, because we get bored with the completely straight food. So for visitors it isn't a must see.

Dittirambo is quite good and has an excellent wine list, and serves recognisably Roman cooking.

Has anyone been to Al Moro recently?

[boaziko]

I'll join the minority regarding Gusto.

For Pizza I recommend Pizza Re, at Via di Ripetta 14, (very near Piazza del Poppolo) we liked the dishes with the Mozzarella di Buffalo.

The best catch from the sea is available at Quinzi Gabrieli, do not miss the "Carppachio Tray" with the deep water (sweet) pink shrimps a large plate which will part you of 40 Euro a head.

If you like great cooking and delicious pasta along with serious wine selection try Al Bric, Osteria Enoteca in Via del Pellegrino (not far from Campo de Fiori).

Boaziko

If there is a need I can add the relevant phone numbers

[divina]

Thanks for reminding me of the name.. AL BRIC is the place where we had great wine.. and really bad food.

there were four of us.. two friends from LA and my florentine husband and myself..not one good dish.

Place was packed!

[RickBehl]

Thanks again to everyone for all their advice.

After talking to a few friends, they have actually advised me not to go to Naples as they said it was a little 'rough'. So now I am in two minds about whether to

a) Still go to Naples (4-5 nights in Rome, 1-2 nights in Napes) OR

b) Stay in Rome (6 nights) OR

c) Go to Rome (4-5 nights) and one other place such as Florence or Siena (1-2 nights)

Any advice ?

Thanks

Rick

[balex]

Thanks again to everyone for all their advice.

After talking to a few friends, they have actually advised me not to go to Naples as they said it was a little 'rough'. So now I am in two minds about whether to

a) Still go to Naples (4-5 nights in Rome, 1-2 nights in Napes) OR

b) Stay in Rome (6 nights) OR

c) Go to Rome (4-5 nights) and one other place such as Florence or Siena (1-2 nights)

Any advice ?

Thanks

Rick

←

Naples is very rough at the moment. The daughter of a friend is leaving the University there and moving north because of the Camorra activity at the moment. So I would understand leaving it out.

It depends what you are interested in, but Florence is absolutely central to a large chunk of western art.

Plus they have great food. And it isn't too far away, which on eGullet means: You can leave after lunch and arrive in time for dinner.

[divina]

I was just in Naples before Christmas.. when lots of the shooting were going on.

NONE int he downtown area.. so nothing to worry about.

the downtown was elegant and fabulous!

WE had some great meals..

BUT I live in Florence.. and think there is some great food here..and great shopping.. definetly one of the best food markets.

It is a quick ride from Rome Eurostar 1 1/2 hours!

I would at least do 2 days and one night.. if not two nights..

If you are cutting Naples out.

We did a long weekend in Naples..We stayed at a nice hotel near the train station. but it would be more fun to be right downtown..they have a great downtown, fabulous pastry shops... and Pizza... and food!

Tough choice!

If you do come to Florence, there is a dining guide on my site-

[redwinegulper]

The Campo dei Fiori is a great way to start your trip, what better way to see what is in season. My experience with Rome is simple/traditional is better that new and cutting edge. Classics like Cacio Pepe are so simple yet great. I did an article on Eating in Rome in my newsletter www.atastersjourney.com , check the January 2005 issue, it will highlight my restaurant suggestions.

ciao...ed

[calimero]

Some of my favourites in Rome:

La pergola all'Hilton

http://www.cavalieri-hilton.it/indexx.html

One of the best restaurant in Rome (chef Heinz Beck)

Hostaria Dell'Orso

(chef Gualtiero Marchesi)

http://www.marchesi.it/hostaria.htm

in Via del Corso

La matricianella

Via del Leone 4 Tel. 066832100

Tipical roman cuisine, not so many tourists

In Campo de' fiori

Il pagliaccio

http://www.ristoranteilpagliaccio.it/

Via dei Banchi Vecchi 129a Tel. 0668809595

Not really tipical roman cuisine, but worth a visit

In Trastevere,

Vizi capitali Vicolo della Renella 94 Tel. 065818840

http://www.vizicapitali.com/

Spirito DiVino

http://www.spiritodivino.com/

Slow Food Assotiation of Lazio Region awarded the Spirito DiVino as the best restaurant in Rome on 2004

In Testaccio the very true roman cuisine:

Da Oio a casa mia Via Galvani 45 Tel. 065782680

a very very simple restaurant (with soccer players posters on the walls), only locals

Augustarello

via G. Branca 100

Here you can taste the true roman cuisine, only locals...

try rigatoni con la pajata, rigatoni alla carbonara and coda alla vaccinara

Checchino dal 1887

http://www.checchino-dal-1887.com/

Same of Augustarello, but more expensive (i prefer augustarello)

In S. Giovanni

La tana dei golosi

http://www.latanadeigolosi.it/

Elegant restaurant, with a very good choice of wines

In Esquilino (Termini station)

Uno e Bino

Via degli equi 58Tel. 064460702

This is a fantastic restaurant, with a very creative chef, don't miss it!

From NYtimes:

Giampaolo Gravina's restaurant in an artsy corner of the San Lorenzo neighborhood is popular with Romans from all over town. He works the dining room, offering suggestions from an impressive list of the latest wines from well-known and smaller producers. His sister Gloria is in the kitchen turning out inventive cuisine inspired by the family's Umbrian-Sicilian roots. Specialties include octopus salad with asparagus and carrots, and spaghetti with swordfish, tomatoes, and capers

Pommidoro

piazza dei Sanniti 44 Tel. 064452692

Here good grilled meats (don't miss spidini di pajata alla griglia), game birds, and classic cucina casareccia (home-style cooking). no credit cards

Tram Tram

Via dei Reti 44/46 Tel. 06490416

From NYtimes

Across the streetcar tracks not far from Termini, Tram Tram offers simple cooking in a bustling trattoria ambience, snugly packed with hungry Romans. Fish is a good bet here; try homemade orecchiette, a pasta specialty with clams and broccoli from Puglia, where the cook grew up. Another specialty is squid and shrimp in a tasty fish broth with potatoes on the side, and veggie lasagna good enough for any carnivore. For dessert, try the crema di zabaglione (custard made with eggs and marsala wine).

In Garbatella

Dar Moschino

Via Piazza Benedetto Brin, 5 Tel. 065139473

This is a restaurant that you can't find in any guide... Fantastic roman cuisine, only neighborhood locals, friendly owners. If you look for the true roman cuisine this restaurant is the right answer (I think they don't speak english)

In Ghetto

Sora Margherita

Piazza delle Cinque Scole, 30

If you're lucky, try this little restaurant, but you must be lucky because they open when they want

In Parioli

Sci Sci ai Parioli

http://www.scisciaiparioli.com/

Good fish restaurant in a very elegant neighborhood

Panda

http://62.101.83.213/pandarestaurant.it/

Creative cuisine

in Vatican

Taverna Angelica

http://www.tavernaangelica.it/

in Cinecitta'

Giuda Ballerino

http://www.giudaballerino.it/

In Ostia

Il giardino degli aranci

Viale della Marina, 40/42 Ostia Lido tel/fax 06.56340130

http://www.ilgiardinodegliaranci.it/

This is really one of my favourites, i go there once a week!! It's in Ostia Lido, only 30 minutes from Rome

[RickBehl]

Wow again !

Thanks Calimero for your fantastically detailed response. I hope you don't feel you are giving away your most secret places ! I will try my best to get through as many of these as I can. Are these all in the same price range ? I am thinking of trying mid-range type places but that will not stop me from splashing out for a couple of extra special meals.

Thanks again,

Rick

[bronniebee]

hello everyone!

Sorry for hijacking this thread, but Rick, I'm in the same boat as you - planning my first trip to Italy this Easter - hurray! I'll only be in Rome for 3 nights, and am planning a major blow-out on one of them.. chomp chomp!!

I was wondering if anyone had been to the Terrazza in the Hotel Eden, please? Was thinking of going there, but I've read some mixed reviews - some reports that its just not worth the cost, so I would love to hear from a real live person who's been there.. should I bother? Would i get more bang for my buck elsewhere? any advice gratefully received!

Thank you all very much!

happy noshing

bronniebee

[Kevin72]

Honestly though, Rick, having just come back from Rome, don't get so caught up in lining up every place to eat. I went with a big list and got a little overwhelmed when we were there because we also kept seeing neat other places to try! Particularly in Trastevere.

Pick a few "must have" places but do yourself a favor and build a few open nights where you just go to a place that looks good. Rome's a great town for eating at trattorias and in fact the best food we had there was when we were forced, on a rainy and cold night, to stay local to our hotel and just went to the nearest place. As long as you don't go to a place that has 4 language translations on its menu, or a waiter or barker standing out front to lure you in, you'll do well.

[Kevin72]

Got back from Italy late last night and am currently going through a bout of jet lag. It's midnight over in Italy and 5 pm here. Ate many wonderful meals but I'm going to weed them down to a top five meal experiences, but also will have some other observations later on.

While we took tons of pictures of course, we took very few restaurant pictures. I just get intimidated. That and I wolf it down before I even pause to consider taking the picture!

I'm still sorting through the pics and will be doing a write-up and/or narrative to go along with them, but it will be (slightly ) less food-centric so it probably won't go up on eG. This will then either be a Word document or some sort of online scrapbook. If anybody knows how to put this online, please let me know. I'll post that link or offer to send the document to interested people when it's all done.

First one up in a bit.

Edited March 11, 2005 by Kevin72 (log)

[Kevin72]

5. Trattoria Cassereccia (Lecce) 3/8/05

A place run by all women, most likely within the same family. You have to ring a bell to be let in and they ask if you have a reservation (we didn’t but it was still “early” by Italian dining standards—8:30). All of them except the oldest wait on you, so you never have just one server. The oldest is in the kitchen, whipping out Pugliese standards. No menu. They come out and ask if you want antipasti, and in fact the whole meal progressed that way, in stages.

• Braised bitter greens, marinated anchovies. This was getting towards the end of our trip and I hadn’t had marinated anchovies yet, despite seeing them everywhere both in Rome and Puglia. Take anchovy fillets and steep them in vinegar or lemon juice for a few hours, drain them, then submerge them in oil. Intense and addictive. I cackled with glee when they brought these out, almost as if they were reading my mind. The bitter greens (rapini), which we had many times on the trip, were the best here.

**Memo to Italy: Don’t bring out bread by itself to the Americans. This isn’t some sort of Atkins aversion, we just can’t help ourselves. Italians, I know, don’t even think about touching the bread until they have a sauce to sop it up with, but we don’t have that self-control. If it’s in front of us, we eat it. All of it. One of the women came out and chided us to stop eating the bread, we’d fill up before the later courses! She was of course right, especially with the next dish.

• ‘Ncappriatta. This is a puree of dried fava beans. Actually, if cooked right, and you use the harder-to-find peeled dried favas, you don’t even puree it. It just naturally falls apart as you stir it, then you swirl in olive oil off the heat. They even brought out an extra carafe of olive oil. It was served with cooked chicory and garnished with fried bread cubes. And the hostess was right: we could have used more bread to sop up the rest of the puree.

• Mussel and potato casserole. In another incident of ESP, I had also been lamenting that we hadn’t had any of the casseroles Puglia is known for. Then we get not one, but two of the region’s potato casseroles. This one came with mussels and onions. The mussel meat was bright orangish red and they were very powerful-tasting, but good.

• Potato, cardoon, and olive casserole. Best dish of the night. Nice caramelized, crunchy top, no doubt aided by the cheese topping.

Now the hostess asked if we wanted pasta or more antipasti. I was surprised we weren’t even done with the antipasti yet. I asked to just bring two smaller pastas.

• Ciceri e tria: Flat homemade ribbon pasta served with chickpeas. Half of the pasta is deep-fried, so you have brown, crunchy bits mixed in for texture. A Pugliese specialty.

• Wheat pasta with tomato sauce and pecorino. More ribbon pasta, only this time twisted into a corkscrew shape with tomato sauce and pecorino

• Stuffed Squid. The waitress asked if we wanted meat or fish. I asked what kind of meat and all my wife had to hear was “cavallo” (horse) and fish it was!

• Plate of cookies: All were chewy, probably due to almonds in the dough. Also scented with limoncello.

Liter of vino rosso di tavolo

Trattoria Cassareccia Via Col. Costadura 19, Lecce, 011-39/0832-245-178

[Kevin72]

4. La Campana (Rome) 3/1/05

This was our first dinner in Italy. It bills proudly itself as the oldest restaurant in Rome (1518). There’s an antipasti bar laid in front of you as you walk in, and next to the door is a display of the day’s fruits and vegetables. Older waiters bustle about the room, stopping at various strategically-placed prep tables to finish dishes with cheese, or to dress a salad.

My desired experience in Rome was to get a true feeling for the trattoria culture. Rome is the originator of so many classic dishes: fettuccini alfredo, all’amatriacini, alla gricia, (actually these last two originate in or near Amatrice, on the Lazio/Abruzzo border, but were both popularized in Rome) carbonara, cacio e pepe, saltimbocca, oxtails, tripe . . . I had to try as many of them as I could, to eat them in the city of their source. This one set the stage nicely and in fact I burned through many classic dishes just in one night.

• Carciofo alla guidea. A whole, deep-fried artichoke, pressed along the bottom of the pan as it fries so that the leaves spread out like a flower. We fell into it ravenously and were carefully watching each other’s portion size to make sure one of us didn’t get more. Could’ve eaten four more of them.

• Spaghetti alla carbonara. My wife’s pasta dish. Just eggs, cheese, and guanciale, the cured pork jowl beloved in Rome.

• Rigatoni all’Amatriciana. It was my understanding the common pasta accompaniment for amatriciani is bucatini, the hollow spaghetti. But in Rome whenever we saw it, it was with a stout, tube pasta like ziti, or penne, or in this case rigatoni. Is that the en vogue thing to do? Not a complaint since anything sauced with tomatoes and chilies and pecorino and cured pork can’t be bad!

This may sound a little self-congratulatory, but eating this dish was such an affirmation of my own cooking. I always worry how off I may be from the original without access to the same quality ingredients, or improvisations here or there, or a heavy had with this or that. But this dish was amazingly familiar when I tasted it. I almost danced around the room I was so giddy at eating something that I had been getting right all this time! (Unless of course La Campana is infamous for having the worst Amatriciani in Rome, please don’t tell me if it is!)

• Chicken croquettes (crocchette?) with fried zucchini. I ordered this for my wife. By itself, the chicken was a little dry, but when you had a few of the fried strings of zucchini it took on a new, better level.

• Lamb “scottaditti” for me. Two lamb chops seared off in a pan and dressed with lemon juice. Bam, that’s it. Addictive, homey food. The only thing I’d change it use a different cut—these were shoulder chops so they were a bit gristly here and there.

• Carafe of Frascati. I’ve always like Frascati, but I know it gets a little maligned here in the U.S. as too much of a lightweight. I imagined it would be considerably different closer to the source, and was I ever right! This almost had a grappa-like flavor, but of course not nearly as harsh. Still, there was kind of an alcohol edge not normally present in the Frascati I’ve had in the U.S.

Too full for dessert, alas. Though we noticed most customers just had fruit, which the waiter would select from the bar in front of the restaurant, put on a plate, then walk it back to the kitchen to be prepared. They’d come out seconds later with the fruit peeled and/or cut up for eating.

La Campana--18 Vicolo della Campana, tel. 686 7820, in between Spanish Steps and the Palazzo Vittorio Emmanuele area.

[Kevin72]

3. Nameless Osteria (Ostuni, Puglia) 3/6/05

We’d met a British couple at Il Frantoio, a farmstead where we were staying just outside of Ostuni, in Puglia. We had had a huge lunch and weren’t quite up to a big dinner spread, and so the idea was to drive back into Ostuni and just do an antipasti sampler by going from place to place. The night before my wife and I had walked around Ostuni and seen one place after another offering some interesting sounding antipasto, so it should be easy enough. We go into town and stop for some aperitivi at a bar, then it’s off to the first place, which wound up being the only place we went that night. My wife and I had passed it a couple of times, a door down a steep staircase leading directly to a little bar to stand at. We go in and find that it’s a little cave-like room with two fireplaces and cushioned benches and rickety wooden chairs scattered around. At the bar is a guy in a red hat, carving salumi to order. We go in and find a table near the back, where there’s a third fireplace and a woodburning oven where two women are cooking. Near the fireplace is a huge earthenware pot which is cooking their soup of bitter greens. Also they are making lasagna and a casserole of more bitter greens and breadcrumbs, which they shove into the oven. Finally, there’s bruschetta, which they toast over the fire, then finish with chopped tomatoes from an earthenware crock and herbs from a little pot on their workspace. We order the bruschetta, a plate of salumi, and a cheese plate. The bruschetta are everything you think of when you hear the word: “This is what it’s all about, isn’t it?” the British man eating with us says after his first bite. The salumi (prosciutto, lardo, pancetta, guanciale, and spicy salami) are all a little wilted from the heat of the fireplaces in the room, and so they blossom and melt on the tongue. The cheeses are all aged and crumbly; I only recall a smoked kind and a goat’s milk. They were so pungent that they made your jaw hurt eating them. Had three rough, local red wines with the meal.

I’ve read so many books about the great hosteria culture in Italy, of places were you go in and sit at a bench with the locals, and there’s no menu, just maybe five dishes they make daily. And I’ve never had it on any of my three trips to Italy, and in fact had written it off as a dying culture: “osteria” now usually means, somewhat tongue-in-cheek I guess, a high-end place: think about Osteria del Tempo Perso in the same town, or Osteria da Fiore in Venice. But here it was, and it was grand. Big, robust, smoky flavors all around, perfect for a damp, misty night.

Leaving that night (we closed the place down, and the locals left there all warmly sent us on our way), we were a little slooshed. I paused at the door and squinted in the dark at the sign on the door, trying to remember the name. Giancarlo? Giacomo? I guess it’s appropriate for a place like that that I didn’t remember the name.

[Kevin72]

2. Trattoria Cadorna (Rome) 3/3/05

The setting: on our third day in Rome it starts raining. Torrents. And it’s cold. We were at the Coliseum at the time and were planning on making our way to Osteria Cucagna just off Piazza Navona. But now we’re drenched through and just not wanting to bother with it. Let’s get back to the hotel, change, warm up, and hopefully it has stopped by then. We do and it hasn’t. We don’t want to get wet all over and it’s probably 20 minutes’ walk to get to Piazza Navona again. Then my wife suggests that we just stay local. I agree, but reluctantly looking at my list of researched places to eat. It’s Thursday, so that means it’s gnocchi day in Rome. We have to go someplace that serves gnocchi! I doubt the places near our hotel will, so I’m in a bit of a tizzy about it. But we set out anyway. We go a block and walk up the street to the place our hotel guy recommends. We look over the menu and low and behold: “Gnocchi fatta en casa, solo Giovedi” (House-made gnocchi, only on Thursdays—please forgive both my butchery of Italian and its translation). We’re in.

First a bottle of rosso di tavolo to warm us up. Then we order the fritters. Just different types of fried dough, with a jot of tomato sauce and pecorino. Tastes like mine, tastes like mine! We both get the gnocchi and it’s an ample portion. The gnocchi are small, maybe the size of your thumbnail, and have more tomato sauce and a dusting of cheese.

By now it’s the Italian dinner hour so the place is filling up and getting boisterous, adding to our enjoyment. A table of local businessmen with visiting Japanese businessmen squeezes in next to us and I enjoy hearing them trying to explain the menu to their visitors. One of the Japanese guys comments on all the cheese and seems astounded.

For secondo, my wife orders grilled sausage and rapini, and I order the oxtails. We also order verdure di stagioni. My oxtails are great, fall off the bone tender, and have a lingering spicy kick to them.

But the sausage and greens. Oh my. That alone merits the restaurant’s place. The sausages were little patties and the meat had a rough, hand-chopped consistency to it. And the greens were so vibrant and yet rich and silky all at once. And the contorni were perfect. I’d long heard that Romans were particularly reputed, among many things, for their vegetable cookery and this absolutely nailed the case shut.

Dessert was gelato covered in pastry cream and it was every bit as decadent as it sounds. We staggered home happily. As a postscript, it turns out that where we went wasn’t even the place our hotel guy had recommended, and in fact he hadn’t even heard of this place.

So what’s the lesson here kids? You don’t have to look very hard for a great meal in Rome. We didn’t even make it to Cucagna, or Vino del Candido in Vatican City, but I’m pretty comfortable in having had a great trattoria experience in Rome, the thing I came there to do.

If I put the address here, doesn’t that negate the whole point of this entry? Actually, I don’t have it. It’s on Via Cadorna, near where we stayed at Hotel Ercoli.

[Kevin72]

1. (Tie) Dinner at Osteria del Tempo Perso (Ostuni, Puglia) 3/5/05 and lunch at Il Frantoio (Ostuni, Puglia) 3/6/05

Ha, I couldn’t just leave it at five, now, could I? This way I get to work in one extra place!

Anyways, this idea is totally cribbed from an article reviewing Il Frantoio. In it the author says that the past 24 hours, culminating in dinner at Il Frantoio, have been the best 24 eating hours of her life. I had a similar experience with our stay in and around Ostuni, in Puglia.

So I had been pumped to go to Tempo Perso after reading about it on this board, in a Budget and Travel article, and then in Marlena de Blasi’s book Regional Foods of Southern Italy. All mention the lavish parade of antipasti you get at the outset of the meal. And really, it doesn’t prepare you for what happens.

Tempo Perso is set, like many places in Ostuni, in what can only be described as an above-ground cave. You go in, sit down, and are handed a menu. Just when you start to pick out maybe what you want, you’re poured a glass of sparkling Italian white wine and given a plate of little fried balls of bread and mint. Then they ask if you want the antipasti sampler and of course I don’t even let the waiter finish before I agree. And so it begins.

Nine antipasti are served, including the freebie you just got.

Ricotta with almonds and parsley oil. A little scoop of ricotta, still holding the shape from its basket, it served with a smattering of slivered toasted almonds on top and parsley oil on the bottom.

Buratta with pomegranates. Buratta is very much coming into vogue as a cheese right now. It originates in Puglia. Basically it is fiore de latte cheese (in Italy, cow’s milk mozzarella can only be called fiore de latte; mozzarella is reserved only for buffalo milk cheese) with cream and curds in the middle. You cut into it and all this milky, cheesy decadence oozes out. The pomegranate seeds were a perfect, tart foil for the rich cheese.

Fritters with fiore de latte and pancetta. Three little disks of dough are fried and then you lay a slice of pancetta fiore de latte over it. The fritters are hot out of the oil so the pancetta and cheese both wilt into it.

Miniature eggplant parmigiano: just three coins of fried eggplant slices layered with tomato sauce. My wife’s favorite of the three.

Green beans braised in olive oil.

Miniature mold of wild mushrooms. Porcini and oyster mushrooms, braised in olive oil, are placed in a gratin mold, then topped with a tart crust and baked. My favorite.

Cauliflower and percorino flan: little baked savory custard with chunks of cauliflower and pecorino cheese.

Rapini fritters: bitter greens dipped in batter and fried.

These are all served at once, and maybe the only thing I’d offer as that they’d be brought out one at a time or in threes so as not to overwhelm you. And not crowd the table!

Afterwards the waiter asked if we wanted a primo course. We were already dizzy from the antipasto onslaught but we couldn’t refuse.

‘Ncapriatta. Again, the fava bean puree, probably the national dish of Puglia (in fact all three times we had it appears on this countdown). This was the best version, a little more “elevated” from its peasant roots: I’d guess that maybe even a little cream went into it to give it a smoother texture. Or maybe potatoes, which is sometimes the tradition. Also, it came with the full spread that you’re “supposed” to have: braised bitter greens, green peppers seared and then steeped in olive oil, and lampascioni, the bitter wild onion the Pugliese dote upon.

“Orecchietini” with seafood. Actually they weren’t that much smaller than a standard orecchiette. Came with a scampo (langoustino), clams, and artichokes. I was so, so happy when I ate this. Three things I love: seafood, artichokes, and pasta, in one dish?

Now we were hurting. But how could we turn down a meat course? Luckily our waiter came up with a solution: “Why not split your secondo?”. Do it! Beef with artichokes. Probably the only subpar thing that night. I’ve now had beef three times in Italy so I feel safe making a blanket stereotype of an entire country: something’s up with Italians and beef. Now I’m going to make the exception here for the Chianina beef variety which I’ve yet to have, but the other three time’s its been pretty bland, underseasoned, and even a little tough.

Before we could even be tempted by dessert I told the waiter to just bring us the petit-fours I saw other tables getting at the end of our meal. It was all almond variations: crusted with sugar, or bitter chocolate, or espresso, or in croccante.

Had an excellent Primitivo di Manduria with the meal. Due Palme was the brand/maker, I believe.

Tempo Perso takes Pugliese classics and elevates them to a whole other level. This was our first meal in Puglia, and I was worried that the other, more rustic or homey places wouldn’t compete, and so was pleasantly surprised when they did.

The next day we get up, still dreamy from the previous night, and head off to Il Frantoio, a farmstead and guesthouse about 5 kilometers down the road from Ostuni. We arrive and the owner/host, Armando, greets us as we get out of the car. “Welcome home”, he says warmly. And damned if it isn’t, for the next 24 hours.

We convene to eat lunch at 1, starting first with a spread of local nuts, seeds, fried slivers of fava beans, olives, and white wine. Then we move into the dining area where Armando’s wife, head of the kitchen, greets us. Armando comes by the table to tell us that everything we’re about to eat except the coffee and the wine are produced on that farm. Thank goodness we get a menu at the end of the meal or I would have lost track (the menu not only lists the wines that are paired with the meal, but also their olive oils!).

• Pizelle con sughetto e ricotta forte. More dough fritters. You dip them in either tomato sauce or ricotta forte, fermented ricotta. Like lampascioni, this is another acquired taste much beloved by Pugliese. And also like lampascioni, most accounts I’ve read describe it as an unpleasant first tasting experience. So now I have to try it. And it is like a punch in the face it’s so strong. My wife gags and pushes it away from her, saying it’s like rotten cheese. I naturally love it and crave it the rest of the trip.

• Spuma con zucca e zucchini. A ricotta-based layered flan; the top had zucchini in it, the middle layer was plain, and the bottom layer was winter squash.

• Carciofi al cotto di vino e lampascioni a fiore con miele d’arancio. This was probably my favorite, and best-done dish of the meal. The bitterness of the lampascioni were amplified by the orange honey glaze. Then you take a bite of the baby artichokes, glazed in wine must, and the sweetness tempers the bitterness. But the most ingenious thing was the wine pairing, a small grappa glass of Primitivo di Manduria dolce, which had its own sweet notes. “Normally, you cannot pair artichokes or lampascioni with wine.” Said Armando as he explained the dish. Then he added almost mischievously, “But not in Puglia, with this primitivo.” And he was right. The strong, sweet, syrupy wine perfectly tamed all the wild, bitter, tart flavors and it was gloriously harmonious.

• Spuma di baccala con finocchio gratinati. Another baked flan or custard, now with baccala, served with a gratin of fennel and cheese. Another delicious pairing.

• Straccetti al finnochietto selvatico con pure di ciccerchie e papaveri. Ciccherchie are an ancient bean, believed to be the ancestor of the chickpea. Another point of pride for Armando: “Only in Puglia do we still eat the ciccherchie.” These are pureed and used as a sauce for ribbons of homemade pasta scented with wild fennel fronds. Poppy plant leaves garnished the dish.

• Involtini di maiale e polpette en umido di verdure con patate paglia. Fried and glazed pork bundles, and little meatballs, scattered around finely shredded and fried potatoes.

• Insalata mista con nasturzi. Mixed salad of nasturtium leaves. We were sitting with the British couple from #3 and at this point our conversation, fueled by much wine, was reaching a good, fevered groove. So unfortunately I barely remember this salad and the next entry.

• Macerated fruit salad.

• Sospiro con crema al Rosolio d’Olivo. Olive leaf-gelato; the gelato base was simmered with olive leaves which left a very faint scent in the final product. This was served slightly softened with layers of pastry. This snapped my attention back to the meal, it was so well-constructed.

• Digestivi. One of the most interesting things I found about Puglia is that while they still do have a healthy representation of limoncello and similar products (orange and citron), they also favor a digestivo made in a like fashion from more savory herbs. So here they offered olive leaf digestivo, and laurel leaf digestivo, and wild fennel (even later and elsewhere in Puglia I saw a digestivo made from arugula!).

As with many of our meals in Italy, we were now loopy from wine and so much good food. The entire meal had lasted three hours. We get up and express our gratitude to Armando, and I think the British man who was with us went into the kitchen and hugged all the cooks, and then went off to take a real, well-earned siesta.

And so that’s it. With the 24 hours starting at Tempo Perso, continuing with lunch at Il Frantoio, and then our antipasto spread at the osteria listed at #3, I had had maybe the best single eating day of my life. Ostuni and environs is an achingly beautiful place that captures everything great about Pugliese cuisine and is a fantastic eating destination. I know I had said no pictures at the start, but if the food isn’t enough to sell you, these pictures of “The White City” will:

Ostuni:

Tempo Perso:

Nameless Osteria from #3:

Il Frantoio:

L'OSTERIA DEL TEMPO PERSO Via Tanzarella 47 Ostuni (00 39 0831 303 320). Closed Monday.

Il Frantoio SS. 16 km 874 72017 Ostuni (Brindisi) Italia tel. 39. 0831.330276

e-mail armando@trecolline.it 5km outside Ostuni

[SethG]

Thanks for those reports. Beautiful pics, too, especially that sunset shot of Ostuni. And those olive trees!