Pizza, Porchetta & Prosecco…8 Food Focused Days in Rome, Italy
May 6th, 2012, 02:08 PM
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Annhig....I REALLY liked the Monti neighborhood. I would definitely consider renting an apartment there on future visits, especially now that I am getting a grasp on the bus network!
And now....
Thursday, March 29- The Porchetta Pilgrimage
Before setting out on this trip I had been in contact with my friend Vincenzo, who lives most of the time on the Amalfi Coast. When he heard mom and I would be in Rome, he said he would plan to be in the city while we were there and we could spend some time together.
Not only does Vincenzo have a beautiful rental villa (http://www.grottadeifichi.com/ )on the Amalfi Coast, where I stayed with friends several years ago, but he is also a kindred “foodie spirit” and he offered to arrange some type of gastronomic experience with us.
About a year and a half ago I came across a blog entry on the Travel Belles website (http://www.travelbelles.com/ ) about a day trip from Rome to the town of Ariccia.
Ariccia is one of the Castelli Romani towns and there are several big claims to fame there, the Palazzo Chigi designed by Bernini, white wine and porchetta.
So when I corresponded with Vincenzo, I suggested a day trip to Ariccia and we could do it via public transportation, or so, the Travel Belles blog said. He was very agreeable to going to Ariccia and we set a time to meet with him at the Anagnina metro stop, the last stop (or first depending on which way you are going!) on Metro Line A.
Having waited 20 minutes the day before for a bus, I thought we might want to get an early start, not knowing exactly how long it would take the bus from Largo Argentina to Termini, so mom and I left the hotel at about 9:30am. Of course, as we walked up to the bus stop, a bus was arriving and we got to Termini pretty quickly.
Once at Termini we navigated our way down to Metro Line A, the station was very crowded and there was construction, so the route to the metro stop seemed to be very twisty. We negotiated a lot of escalators and finally walked onto the train platform just as a train was pulling in, perfect timing.
There were 15 stops between Termini and Anagnina and it took us about 20 minutes, from hotel to the end of Metro Line A took us slightly less than one hour. We arrived at our meeting point with Vincenzo 30 minutes early, but there were plenty of benches where we could sit and wait.
Just before 11am Vincenzo emerged from the metro and greeted us warmly and baring gifts. Jars of marinated olives and eggplant from his grandmother! What a nice thing for him to do.
We made our way to the Cotral ticket window. Cotral operates buses that connect areas of the Lazio region with Rome. At the ticket window, Vincenzo asked about the bus to Ariccia because when he called Cotral the day before he received conflicting information. At one time there was a direct bus from Anagnina to Arricia, but that bus no longer runs. In the end we had to take the Cotral bus to Albani and transfer to a smaller shuttle bus to Ariccia.
Once we had our Cotral bus tickets (€ 1.20 each), we climbed the stairs to the area where the Albani bus was scheduled to depart from at 11am. Well, 11am came and went and no bus. Vincenzo goes sleuthing out the situation and finds out the 11am bus has been cancelled, but there will be an 11:30am bus, no problem, we pass the time catching up with what is new in Vincenzo’s life. Then, 11:30am comes and goes. Vincenzo does some more sleuthing, and finds out the 11:30am bus has been cancelled, meanwhile he is now calling the restaurant where we have a lunch reservation to push back our arrival time with them.
Finally at 11:50am, a bus pulled into the boarding area, and we all dash for the door and grab the first 3 seats we can because by now there are a lot of people waiting for the bus. The bus lumbers along making stops here and there and about 30 minutes later we arrive in Albani and get off the bus. We wait in the little town at a bus shelter for about 30 minutes, with Vincenzo checking with every little shuttle bus driver that pulls up to see if that bus goes to Ariccia. Finally, about 30 minutes later the right bus pulls up, we get on and off we go up, up, up into the Alban Hills to Ariccia. I was never more grateful for having an Italian speaking friend with us. Honestly, if it were just mom and I making this excursion, we would probably still be trying to get to Ariccia!
By the time we arrive in Ariccia it’s just past 1pm and we walk to the fraschetta (type of osteria in this region) where Vincenzo has made our lunch reservation. As we walk into L’Aricciarola (http://www.osterialaricciarola.it/ ) located at Via Borgo S. Rocco, 9 it’s like walking into a warm, casual restaurant. The sizable tables are set up for communal dining, the wooden beams in the ceiling create a rustic feel, and the warm welcome added to the atmosphere.
As we walked in, there was a very long display case to our left filled with lots of tasty treats, all kinds of marinated vegetables, cured meats and cheeses, but the star of the show was the porchetta, displayed in all its juicy glory. Again, I was thinking thank goodness we have Vincenzo with us, because we would not have gotten the ordering process right off the bat.
First you go up to the display case and pick out the items you want to eat, then the item is weighed and you discuss with the counterman if you want more. Vincenzo told us later the counterman kept asking him, if the amounts we were ordering were enough, clearly locals must really pile on the food! The final step in the process is when a server brings what you have ordered to the table.
Everything in the display case looked so good, but we really tried to keep our wits about us and not over order. Of course, we had to have the porchetta, which was wonderfully moist and tender; the juices just flowed out of the meat. We also had a big ball of buffalo mozzarella, two types of prosciutto, one being the mountain prosciutto variety and it tasted like no other prosciutto we’d ever had, it was silky smooth. Not to neglect our vegetables was also had a couple marinated artichokes, which were delicious. The last item we had, just because we wanted to try it was donkey jerky. Yes, we had Jack*ss Jerky. Vincenzo was so cute when I pointed to it in the display case and asked what it was, I could see his mind trying to pull the English world. Fortunately we had a long discussion about L’Asino d’Oro with him, and he finally pointed to the jerky and said “L’Asino”…I caught on right away!
We had a bottle of local red wine, which a little fizz to it and if all that food wasn’t enough, Vincenzo said we really had to try the papparadelle cinghale here, since that is a dish this particular fraschetta was know for. We order one plate and it was plenty to share among the 3 of us, especially since we had already had so much to eat.
For all this food, the wine and a bottle of water the total cost for lunch was € 38. I think that’s a pretty good deal!
After lunch we took a little walk around town and went to the end of the main street which has a pretty terrace overlooking the hillside, a great way to end our time in Ariccia. We wandered back to the bus stop and as no surprise we had about an hour wait for the shuttle bus that would take us back to Albani where we would get the Cotral bus back to the Anagnina metro stop.
Once in Albani we waited about 20 minutes for the bus, of course, when the bus pulled up it was packed to the gills and we wiggled our way in and stood up for the 30 minute ride to Rome.
When we arrived at the Anagnina metro stop, luck was on our side because as we walked onto the platform a train pulled up and we hopped on going towards Termini. When we emerged at the front entrance of Termini we said our good-byes to Vincenzo and got a bus back to our hotel.
By the time we walked into the hotel it was close to 6pm and by our “inner clocks” it was apperitivo time! Instead of walking over towards Campo dei Fiori to our favorite spot, we decided to give the wine bar just next to the hotel a try. We’re glad we did. We snagged the last free table, had a couple glasses of wine and prosecco and sat and watched the activity in Piazza della Rotonda. The Pantheon is certainly a site to behold.
Our dinner reservation was for 9pm at Vino e Camino (www.vinoecamino.it) located at Piazza dell’Oro, 6. This was another EatRome app discovery and we are certainly glad we dined here, we had another fantastic meal.
One word of warning if you dine here, the starters are huge! We didn’t realize this and we each ordered one, which could have easily been a meal in itself! Mom had the prosciutto wrapped smoked mozzarella on a bed of pesto, there were 4 substantially sized mozzarella balls. I had the Sardinian tomato bread and I still think about it. It was almost like layers of phyllo dough pizza with the freshest tomatoes, olives and cheese, and it was light and crispy. I won the starter category for this meal!
For main dishes, I had the grilled tuna steak with eggplant sauce, it had wonderful flavor, but it was slightly dry. Mom had the veal cheek and roasted potatoes, it blew the flavors of my tuna right out of the water. Mom even commented on how great the potatoes tasted and she is sometimes a “hard sell” when it comes to potatoes. We had a bottle of wine and another of water. Since we were so full from the whole day, we didn’t even look at the dessert menu, for fear of our eyes definitely being larger than our stomachs. The total cost of this meal was € 89.
We liked this meal so much, we made a reservation for Sunday lunch (the day before our departure) or so we thought…
And now....
Thursday, March 29- The Porchetta Pilgrimage
Before setting out on this trip I had been in contact with my friend Vincenzo, who lives most of the time on the Amalfi Coast. When he heard mom and I would be in Rome, he said he would plan to be in the city while we were there and we could spend some time together.
Not only does Vincenzo have a beautiful rental villa (http://www.grottadeifichi.com/ )on the Amalfi Coast, where I stayed with friends several years ago, but he is also a kindred “foodie spirit” and he offered to arrange some type of gastronomic experience with us.
About a year and a half ago I came across a blog entry on the Travel Belles website (http://www.travelbelles.com/ ) about a day trip from Rome to the town of Ariccia.
Ariccia is one of the Castelli Romani towns and there are several big claims to fame there, the Palazzo Chigi designed by Bernini, white wine and porchetta.
So when I corresponded with Vincenzo, I suggested a day trip to Ariccia and we could do it via public transportation, or so, the Travel Belles blog said. He was very agreeable to going to Ariccia and we set a time to meet with him at the Anagnina metro stop, the last stop (or first depending on which way you are going!) on Metro Line A.
Having waited 20 minutes the day before for a bus, I thought we might want to get an early start, not knowing exactly how long it would take the bus from Largo Argentina to Termini, so mom and I left the hotel at about 9:30am. Of course, as we walked up to the bus stop, a bus was arriving and we got to Termini pretty quickly.
Once at Termini we navigated our way down to Metro Line A, the station was very crowded and there was construction, so the route to the metro stop seemed to be very twisty. We negotiated a lot of escalators and finally walked onto the train platform just as a train was pulling in, perfect timing.
There were 15 stops between Termini and Anagnina and it took us about 20 minutes, from hotel to the end of Metro Line A took us slightly less than one hour. We arrived at our meeting point with Vincenzo 30 minutes early, but there were plenty of benches where we could sit and wait.
Just before 11am Vincenzo emerged from the metro and greeted us warmly and baring gifts. Jars of marinated olives and eggplant from his grandmother! What a nice thing for him to do.
We made our way to the Cotral ticket window. Cotral operates buses that connect areas of the Lazio region with Rome. At the ticket window, Vincenzo asked about the bus to Ariccia because when he called Cotral the day before he received conflicting information. At one time there was a direct bus from Anagnina to Arricia, but that bus no longer runs. In the end we had to take the Cotral bus to Albani and transfer to a smaller shuttle bus to Ariccia.
Once we had our Cotral bus tickets (€ 1.20 each), we climbed the stairs to the area where the Albani bus was scheduled to depart from at 11am. Well, 11am came and went and no bus. Vincenzo goes sleuthing out the situation and finds out the 11am bus has been cancelled, but there will be an 11:30am bus, no problem, we pass the time catching up with what is new in Vincenzo’s life. Then, 11:30am comes and goes. Vincenzo does some more sleuthing, and finds out the 11:30am bus has been cancelled, meanwhile he is now calling the restaurant where we have a lunch reservation to push back our arrival time with them.
Finally at 11:50am, a bus pulled into the boarding area, and we all dash for the door and grab the first 3 seats we can because by now there are a lot of people waiting for the bus. The bus lumbers along making stops here and there and about 30 minutes later we arrive in Albani and get off the bus. We wait in the little town at a bus shelter for about 30 minutes, with Vincenzo checking with every little shuttle bus driver that pulls up to see if that bus goes to Ariccia. Finally, about 30 minutes later the right bus pulls up, we get on and off we go up, up, up into the Alban Hills to Ariccia. I was never more grateful for having an Italian speaking friend with us. Honestly, if it were just mom and I making this excursion, we would probably still be trying to get to Ariccia!
By the time we arrive in Ariccia it’s just past 1pm and we walk to the fraschetta (type of osteria in this region) where Vincenzo has made our lunch reservation. As we walk into L’Aricciarola (http://www.osterialaricciarola.it/ ) located at Via Borgo S. Rocco, 9 it’s like walking into a warm, casual restaurant. The sizable tables are set up for communal dining, the wooden beams in the ceiling create a rustic feel, and the warm welcome added to the atmosphere.
As we walked in, there was a very long display case to our left filled with lots of tasty treats, all kinds of marinated vegetables, cured meats and cheeses, but the star of the show was the porchetta, displayed in all its juicy glory. Again, I was thinking thank goodness we have Vincenzo with us, because we would not have gotten the ordering process right off the bat.
First you go up to the display case and pick out the items you want to eat, then the item is weighed and you discuss with the counterman if you want more. Vincenzo told us later the counterman kept asking him, if the amounts we were ordering were enough, clearly locals must really pile on the food! The final step in the process is when a server brings what you have ordered to the table.
Everything in the display case looked so good, but we really tried to keep our wits about us and not over order. Of course, we had to have the porchetta, which was wonderfully moist and tender; the juices just flowed out of the meat. We also had a big ball of buffalo mozzarella, two types of prosciutto, one being the mountain prosciutto variety and it tasted like no other prosciutto we’d ever had, it was silky smooth. Not to neglect our vegetables was also had a couple marinated artichokes, which were delicious. The last item we had, just because we wanted to try it was donkey jerky. Yes, we had Jack*ss Jerky. Vincenzo was so cute when I pointed to it in the display case and asked what it was, I could see his mind trying to pull the English world. Fortunately we had a long discussion about L’Asino d’Oro with him, and he finally pointed to the jerky and said “L’Asino”…I caught on right away!
We had a bottle of local red wine, which a little fizz to it and if all that food wasn’t enough, Vincenzo said we really had to try the papparadelle cinghale here, since that is a dish this particular fraschetta was know for. We order one plate and it was plenty to share among the 3 of us, especially since we had already had so much to eat.
For all this food, the wine and a bottle of water the total cost for lunch was € 38. I think that’s a pretty good deal!
After lunch we took a little walk around town and went to the end of the main street which has a pretty terrace overlooking the hillside, a great way to end our time in Ariccia. We wandered back to the bus stop and as no surprise we had about an hour wait for the shuttle bus that would take us back to Albani where we would get the Cotral bus back to the Anagnina metro stop.
Once in Albani we waited about 20 minutes for the bus, of course, when the bus pulled up it was packed to the gills and we wiggled our way in and stood up for the 30 minute ride to Rome.
When we arrived at the Anagnina metro stop, luck was on our side because as we walked onto the platform a train pulled up and we hopped on going towards Termini. When we emerged at the front entrance of Termini we said our good-byes to Vincenzo and got a bus back to our hotel.
By the time we walked into the hotel it was close to 6pm and by our “inner clocks” it was apperitivo time! Instead of walking over towards Campo dei Fiori to our favorite spot, we decided to give the wine bar just next to the hotel a try. We’re glad we did. We snagged the last free table, had a couple glasses of wine and prosecco and sat and watched the activity in Piazza della Rotonda. The Pantheon is certainly a site to behold.
Our dinner reservation was for 9pm at Vino e Camino (www.vinoecamino.it) located at Piazza dell’Oro, 6. This was another EatRome app discovery and we are certainly glad we dined here, we had another fantastic meal.
One word of warning if you dine here, the starters are huge! We didn’t realize this and we each ordered one, which could have easily been a meal in itself! Mom had the prosciutto wrapped smoked mozzarella on a bed of pesto, there were 4 substantially sized mozzarella balls. I had the Sardinian tomato bread and I still think about it. It was almost like layers of phyllo dough pizza with the freshest tomatoes, olives and cheese, and it was light and crispy. I won the starter category for this meal!
For main dishes, I had the grilled tuna steak with eggplant sauce, it had wonderful flavor, but it was slightly dry. Mom had the veal cheek and roasted potatoes, it blew the flavors of my tuna right out of the water. Mom even commented on how great the potatoes tasted and she is sometimes a “hard sell” when it comes to potatoes. We had a bottle of wine and another of water. Since we were so full from the whole day, we didn’t even look at the dessert menu, for fear of our eyes definitely being larger than our stomachs. The total cost of this meal was € 89.
We liked this meal so much, we made a reservation for Sunday lunch (the day before our departure) or so we thought…
May 6th, 2012, 02:53 PM
#84
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Completely worth it and especially getting to spend time with Vincenzo, although I'm not sure he thought so! LOL!
In retrospect, if I ever did this excursion again, I would hire a driver. By car this trip would have been less than 1 hour from Rome.
In retrospect, if I ever did this excursion again, I would hire a driver. By car this trip would have been less than 1 hour from Rome.
May 6th, 2012, 07:16 PM
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I'm saving every word of this trip, hoping for a return to Rome. I think I could just retrace all your steps and be happy as a clam!
So many trips yet to do, and so little time! Have spent a total of 9 days in Rome and I can see I have barely touched the surface.
Thanks for a thoroughand very readable report!
So many trips yet to do, and so little time! Have spent a total of 9 days in Rome and I can see I have barely touched the surface.
Thanks for a thoroughand very readable report!
May 7th, 2012, 07:27 AM
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You have a great descriptive writing style, it makes it easy to visualize what you are talking about. Thank you!
I've been reading your old trip reports and I noticed you mentioned a restaurant list. I was wondering if I could get a copy of it?
I've been reading your old trip reports and I noticed you mentioned a restaurant list. I was wondering if I could get a copy of it?
May 7th, 2012, 04:35 PM
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johnnyomalley...I'd be happy to share my Rome restaurant list, but honestly, if you have one or the other or both of the food apps I've mentioned in this trip report I'd say you will not be disappointed. But if you want to post an email address where I can send the list I will.
Carol...thanks for joining in on the food fun!
Carol...thanks for joining in on the food fun!
May 7th, 2012, 05:57 PM
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Friday, March 30 – There’s a Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On
Today we had a very loose agenda, and so we took our time getting started in the morning. We skipped breakfast because we did want to see the basilica of St. John in Lateran. We hopped on the little #117 electric bus right near the hotel and took it all the way to the end of the route. The last stop on this line is right across from the church.
We entered through a side door into a lovely church interior bathed by sun light streaming through the windows. We made our way around the church in about 30 minutes before we realized we had actually come in a side door and not the front door, so we decided to exit through the front doors in order to see what the main entrance looks like.
Since the #117 bus stop was so close, we got back on and took the bus to the Monti neighborhood. Even though we had spent some time in this area already, we didn’t really have much time to poke around and check out some of the streets which have some really terrific little shops.
One of the shops, Aromaticus (http://www.aromaticus.it/aromaticus/Benvenuto.html ) is just too nice to pass by without stopping in. If you enjoy gardening, herbs and fresh food this place if for you. Mom bought some salts and they also do small plates for lunch and aperitivo. The salads looked incredibly fresh. And the owner was so nice, once he found out the item was a gift he wrapped it for us.
We thought about having lunch at TriColore, known for their delicious panini and another EatRome app recommendation, but when we walked by, they were not yet open for lunch and we kept walking. It will definitely be on my “go to” list for next time.
We hopped on another bus and went over to Piazza del Popolo to grab a seat at one of the outdoor cafes, because it was such a beautiful day out. When I opened the menu and saw they had caffe shakerato, I knew what I wanted and mom, being no coffee slouch, was up for the cool treat too. Since we hadn’t had anything to eat we also ordered a pretty average ham sandwich. I had to chuckle to myself when I placed the order with the server, because she asked, did we know it would be cold coffee? Oh yes…we have been well schooled in the thousands of ways one can order coffee in Italy!
If you don’t know what a caffe shakerato is, it is a cold espresso drink shaken with ice and then strained and served in a martini class. This particular one had a foamy sugary layer on the bottom and top, it was the picture perfect coffee drink and delicious!
In fact, mom and I enjoyed this coffee treat, so much and we were so comfortable sitting outside, enjoying the good weather and people watching, we each ordered a second one. Clearly our server thought she was doing us a big favor by bringing the second round in even larger martini glasses! But this time there was no foamy sugary layers and honestly, the second one just did not taste as good as the first. Of course, that did not stop us from drinking it all. By now half the tables around us were ordering the caffe shakeratos, we should have been given a discount for helping boost sales for the day!
Since that second glass was probably equal to 3 shots of espresso mom and I were seriously feeling the jitters. As we walked around the corner to the bus stop mom looked at me and asked if I felt ok, because she was feeling kind of jumpy. I had to admit, I was having the same feeling. Clearly there should be no coffee for us the rest of the day!
We took it easy for the afternoon until aperitivo time when we walked over to Bar Farnese for our usual wine and prosecco. It was another perfect evening to sit outside, and enjoy the scenes playing out in front of us in the piazza.
Our dinner was a repeat at La Gensola in Trastevere and this meal was just as delicious as the first one earlier in the week. Mom and I shared a starter of swordfish with eggplant caponata, it was very good, but then again, I never met an eggplant I didn’t like. For main dishes mom had the John Dorry fish with potatoes and it was excellent. I had the bacala with tomatoes and basil and it was full of flavor and perfectly cooked.
We asked the server for help selecting the wine and he chose a chardonnay from northern Italy and it was the perfect accompaniment with the fish. We skipped dessert and against our better judgment had, you guessed it, espresso. Yes, we are glutons for punishment! And to put the perfect finish on the meal we had glasses of very smooth limoncello. The total cost of this meal was € 98.
We were finished with dinner at about 11:30pm, and as we walked to the tram stop a tram pulled up and we were back at the hotel before mid-night.
Today we had a very loose agenda, and so we took our time getting started in the morning. We skipped breakfast because we did want to see the basilica of St. John in Lateran. We hopped on the little #117 electric bus right near the hotel and took it all the way to the end of the route. The last stop on this line is right across from the church.
We entered through a side door into a lovely church interior bathed by sun light streaming through the windows. We made our way around the church in about 30 minutes before we realized we had actually come in a side door and not the front door, so we decided to exit through the front doors in order to see what the main entrance looks like.
Since the #117 bus stop was so close, we got back on and took the bus to the Monti neighborhood. Even though we had spent some time in this area already, we didn’t really have much time to poke around and check out some of the streets which have some really terrific little shops.
One of the shops, Aromaticus (http://www.aromaticus.it/aromaticus/Benvenuto.html ) is just too nice to pass by without stopping in. If you enjoy gardening, herbs and fresh food this place if for you. Mom bought some salts and they also do small plates for lunch and aperitivo. The salads looked incredibly fresh. And the owner was so nice, once he found out the item was a gift he wrapped it for us.
We thought about having lunch at TriColore, known for their delicious panini and another EatRome app recommendation, but when we walked by, they were not yet open for lunch and we kept walking. It will definitely be on my “go to” list for next time.
We hopped on another bus and went over to Piazza del Popolo to grab a seat at one of the outdoor cafes, because it was such a beautiful day out. When I opened the menu and saw they had caffe shakerato, I knew what I wanted and mom, being no coffee slouch, was up for the cool treat too. Since we hadn’t had anything to eat we also ordered a pretty average ham sandwich. I had to chuckle to myself when I placed the order with the server, because she asked, did we know it would be cold coffee? Oh yes…we have been well schooled in the thousands of ways one can order coffee in Italy!
If you don’t know what a caffe shakerato is, it is a cold espresso drink shaken with ice and then strained and served in a martini class. This particular one had a foamy sugary layer on the bottom and top, it was the picture perfect coffee drink and delicious!
In fact, mom and I enjoyed this coffee treat, so much and we were so comfortable sitting outside, enjoying the good weather and people watching, we each ordered a second one. Clearly our server thought she was doing us a big favor by bringing the second round in even larger martini glasses! But this time there was no foamy sugary layers and honestly, the second one just did not taste as good as the first. Of course, that did not stop us from drinking it all. By now half the tables around us were ordering the caffe shakeratos, we should have been given a discount for helping boost sales for the day!
Since that second glass was probably equal to 3 shots of espresso mom and I were seriously feeling the jitters. As we walked around the corner to the bus stop mom looked at me and asked if I felt ok, because she was feeling kind of jumpy. I had to admit, I was having the same feeling. Clearly there should be no coffee for us the rest of the day!
We took it easy for the afternoon until aperitivo time when we walked over to Bar Farnese for our usual wine and prosecco. It was another perfect evening to sit outside, and enjoy the scenes playing out in front of us in the piazza.
Our dinner was a repeat at La Gensola in Trastevere and this meal was just as delicious as the first one earlier in the week. Mom and I shared a starter of swordfish with eggplant caponata, it was very good, but then again, I never met an eggplant I didn’t like. For main dishes mom had the John Dorry fish with potatoes and it was excellent. I had the bacala with tomatoes and basil and it was full of flavor and perfectly cooked.
We asked the server for help selecting the wine and he chose a chardonnay from northern Italy and it was the perfect accompaniment with the fish. We skipped dessert and against our better judgment had, you guessed it, espresso. Yes, we are glutons for punishment! And to put the perfect finish on the meal we had glasses of very smooth limoncello. The total cost of this meal was € 98.
We were finished with dinner at about 11:30pm, and as we walked to the tram stop a tram pulled up and we were back at the hotel before mid-night.
May 7th, 2012, 06:15 PM
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Oh, this is such a delicious report! I almost feel as though I'm walking with you, (your writing is very evocative) especially around the places I remember. (we spent three nights at
Albergo del Senato a few years ago. Thanks again.
Albergo del Senato a few years ago. Thanks again.
May 8th, 2012, 06:41 AM
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This is still such a fun trip report to read!!! Thanks LCI for all the updates... L'Asino d'Oro was on my MUST visit list for our trip and I added your comments about the food to my Italy spreadsheet (yup... there's my confession... ) to make SURE I drag my best friend there! I have added Vino e Camino as well and can't wait!! Ever since I came across Porchetta in my research (originally from Anthony Bourdain - Layover) just the word makes me drool and I'm dying to finally try it! Ha Ha! Thanks again
) to make SURE I drag my best friend there! I have added Vino e Camino as well and can't wait!! Ever since I came across Porchetta in my research (originally from Anthony Bourdain - Layover) just the word makes me drool and I'm dying to finally try it! Ha Ha! Thanks again
May 8th, 2012, 08:27 AM
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Saturday, March 31– It’s a Sparkling Saturday!
Today was a fairly leisurely day; our trip was starting to wind down. Instead of breakfast at the hotel we went over to Café St. Eustachio for cappuccino and pastry. Mom then decided she wanted a Gabs Bag too and off we went to the shop not far from the Spanish Steps. We also made a stop at the Santa Maria Novella shop to stock up on mom’s favorite soap.
Because we were doing a wine tasting today I wanted to make sure we had lunch, so we walked around the street from the hotel to Osteria dell’ingegno at Piazza di Pietra, 45. It was about 2pm when we arrived and from the minute we walked in, I loved this place.
The interior was fairly modern, with walls painted pretty yellow and dark orange colors. It appeared the other few tables that were full had Italian speaking patrons. I had (again) found this restaurant using the EatRome app and one of the things in the write-up about this place I liked, was that it said, this osteria had really good big salads. I thought that would be a perfect light, but substantial enough lunch.
I had a delicious tuna with radicchio salad and mom had a grilled chicken salad. We enjoyed both very much. The service here was polite and friendly. With a bottle of water the total cost was € 34. The really nice thing about this place is it’s location, it is just a few blocks from the Pantheon, but tucked in a corner. I’m glad we found it.
Our wine tasting with VinoRoma (http://www.vinoroma.com/ ) was scheduled to begin at 5pm, so mom and I set out for Piazza Venezia at about 4pm to get a bus that would travel up Via Cavour and deposit us just a block or so from VinoRoma’s front door.
I have to mention, this was a repeat for us with VinoRoma. Back in 2010 I found her on Trip Advisor and booked the “My Italians” tasting, ,we had such a wonderful time at that tasting, and I began to follow her on Twitter, keeping abreast of things going on with VinoRoma and wine related. When I saw she added a “Sparkling Saturday” tasting, I just couldn’t resist because I adore sparkling wines.
Mom and I arrived for the tasting a few minutes before 5pm and we were greeted warmly by Hande (aka, VinoRoma) and ushered into her new tasting room in the Monti neighborhood. Before long, my friend Vincenzo arrived, I had asked him to join us, in appreciation for ferrying mom and me to Ariccia! And we were ready to taste some sparklers.
Now, if you think the only sparkling Italian wine is prosecco, think again, there is a variety of lovely sparkling wines in Italy. There is Asti, Lambrusco, of course Prosecco and then the much less know and, in my humble opinion, one of the best, Franciacorte. We don’t see Franciacorte much on wine menus here at home; I’ve seen it once on a menu in New York City (at a Mario Battali restaurant). And, as Hande said, it’s not that common in Italy to see it on wine menus either. If you have an opportunity to try a Franciacorte and you like sparkling wines I recommend you trying it, you may find something new you like!
At the Sparking Saturday tasting we had five wines to taste, 3 Prosecco and 2 Franciacorte. It was really interesting for us to learn about the wine making process, the regions where the wines are made and then of course, comparing the wines. Hande, really knows her stuff and the great thing about her, is that whether you know a lot or a little about wine, she always makes you feel like you are walking away having learned just a little bit more.
After the tasting we said our goodbyes to Hande and Vincenzo and since we were in the Monti neighborhood made our way to Via Serpenti and to Al Vino Al Vino for a little aperitivo before our dinner at L’Asino d’Oro, yes we did another dinner repeat, but since we were in that neighborhood for the wine tasting, it made sense to us to go back since we enjoyed it the first time we were there so much!
We had a 9pm reservation and as we walked in, we were greeted warmly and seated at the last available table. Thank goodness we had a reservation, because we saw 3 parties turned away who did not have reservations.
The food was just as good as it was the first time. Mom started with the pasta fagioli which was full of flavor. I had the prosciutto cinghale with percorino sauce, it was terrific. For her main dish, mom had the pork with artichoke and licorice, sounds like an odd combination, but it was wonderful and fall off the bone tender. I had the braised pork shank with green sauce, all I can say is Wow! It was knock my socks off flavorful and the piece of meat was huge, think “Fred Flintstone” food!
We had a bottle of Orvieto Classico, and to finish dinner off we each had a glass of Vin Santo and a plate of biscotti. Honestly, the Vin Santo was the lowest part of the meal, it was ok, just not the best we’ve ever had. The total cost of this meal was € 86.
From the restaurant we had a short walk to Via Nazionale and caught a bus back towards the hotel. For us, it was a fairly early night; we were back at the hotel just around 11pm.
Today was a fairly leisurely day; our trip was starting to wind down. Instead of breakfast at the hotel we went over to Café St. Eustachio for cappuccino and pastry. Mom then decided she wanted a Gabs Bag too and off we went to the shop not far from the Spanish Steps. We also made a stop at the Santa Maria Novella shop to stock up on mom’s favorite soap.
Because we were doing a wine tasting today I wanted to make sure we had lunch, so we walked around the street from the hotel to Osteria dell’ingegno at Piazza di Pietra, 45. It was about 2pm when we arrived and from the minute we walked in, I loved this place.
The interior was fairly modern, with walls painted pretty yellow and dark orange colors. It appeared the other few tables that were full had Italian speaking patrons. I had (again) found this restaurant using the EatRome app and one of the things in the write-up about this place I liked, was that it said, this osteria had really good big salads. I thought that would be a perfect light, but substantial enough lunch.
I had a delicious tuna with radicchio salad and mom had a grilled chicken salad. We enjoyed both very much. The service here was polite and friendly. With a bottle of water the total cost was € 34. The really nice thing about this place is it’s location, it is just a few blocks from the Pantheon, but tucked in a corner. I’m glad we found it.
Our wine tasting with VinoRoma (http://www.vinoroma.com/ ) was scheduled to begin at 5pm, so mom and I set out for Piazza Venezia at about 4pm to get a bus that would travel up Via Cavour and deposit us just a block or so from VinoRoma’s front door.
I have to mention, this was a repeat for us with VinoRoma. Back in 2010 I found her on Trip Advisor and booked the “My Italians” tasting, ,we had such a wonderful time at that tasting, and I began to follow her on Twitter, keeping abreast of things going on with VinoRoma and wine related. When I saw she added a “Sparkling Saturday” tasting, I just couldn’t resist because I adore sparkling wines.
Mom and I arrived for the tasting a few minutes before 5pm and we were greeted warmly by Hande (aka, VinoRoma) and ushered into her new tasting room in the Monti neighborhood. Before long, my friend Vincenzo arrived, I had asked him to join us, in appreciation for ferrying mom and me to Ariccia! And we were ready to taste some sparklers.
Now, if you think the only sparkling Italian wine is prosecco, think again, there is a variety of lovely sparkling wines in Italy. There is Asti, Lambrusco, of course Prosecco and then the much less know and, in my humble opinion, one of the best, Franciacorte. We don’t see Franciacorte much on wine menus here at home; I’ve seen it once on a menu in New York City (at a Mario Battali restaurant). And, as Hande said, it’s not that common in Italy to see it on wine menus either. If you have an opportunity to try a Franciacorte and you like sparkling wines I recommend you trying it, you may find something new you like!
At the Sparking Saturday tasting we had five wines to taste, 3 Prosecco and 2 Franciacorte. It was really interesting for us to learn about the wine making process, the regions where the wines are made and then of course, comparing the wines. Hande, really knows her stuff and the great thing about her, is that whether you know a lot or a little about wine, she always makes you feel like you are walking away having learned just a little bit more.
After the tasting we said our goodbyes to Hande and Vincenzo and since we were in the Monti neighborhood made our way to Via Serpenti and to Al Vino Al Vino for a little aperitivo before our dinner at L’Asino d’Oro, yes we did another dinner repeat, but since we were in that neighborhood for the wine tasting, it made sense to us to go back since we enjoyed it the first time we were there so much!
We had a 9pm reservation and as we walked in, we were greeted warmly and seated at the last available table. Thank goodness we had a reservation, because we saw 3 parties turned away who did not have reservations.
The food was just as good as it was the first time. Mom started with the pasta fagioli which was full of flavor. I had the prosciutto cinghale with percorino sauce, it was terrific. For her main dish, mom had the pork with artichoke and licorice, sounds like an odd combination, but it was wonderful and fall off the bone tender. I had the braised pork shank with green sauce, all I can say is Wow! It was knock my socks off flavorful and the piece of meat was huge, think “Fred Flintstone” food!
We had a bottle of Orvieto Classico, and to finish dinner off we each had a glass of Vin Santo and a plate of biscotti. Honestly, the Vin Santo was the lowest part of the meal, it was ok, just not the best we’ve ever had. The total cost of this meal was € 86.
From the restaurant we had a short walk to Via Nazionale and caught a bus back towards the hotel. For us, it was a fairly early night; we were back at the hotel just around 11pm.
May 8th, 2012, 08:55 AM
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Sunday, April 1- A Quiet Ending
Since this was our final day in Rome, I purposely did not plan anything. My thought was we could do any last minute shopping in case there was something we had seen earlier in the week that we didn’t get and also, just to relax, after all, it was a vacation.
We took our time getting started and walked over to Piazza Farnese to stop at our favorite outdoor café for cappuccino. We had been to this café a lot, but mostly in the evenings for wine. After our first sip of cappuccino, we were kicking ourselves for not coming here more for breakfast. I can hardly believe I’m going to say this, but I liked the cappuccino here much more then Café St. Eustachio!
After enjoying our cappuccino and getting a good laugh from one of the street performers dressed as a clown, he was really good and keep everyone at the café laughing, we decided to nose around the market at Campo dei Fiori, which we hadn’t done yet.
We made a visit to all the spice stands in the market and mom found a few things she had been looking for but hadn’t seen until now and we popped into a small shop on a side street that had some lovely and reasonably priced scarves.
When we were at Vino e Camino earlier in the week, we had made a reservation for lunch for today, or so we thought. So, we walked over to the restaurant for our 1:30 lunch reservation only to find the place locked up tighter than a drum. We waited around for about 15 minutes, thinking maybe they weren’t open yet, but no one ever unlocked the door, so we left. Big sigh, we’ll just have to go back another time.
By now we were getting pretty hungry since we were only running on cappuccino. Our first thought was to go to a pizzeria we were familiar with, but the crowd was so big, we just kept walking. Eventually we sat down at a vinoteca we had been to before, called Mimi e Coco on Via del Governo Vecchio. We each ordered a pizza and glass of wine. The food was fine, nothing stellar and the service was ok, and it was nice to sit outside. So, a fairly uneventful meal. We made our way back to the hotel by mid-afternoon and decided it was time to pack up.
Since our flight was at 9:30am and we had a car pick-up scheduled for 6:30am the next morning we decided to have a larger version of aperitivo close to the hotel. At about 6pm we went to the wine bar next to the hotel on Piazza della Rotonda and started with a couple glasses of wine. Earlier in the week while passing this wine bar I had seen great looking antipasti trays on tables. So, instead of moving to a restaurant for dinner, mom and I settled in, ordered a bottle of wine and the house meat and cheese antipasti plate. I have to say the wine was great and the meat and cheese plate was one of the best I’ve had anywhere. It was a nice, quite way to end our time in Rome.
Until, we realized we hadn’t tossed our coins in the Trevi Fountain. So, after our light dinner, we walked over to the Trevi Fountain and although crowded, not terribly so, and we found a spot to toss our coins. Now, we will for certain return to Rome!
Since this was our final day in Rome, I purposely did not plan anything. My thought was we could do any last minute shopping in case there was something we had seen earlier in the week that we didn’t get and also, just to relax, after all, it was a vacation.
We took our time getting started and walked over to Piazza Farnese to stop at our favorite outdoor café for cappuccino. We had been to this café a lot, but mostly in the evenings for wine. After our first sip of cappuccino, we were kicking ourselves for not coming here more for breakfast. I can hardly believe I’m going to say this, but I liked the cappuccino here much more then Café St. Eustachio!
After enjoying our cappuccino and getting a good laugh from one of the street performers dressed as a clown, he was really good and keep everyone at the café laughing, we decided to nose around the market at Campo dei Fiori, which we hadn’t done yet.
We made a visit to all the spice stands in the market and mom found a few things she had been looking for but hadn’t seen until now and we popped into a small shop on a side street that had some lovely and reasonably priced scarves.
When we were at Vino e Camino earlier in the week, we had made a reservation for lunch for today, or so we thought. So, we walked over to the restaurant for our 1:30 lunch reservation only to find the place locked up tighter than a drum. We waited around for about 15 minutes, thinking maybe they weren’t open yet, but no one ever unlocked the door, so we left. Big sigh, we’ll just have to go back another time.
By now we were getting pretty hungry since we were only running on cappuccino. Our first thought was to go to a pizzeria we were familiar with, but the crowd was so big, we just kept walking. Eventually we sat down at a vinoteca we had been to before, called Mimi e Coco on Via del Governo Vecchio. We each ordered a pizza and glass of wine. The food was fine, nothing stellar and the service was ok, and it was nice to sit outside. So, a fairly uneventful meal. We made our way back to the hotel by mid-afternoon and decided it was time to pack up.
Since our flight was at 9:30am and we had a car pick-up scheduled for 6:30am the next morning we decided to have a larger version of aperitivo close to the hotel. At about 6pm we went to the wine bar next to the hotel on Piazza della Rotonda and started with a couple glasses of wine. Earlier in the week while passing this wine bar I had seen great looking antipasti trays on tables. So, instead of moving to a restaurant for dinner, mom and I settled in, ordered a bottle of wine and the house meat and cheese antipasti plate. I have to say the wine was great and the meat and cheese plate was one of the best I’ve had anywhere. It was a nice, quite way to end our time in Rome.
Until, we realized we hadn’t tossed our coins in the Trevi Fountain. So, after our light dinner, we walked over to the Trevi Fountain and although crowded, not terribly so, and we found a spot to toss our coins. Now, we will for certain return to Rome!
