【Travel】Rome .::The food::.

Pizza, pasta, lasagne, espresso, risotto, gelato, we had them all!

Pizzarium

This tiny hole in the wall pizzaria, Pizzarium, was featured in Anthony Bourdain’s program, The Layover, and received an animated praise from the foodie celebrity. As you can see, it has an amazing selection of taglio (square) pizzas that is a feast to the eyes and your stomach!

   

It really was just a hole in the wall, and there’s always a short queue.

So this is how this place works: You queue up; grab your drinks along the way as you walk past the fridge on your right; pick your pizzas at the counter. They then weigh your pizza for you; heat your pizza up in the oven; give you your tray of pizza; give you a docket. You pay at the cash register as you walk out, you eat your hot pizza as soon as you walk out the door, and let the pizza dance in your mouth. Easy.

These are what we ended up having. And yes, they tasted as beautiful as they looked.

Top left: potato (12€ /kg). Bottom left: some fish and some flower (40€/kg). Middle: Zucchini & ricotta (25€/kg). Right: some vege (25€/kg). Sorry they were all named in Italian, I had no idea!

Fancy a glass of wine? You can get one in a plastic cup from these dispensers for 1.5€ each.

Fried spaghetti ball, 3€.

Their pizza crust is the focaccia-type so it’s quite filling. Mike and I shared these and we were absolutely stuffed afterwards. This meal cost us 18.66€, not including drinks. This is not the cheapest place to have your taglio pizza, but their selection of pizza was the most appealing one that I’d seen in Rome, also they seemed the freshest (as they had a quick turnaround due to its popularity).

{Pizzarium}
Address: Via della Meloria, 43, 00136 Rome.
Hours: Monday to Saturday 11am-10pm. Sunday 12am-4pm, 6pm-10pm.

 

Caffe Sant’Eustachio

We came here for a coffee fix at Caffe Sant’Eustachio, near the Piazza Navona. This place was  packed because words have it that this is one of the best coffee places in Rome – for the same reason, the staff were very busy.

Another thing that you need to know about this place is: the Italians enjoy their coffee with swift efficiency – standing up. They charge you a hefty surcharge for sitting down, so the advice is don’t! Try having a cuppa at the Italians’ pace, it’s fun.

Alright, now you’ve adjusted your expectations, you’re ready to try their coffee.

So, this is how it works: As you walk in, you pay for your coffee on your right where the cashier is; the cashier gives you a docket; you walk to the left where the bar is; squeeze in for a spot and place your docket and loose change (tip) on the bar. Then the barista will grab your docket and tip; make your coffee; bring it to you. You continue to stand at the bar until you have finished your coffee; pat yourself on the back for pulling through this hectic Rome’s-best-coffee battle and walk out with pride. Easy.

Their specialty coffee is the Gran Caffe’ Speciale, 2.6€ (standing up). We also tried the Caffe’ D’elite, 1.2€.

They also had lots of coffee products for sale.  Their dark chocolate balls with coffee beans were a bliss. You can also buy ground coffee and coffee beans here.

By the way, the Street itself is called “Piazza Sant’Eustachio”, so there are quite a few cafes with similar names nearby. This is what their shopfront looks like.

{Caffe Sant'Eustachio}
Address: Piazza di Sant'Eustachio, 82, 00186 Rome
Hours: Sun-Thur 8:30am-1am. Fri 8:30am-1.30am. Sat 8.30am-2am. 
Closed 25 December & 15 August.

 

Trattoria Luzzi

We needed a quick bite to eat near the Colosseum but didn’t want to get ripped off by the obvious tourist traps – I looked it up and Trattoria Luzzi had the most positive reviews that met these criteria. It’s only a few blocks from the Colosseum (less than 10 minutes’ walk) and they offered simple food that would meet the general tourists’ expectation of “Italian food” (from pizza to pasta, to gnocchi, lasagna, antipasta, etc), had an English menu and was very cheap.

Margarita pizza, 6€.

Pasta all’amatriciana (pasta, bacon, tomato), 5.5€.

Lasagne, 5.5€.

{Trattoria Luzzi}
Address: Via di San Giovanni in Laterano, 88, 00184 Rome.
Hours: Mon-Tue 12pm-12am. Thu-Sun 12pm-12am. Closed Wednesday.

 

La Scala in Trastevere

Words have it that if you want to have real Italian food in Rome, you have to come to the area Trastevere. It took us a while to figure out how to get here as the metro didn’t stop here, and the bus system in Rome was not our best friend. In the end, we caught the metro to Pirimide station and changed bus (#3b) to get to the Trastevere area.

I picked La Scala because I read that they have truffle on their menu! This is the Tagliatelle with butter, parmesan and black truffle, 16€. Very light with aromatic truffle and olive oil taste. Simple but elegant.

Spaghetti with clams, 12€. The flavour and the pasta itself was really well balanced, but the clams were average (The clams in Taiwan are still the best).

Orange risotte, shrimp and zucchini, 12€.  At first I thought perhaps the word ‘orange’ was just to describe its colour, but there were actually subtle orange pulps in the risotto! Extra points for the generous pieces of shrimps, un-shelled!

{La Scala in Trastevere}
Address: Via della Scala, 58/61, 00153 Rome
Hours: 12pm-12:30am.

 

Da Enzo

You gotta visit Da Enzo when you are in Rome. My advice is to come early (say 6pm-6:30pm), otherwise you would most definitely need to queue up for a table. In my view, this was the best meal that we had in Rome.

Pan fried artichokes slow cooked with sunflower oil, fresh parsley and garlic, 4€. Absolutely wonderful – crispy on the outside and still moist towards the inside with the natural taste of artichoke preserved – don’t miss this!

THE best Carbonara I’ve ever had!

This dish’s full description reads: rigatoni pasta with P.G.I (protected geographical indication) pig’s cheek lard from Amatrice (Rome), P.D.O (protected designated of origin) pecorino from Agro Romano, eggs from San Bartoiomeo farm and black pepper, 9€.Such an everyday dish with a fancy background and sophisticated taste. Love!

{Da Enzo}
Address: Via del Vascellari, 29, 00153 Rome

 

Gelato, gelato, more gelato!

    

Your trip to Italy will not be complete without at least 3 scoops of gelato a day.

Before I came, my Italian colleague (raised in Sydney) said the gelato in Rome is just mediocre, so I was a little wary about not falling into any gelato tourist traps… But during our trip, I started to think she’s probably a very fussy gelato-er! Every gelato that we had in Rome was distinctly superior than the gelato we have in Sydney – The texture, the choices, the flavours, the sweetness (not dead-sweet) and the price, everything!

I actually looked up a few “recommended” gelato places online before our trip and made a point to visit them, however, I find the best way to enjoy your gelato is to just buy one when you see one and feel like one. After all, one can never go wrong with gelato, right?

HER{curio}MAJESTY – I was here. April 2014.