Well, I have actually been following this discussion, but with only a little input. I look forward to ek's food report.

I did have the eel twice in Rome over Christmas & New Year's. As it's traditional for Christmas Eve, I had to try it. It was grilled and served cacciatore, skin left on. It was delicious. I also had some that had been grilled and then marinated. Wonderful!

And Eloise, I tried a couple of your suggestions (La Tartaruga & La Campana) and enjoyed them very much. Didn't manage to have any oxtail, but next time!

ek, welcome back!!!! I'm glad to hear you've had great meals, and a great time, though I never doubted it. And of course, like everybody here, I'm more than curious to read your "mission accomplished" report :)

And hooooray! - we've a fourth person following this thread. Thanks for letting us know, SusanP, it's great to have the reassurance that we are not three crazy people all alone in the world (wide web). (Crazy for Rome, of course, or what did you think?)

Franco, since I'm crazy for Rome as well, I guess I can fit in! :-d

Thanks for the welcome back! I promise to get to the blow-by-blow within a few days (I will post in a separate thread) but right now I have to say, again, how much I loved Rome. We spent a week there for the second time in a few years and even with 14 days spread over the two trips, plus several visits in earlier years, I barely scratched the surface of this amazing place. For the life of me I cannot understand any negative comments that I have read here. As far as food goes, a week was so little time....even with two restaurant meals on most days, we could not remotely hope to fulfill all of my dining plans. Two things that I knew already but that were emphasized for me were: Order the daily specials. And second: Reserve in advance!!!

I will detail the pajata and everything else in the food report, but one more comments about it; I had envisioned large pieces of rather tough meat. It was nothing of the sort. Think of the age of a baby animal and you can imagine more accurately how small and delicate the meat was, and how the "cheese" melted into the whole.

Franco: Austrian, right? Perhaps near the Italian border?

So to my two old friends, E and F, and our new member, Susan, I say Buon Giorno and promise to be back in not too long (once I get fully unpacked and arrange my notes on the scattered pieces of crumpled paper and restaurant receipts) with full details...

ek, I wouldn't be offended if you mistaked me for a Tyrolian - but mortally offended if you mistaked me for a Carinthian. You know that Carinthia on the Austrian-Italian border is Mr. Haider's stronghold??? They're actually continuing to vote for him there!
(And no, Eloise, I'm not Hungarian - above, you've seen about 20 percent of my Hungarian knowledge...)

Heavens, Franco, I meant Tirolean, not one of Mr. Haider's crew (shudder!!) Actually, with my poor grasp of Austrian geogrpahy, I am not sure exactly which region I meant (please do not hold it against me, I promise to look at a map of the country before the day in done); I was thinking of the area bordering the Alto Adige... But Vienna might be more accurate.....

Anyway, it does not matter because whatever your home base you are a most engaging travel companion. (And it is fun to play the guessing game but I am not sure I would want to play poker with you because you hold your cards so close to the chest..) And before I forget, I did have the oxtail. I convinced my partner to order it and had more than a small taste. Excellent braised beef is my comment. Exceedingly tender so the meat fell off the bones. I am feeling very peevish now after peeking into my own refreigerator and contmplating the rather paltry options for dinner tonight.

Buongiorno. Where is everyone? This is the third day without a post... All right, I’ll throw what I have out here and hope that someone turns up...

SusanP, I’ll bring up the rear in welcoming you to the thread. A love for Rome is the only condition for admission.

Did I suggest La Tartaruga and La Campana? I liked the food at La Tartaruga, but I thought it was a little overpriced. It’s true I’ve never eaten badly - with one exception, on a very busy Saturday evening - at La Campana. But I’m sure it’s in every guidebook ever written about Rome!

Ek, It’s Friday; you’ve been back for about a week. Where’s the detailed, painfully detailed report we are all eagerly awaiting?!?

Your timing for Trattoria Monti was perfect; by the time I get there, it will be wall-to-wall American tourists. The February issue of “Travel + Leisure” has an article about Esquilino and Testaccio. High praise for Trattoria Monti; not good at all for Da Felice.

http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/hidden-rome

The same issue of “Travel + Leisure,” harking back to an earlier topic in this thread, has this little tidbit:

“Reader’s Find - Rome
In Italy last spring, my husband and I visited trattorias and pizzerias, and Al Moro (13 vicolo delle Bollete; 39-06/678-3495; dinner for two $145), in Rome, left us completely satisfied. Sit at a candlelit table along the narrow cobblestoned street and try spaghetti carbonara al Moro, paired with the house red wine. Don’t be shy if you don’t speak Italian – the restaurant prints the menu in English, too.”

There are so many things I could say about that. No. 1: $145 for dinner for two? That is *way* more than one needs to pay or that I personally would be willing to pay for a trattoria meal in Rome. (The Hidden Rome article says $90 for Checchino dal 1887.) Does anyone know how spaghetti carbonara al Moro differs from plain spaghetti alla carbonara? No, don’t tell me; I’ll stick with the classic version. Franco, for one, will disagree with me, I’m sure, but I prefer to drink white wine with carbonara. She (it’s a she) makes Al Moro sound so warm and fuzzy; has it, like Da Felice, passed to new, user-friendly ownership? And as if there weren’t already enough reasons for me *not* to go to Al Moro, the menu is also printed in English!

Speaking of Mimi Sheraton (I wasn’t really, but she suggests Al Moro in her article), I just read her memoir “Eating My Words” that I ordered from a remainder house in Baltimore. Frankly, I don’t think I like the lady; she sounds arrogant and conceited and downright disagreeable.

Ek, you must tell us more, and quickly, please. I agree totally with your advice to order the daily specials, but reserve in advance – at lunch? I do tend to reserve for dinner, but I haven’t found it necessary - so far! - to reserve at lunch. (And I know and sympathize so much with that sinking feeling you get when you first open the refrigerator door after returning from Italy: It dots the I and crosses the T on “Back to reality!”)

Franco, I am so relieved that you are not Carinthian - or Tyrolean! You’ve said you’re not Italian (please note how I’ve phrased that...) but if I had to imagine you in Lederhosen and a Tyrolean hat with a little feather, it would be the end of a beautiful friendship.

Cheers to all - if you ever come back.

Dear Eloise, I am feeling very guilty now. I have been thinking of you and promise to get to the report very soon..hopefully tomorrow.

You know I had to check out Al Moro, although we did not eat there. I walked by and looked at the menu; you can't see inside as there are curtains at the window. But judging from the clientele I saw going in that evening (when we were on the way to Colline Emiliane..I know I will get flack for venturing out into culinarily foreign terrain) it is a dressy place. The people I saw going in were locals but the men were in suits and the women were quite gussied up. From the menu posted outside, the prices were certainly higher than the places we were eating in but not all that outrageous..I am not sure how they got that ridiculous $145 figure for two for dinner but anything is possible with wine. ("Reader's find"?????? It is one of the most written up places in the city!) In looking at my little slips of paper, which remain scattered on the coffee table in the living room in preparation for my report that three people will read (!!), I see that we paid in the 60 Euro range for dinner for two, with house wine and at least two and sometimes, three, courses.

Ok...will be back soon. By the way, I am quite sure now that Franco lives in Vienna. Very mysterious, that one!!! Did you read the post where he discusses the trashy "Austrian beaches" on the Adriatic?????

ek, feeling guilty is a first step to improve the situation! Eloise, please don't think you're the only one eagerly awaiting ek's report!! It's not that I haven't been around... in fact, I've been posting on several other threads, which I might not have done had I not been searching for your report, ek, i.e. for the new thread you have promised to open...
Ok, and one of those threads where I've been posting in order to kill time while waiting for your report, I've said something about Austrian vacationers... did that seem like a promotion for Austria to you, or why did it make you believe I'm living in Vienna? (Though I'll admit, as I did already write once on Fodor's, that I HAVE spent an important part of my life in Vienna.)

Hi Eloise, I've actually been following this thread from the beginning and even posted on it back in November, asking about places besides Checchino for coda alla vaccinara (since they would be closed the week of Christmas when I was there). As I said, I never did get any, but next time...

I have to agree that the picture of Franco in a Tyrolean hat sort of ruins the image!

ek, don't worry, even if only three people read your food thread, you can be sure that those three will appreciate it!

No Tyrolean hats & no lederhosen, don't worry, dear ladies...

Ok, you have shamed me into starting the report. See the new thread.

Franco, I was thinking more black opera cape and patent loafers, or perhaps velvet dress shoes with some sort of appliqued crest.

Oh no, I'm the all-time jeans-and-pullover type. Disappointed?

I think you are just trying to throw me off the track since I have come close to the truth with my last guess!

Eloise:
In addition to checking out Al Moro, I did some more sleuthing. I think the SlowFood place on Vicolo Rossini looks interesting; unfortunately I could not get in until too late (10pm) on the night I tried.

Apropos of nothing, really, here is the review of an Italian movie that looks really interesting:



http://movies2.nytimes.com/2007/01/1...tml?ref=movies

Ek, Your nose is excellent: I've eaten at the trattoria on Vicolo Rossini, and I loved it. Very much a locals kind of place; everyone who walked in - except me! - seemed to be greeted by name by the owner and his wife.

Eloise, I knew this was your kind of place...I wanted to make it mine, too, but as I said, the night we tried (the one night I had not reserved anywhere in advance) they were full untill too late.

Btw, Eloise: I don't disagree at all with the combination of carbonara with white wine - why should I? I, too, prefer white to red with that dish! And I fully agree with trying to avoid places with an English menu...

Franco, I said Vienna not only because of the Austrian Adriatic resort comments but also because of the intimate knowledge of the Vienna Statsoper (spelling??) and other things Austrian. I am throwing out wild guesses here.....and you are providing absolutely NO clues.
Here is another wild guess: From the UK but has lived in Austria? This guess derived mostly from your impeccable command of written English; I've not detected a single word that gives even a slight clue that English is not your native language. I do realize that you don't have to be from the UK or NA to have this command, as I said it is only a guess...


Soon I am going to badger you with a few questions about another region or two of Italy so be on guard!

ek, I don't give any clues because you're making me clueless how to react... I simply CANNOT give any clues publicly, since the main condition for my presence on this forum is that I want to be anonymous. I can't even tell you publicly why giving any clues could mean losing my anonymity (I know it's sounding weird, but nevertheless it's true). But if you are absolutely longing for redemption, feel free to send me a message at the special email address I've been installing several months ago for "private" recommendations to friendly Fodorites (originally, it was about Umbrian wineries where I wanted to guide Traviata without guiding tout le monde). This invitation, of course, is also for you, Eloise.

Franco, Grazie molto! Or should I say “Vielen Dank”?

Ek, Persistence pays! But how do you and I stay in touch if we e-mail Franco directly?

ekscrunchy, eloise and franco. The three of yuse 'is' in luv with the three of yuse. What persistence, ladies! Phew!

Carry on. Enjoyable banter.

E and F..Every good sleuth needs to know when the case is just too dicey to pursue. {No doubt I got too close to the truth with the comments about the opera cape and the velvet slippers appliqued with the family crest.}

The more I think about this the more I am certain it is close to the truth. I wonder about the string of honorifics and royal titles preceeding his name.......what do you think???

One day soon we can dig up the thread and send our e-mails to him....I will look for it soon...

Now my leanred companions, another query about earth-shattering matters:

I thought often about bringing home olive oil but decided aginst it due mainly to the unfortunate packing issues nowdays. Also, prices were not all that low; remember, I was in the central city most of the time.
However, I did get tempted at the airport duty free (I know, I know, not the best place to buy but I did bring home a nice bottle of new oil last year from the Frescobaldi kiosk...)

SO..I am looking at all of the bottles for sale at the duty free. And looking. And thinking. And debating. For a very long time, as you might imagine. Finally, I decided on a bottle of Ligurian oil; maybe it was Roi brand, I forget. I turned the bottle around to check the date (amazing how many old oils we have on the shelves of "gourmet" stores back home) and I see that it is pressed from olives from the 2005 and 2006 harvest.

Because it contained olives from 2005, I put the bottle back on the shelf, convinced it was past its prime. Did I make a mistake here? Do they sometimes use older olives to temper the oil? This sounds unlikely but perhaps....

You did well to put that fancy bottle (or was it a tin?)back on the shelf. What a crazy place to buy extra virgin olive oil-at the airport. Come to visit the little producers in Northern Lazio and get the precious green-gold liquid that is made with our hard labor, hand picked by people who love the land and dont mind the hard work. It gets harder every year, purtroppo.
Olive oil is best within the year, can keep for 2, but unlike wine, it does not improve with age.
Our new oil is completely different from those few litres that have been settling in a corner of the magazzino since Dec 2005.
This thread seems to almost a tete a tete between two people so I thought it was high time someone else posted (interrupted).

Thanks for the input. But has the bottle really been sitting on the shelf since December 2005 if it has been marked to contain olives from the 2005 and 2006 harvests? I thought it was an odd designation, to contain olives from two different harvests. did I metnion it was from Liguria?

I bought very good new oil from Frescobaldi (no not from Lazio but good nevertheless) at the airport last winter so, strange as it may seem, the airport is not always a horrid place to buy given the new rules about transporting liquids.

Granted, I would love to visit the small producers of Sabina or elsewhere in Lazio. Would that I had had the time on this trip. Where would I do this on the next visit?

Thanks for contributing..it is always good to hear informed opinions about food!

ek, I'm afraid you might have made a grave mistake - if it was Olio Roi indeed. etruria, please, I know that you're doing your best to promote your region on Fodor's, and I even appreciate these efforts somehow and to a certain extent, but this olive oil comment is really weird: Olio Roi is by no means producing fancy bottles, that's one of the best among the bigger olive oil brands (tiny private producers excluded, of course -but Roi oil is REALLY excellent stuff). Of course, it was NOT sitting on the shelf since late 2005, or how should the 2006 olives have made their way into the bottle? On the shelf?
No, seriously: I had to investigate that at once, since I, too, have never heard of olive oil blends from several harvests. But it seems to be a method Roi uses ONLY for their BEST oils, strange but true. Look at their website: http://shop.olioroi.it//roi/catalog/...05b0a768cbaa6d - this is a 2004/2005 blend, and it has been added to their online catalogue on September 12th, 2006!! So obviously, it hasn't even been ready earlier. A new puzzle, no doubt, since I've never heard of ageing olive oil - but here we have an example, quite obviously...
This revelation apart, it's true that fresh olive oil is best; especially olio novello, made from the very first olives, those harvested in November. It loses this certain green, fresh quality soon; till summer, you can't quite discern it from a "December oil". And every oil suffers a certain loss of quality, that's true; but for two years or so, it still remains excellent, so, I repeat, buying that 2005/2006 oil wouldn't have meant any risk - in order to contain any 2006 olives, it must have been super-new, the harvest never begins before November! Certainly, duty free shops are a strange place to buy high quality olive oil, but the strange (and laudable) thing here is that a duty free shop has Roi oil on stock.

My goodness, how silly can one be? We've all been thinking the wrong direction, of course: the harvest begins in November, and lasts well into the new year - no blends here, the oil was from last winter's (2005/2006) harvest, so still very good to good. Olive oil blends!! Mamma mia! What remains is the fact that Roi added their 2004/2005 oil to their catalogue only in September 2006, which means that the oil ageing puzzle has still to be solved - or maybe the solution will be as easy as this one, and I'm blind/deaf/stupid again. Oh, that's one of those moments that make me REALLY wish Fodor's would finally install an "edit" function...

bookmarking, I love this thread, so informative and has a sense of intrigue too !

bookmarking

marking

ttt

Hi, Frascati is lovely and just a local train trip from the Termini up into the hills. We were there when it was very hot in Rome, so much cooler up in the hills. January will be a lot colder. Orvieto is also lovely.

Look at the dates: ek's trip took place no less than two years ago.

ek, hello! Nice to see you bookmarking your own thread!

Hi Franco! I am again looking for places near Rome! How time flies!!

ttt