LBev769375

I know I'm missing some great food, but I've never eaten entrails (or bowels) here and somehow have never been able to bring myself to eat them in Rome. Nor would I be able to eat snails in Paris, regarless of how well prepared or presented. Are there any specific restaurants in Rome you recommend for the meat and potatoes (and pasta) crowd (or couple).
Thanks

franco

LBev, only two of the above restaurants are catering Rome's famous entrail cuisine: Checchino and Perilli; all the others are "entrail-free".

smoot60

bookmarking

martite

BKM

Glider

Bookmarking

iamq

franco,

Would lunch at Osteria dell'Angelo be as good as dinner? Hoping to do both next month, but lunch is planned for sure at this point. Thanks.

Bill

franco

iamq, I've never been there for lunch, but as far as I understand it, it's less fun for lunch - it's more like a normal osteria then, with a written menu to choose from. But the quality of the kitchen will certainly be the same, how could it not be? Whether for lunch or for dinner, enjoy!

Shan333

bookmarking

martite

Do you suggest making a reservation for Osteria dell'Angelo? I will have to see if they have a website. Do you have the link handy if so? Thx

franco

No, this is really not the kind of place that has a website, on the contrary. I've never had to wait for more than 15 or 20 minutes when I went without a reservation, but if you want to reserve, their telephone number is (as soon as you're in Italy) 06-3729470.

iamq

franco,

If we go to Osteria dell'Angelo on a Friday, will the menu be missing meat dishes? I apologize in advance if this is a silly question.

Bill

franco

Bill - honestly, I don't know it for sure, but find it difficult to imagine. First, I've never seen ANY fish dish on their menu - theirs is traditional Roman fare, which excludes fish (Rome is 30 kilometres inland, which used to be considered too much to eat a product like fresh fish in Italy, as long as there were no refrigerators). Second, Rome is not a Christian city - it's the city of the pope, which inevitably made it a city of non-believers...

plafield

We'll be in Rome in May and can't wait to try many of the restaurants recommneded by Franco and escrunchy! Your coversations about the food in Italy have been priceless! I'll post a report when we get back, which will definitely be focusing on the food.

dabodin

Bookmarking with great hopes of returning to Rome soon...

Indecisive

Franco

My husband detests Cheese pasta and tomatoes

he likes ' normal' food as he calls it - steak, Lamb, Chicken etc
Can you recommed any good restaurants ( and one special one for his birthday ) We are ion Rome for 3 nights and we are staying in the Hotel Giardino near Via Nationale I think

iamq

Many thanks Franco!

franco

plafield, I'm definitely looking forward to your food report - for me, food reports are among the greatest things on Fodor's!

Indecisive - you're not to be envied for your travel companion... I must admit that I'm having issues with people who are going to a country with a world-famous, absolutely memorable cuisine and yet call their own (much less famous and memorable) food "normal" in comparison... But he should be happy with roast suckling lamb (available everywhere, particularly good at Sora Lella), or with grilled entrails (delicious, like everything else, at Checchino), don't you think so? Both are restaurants worth celebrating a birthday there... and you could order "normal Italian" food there, as well!

LowCountryIslander

Franco...

I have so enjoyed your Roman food threads...especially the "conversations" between you and ekscrunchy I am learning so much!

My question to you is...I will be in Rome during Christmas week this year, do you know if Osteria dell'Angelo would be open the week of Christmas or do they close for that week?

Thanks and Ciao!

koreaprincess

Franco, Your reports make me salivate! I am coming to Rome with my sister, who is a
New Yorker next month. I am a former caterer, and I so look forward to trying the pajata, so you think Checcino is the best? My sister unfortunately, is used to N.Y. italian food and has never been abroad and doesn't try new things. Is there something she might eat there? I ordered carpaccio of beef (my favorite) once in LA with her and she accused me of feeding her raw meat! We are total opposites re food, and I'm tempted to make her try pajate and tell her it's ravioli or something. It would be great fun! She wants to go to "tourist traps" for Fettucine Alfredo! What am I to do?
"Foodie" p.s. I was recently in Fuzhou, China where I was served chicken feet, jellyfish and pigs intestines. The intestines reminded me, actually, of when my italian grandma used to cook pigs feet and knuckles in tomato sauce.

franco

Poor koreaprincess! It must be a nightmare for a foodie like you having to travel with a narrow-minded eater... I LOVE your idea of feeding her pajata and telling it was something else... just that ravioli is not what she's going to believe (the pajata isn't wrapped in the pasta dough, it's in the tomato sauce, in pieces). You could tell her "meat-cheese-balls" or "tiny sausages" something like that... tiny home-made sausages is maybe the best idea. And yes, I think Checchino's is the best pajata, by far the best. For secondo, try and ask the waiter to prepare a plate of grilled bull testicles for her (coglioni alla griglia, in Italian) - only coglioni, stress that, since this is not on the menu, the coglioni normally being part of the mixed plate of grilled entrails, which might her make recognize some of the other pieces. The testicles, she won't recognize!!, and they're delicious, tender, meager, a true delicacy. Tell her something about grilled suckling veal (that's what she'll likely believe), and PLEASE do tell us what she'd say afterwards, when knowing what she'd really been eating!!! In alternative, you could feed her bue garofolato, an ox stew with cloves that I've never tried so far but absolutely want to try when visiting Checchino next time. Buon appetito!!!