Despite my earlier observation about Rome being trendier these days, you can walk the neighborhoods from Campo de’ Fiori to Trastevere and pass many restaurants and cafes. But this is Italy and every single establishment we passed was offering some version of Italian cuisine. No Chinese, Thai or Vietnamese in sight. Every one has its versions of spaghetti cacio e pepe or carbonara, its saltimbocca, or a wide variety of pizzas. Today we did see one Indian restaurant nearer the center of the city.
CAFÉ CULTURE
If it isn’t raining, chances are you can sit at a table outside on a square somewhere. Lunch our first day was at Verso Sera in peaceful Piazza del Biscione. On Sunday mid-morning we contemplated life over cappuccinos and cornetti at Vyta in Piazza Farnese. Still and peaceful until about 11:00 when people started swarming.
Lunch later that day was at Da Pancrazio, a more elegant restaurant with cozy inside seating (perfect for winter), and tables on the now familiar Biscione square.
Here we shared a wonderfully peppery rendition of bucatini alla gricia (with bacon and pecorino) and then dived into saltimbocca for the Chief Penguin and vitello tonnato for me. The latter is one of my longtime favorites—-it’s thinly sliced roast veal served cold with a smooth layer of tuna mayonnaise and dotted with capers.
I have fond memories of my first taste in Rome many years ago and also of my good friend Hilda making it for a picnic lunch one time. It’s a fussy dish so I was both impressed and pleased that she served it!
INDOOR DINING
Last evening we booked at a restaurant we discovered while out walking. DanEl, is the brainchild of two individuals whose names make up the restaurant name. The chef is Elisa and her father was our maitre d’ cum waiter and very informative about the restaurant’s history and the aromatic truffle bread in the pretty basket. This is Roman cuisine, but a more traditional version.
We started with some carmelized shrimp in their shells (tasty!) and then followed that course with semolina gnocchi and sea bass. The bass was a lovely filet that was rolled up and served on a slab with scattered berries and several broccoli florets. Sophisticated dishes and delicious!
For lunch today, we walked farther afield past the monument to Vittorio Emanuel II, Trajan’s Column, the Forum and up a hill to Ai Tres Scalini. This was another recommendation from Journy and we were very pleased with it! The dining room is small and pretty and the menu has a mix of snacks, pastas and entrees as well as meat and cheese plates.
We opted to try the truffled sausage snack (tiny bites) and the thin columns of Gorgonzola with honey and walnuts. Yum! To follow, the Chief Penguin had a lovely plate of pink prosciutto with a ball of mozzarella. The mozzarella here has been more piquant than that we typically get at home.
I ordered the ravioli stuffed with cheese and glazed with a cherry tomato sauce which were equally good. We arrived at the beginning of the lunch hour and were glad we did as the restaurant filled up soon after.
After lunch, we walked uphill a few more blocks to the domed Basilica Papale Santa Maria Maggiore. From our approach all we saw was solid fencing and tightly closed doors. The Chief Penguin was convinced we could go in so we trudged all the way around to the opposite side.
After going through a bag check, we entered the sumptuous sanctuary and had the extra treat of hearing part of choir practice to organ accompaniment. As we were leaving, the pews were filling up with nuns and others of various ethnicities all wearing name tags. We surmised they were South American attendees at the Vatican conference on saving the Amazon rainforest taking place this week.
Note: Text and all photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved). Header photo is of a recently cleaned Trevi Fountain.
So glad to see that you are not starving while there.