Rome - Food and Wine

Epicurean Exploits - Food and Recipes
1

There’s a good chance that I’ll be headed to Rome in mid-November. There’s a fair amount of play on the subject in the archives on eBob. Lots on Chowhound too.

Looking for:

  1. Non (or atleast less) touristy dining. We’ve got the higher ends covered. I’m more interested in Mid to inexpensive options with great food and strong wine offerings

  2. Noteworthy winebars (this subject had a fair bit of play on eBob)

  3. Excellent wine shopping

  4. Food related - “don’t miss” experiences

Thanks.

RT

2

Richard, check the Travel forum, there was a thread about it last year.

Ah, just found it, here was my report from our 1 week stay: http://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=402467#p402467

Enjoy! [cheers.gif]

3

Here is a list of favorite restaurants whenever we’re in Rome. None of these are high-end places (except for I Sette Consoli in Orvieto), they’re casual to very casual, but get enough local businessmen/women clienteles. We’ll be back in Rome to spend the holidays this December, and so will be visiting most of these again.

Al Pompiere
Via Di Santa Maria De’ Calderari, 38, Rome, Italy

Love this place for classic Roman dishes. The oxtail vaccinara alla Roma and any pasta special for the day are a must. It’s in the Jewish ghetto and it’s tough to find, but only a good 10-15 minute walk from Campo di Fiori.


Sottarponte
v. Capoprati Roma (RM)
This restaurant is actually a large houseboat located almost out into the suburbs and right in front of the old Olympic stadium. Stefano Quagriele, who posted in the old ebob board and whom I met up with in Rome last year, recommended this place. Depending on how much you are into the traditional Roman foods that include offals, then the amatriciana with sauce based on intestines is truly unforgettable. Wine list is very thin, but it’s not what they’re selling here.


Perilli
Via Marmorata, 39 (in Testaccio)
http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/back-to-rome-but-poorer-this-time/
Another terrific local eatery specializing in traditional Roman dishes. This one is located in Testaccio markets, so a stroll around the markets is a great way to check out local foodie items.


Osteria La Gensola
Piazza della Gensola, 15
06 581 6312
In Trestavere, this restaurant specializes in seafood and fish. A popular place and so must reserve in advance.


Cul de Sac
Piazza Pasquino 73, P. Navona
Off of Piazza Navona, Stefano from the old ebob forum took me to this very nice wine bar with his buddy where we relaxed and caught up over few glasses with a nice plate of local cured meats/sausages/cheeses. Tons of Italian wines by the glass. Nice easy-going environment.


I Sette Consoli
http://www.isetteconsoli.it/
Last year, wife and I took a quick 35 minute train ride from Rome to the town of Orvieto in Umbria and had a great lunch at this restaurant. Modern Italian, but the dishes are rooted in traditional Umbrian fares. Loved this place. Wine list is pretty deep here.

Ciao.

4

www.cittadelgustowinebar.it

Awesome time. Nice room. Great food.

5

http://www.jcanalsbottleblog.com/2011/07/fork-and-gobble-it-tuscan-honeymoon_08.html

A little more to the story…

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www.albric.it

This place was definitely the gem find of our trip. Their window is full of fresh cheese and the slicing station just luring you in. Excellent wine selection with unreal pricing. I still remember vividly the baby octopus gnocchi and Parussa Barolo. What a meal. We were led there by a history professor from the Univ. Rome who thought us lost.

7

Thanks all. New to my list:

  • Al Pompiere
  • Armando al Pantheon
  • Citta del Gusto (Marconi District)
  • Enoteca Corsi
  • I Sette Consoli (Orvieto)
  • La Osteria de Gusto
  • San’Eustachio - coffee bar
  • Sottarponte

Al Bric seems frequently mentioned. Baby octopus gnocchi sounds excellent.

RT

8

Gusto has a number of locations. I highly recommend them. They are a great option on Sunday’s when many places are shut.

Al Bric was nice, but not fantastic. What I liked best was the value.

9

Nice list.
As I said above, we’reg back there during the coming holidays. So, looking forward to your post-trip tips.

Ramon

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Ramon, mi farebbe un piacere condividere.

RT

11

Great list!

Armando was very very good, but make an RSVP early as they fill up fast. Also, don’t be scared away because it’s by the Pantheon which swarms with tourists, this place is the real deal. The only downside to all our meals was the fact that the wine was always served a tad too warm for my taste (I prefer cellar temperature for my reds).

12

RT,
Mangia bene.
RC

13

Roscioli
Roscioli
Roscioli

http://www.salumeriaroscioli.com/

Ate there on successive nights in June, happily violating our no repeats rule.

14

We always go to Tulio’s off the Via Veneto.No tourists and wonderful food.

15

I had a lovely evening at L’Asino d’Oro (via del Boschetto) that is sort of a new wave meets traditional ingredients kind of place. Among other things a great beer list!

16

Great food and wine and not expensive: Osteria Dell’Ingegno – located near the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain. I’ve eaten there several times and it has always been excellent – more local than touristy.

I have a funny story about wine shopping in Rome, I think it was 1995 – we stopped in a rather large wine store on a busy street near Vatican City after a day at St. Peter’s/Sistine Chapel, etc. The store had an impressive selection of all kinds of Italian wine. Way up on a top shelf in an out of the way corner was the “Americano” wines – dusty, dull, and pretty much crap. But there was a bottle of one of the single vineyard Ridge Zins up there on the high shelf, from 1982 or 1984, I believe. It was something like all of $13 US at the time – I could be wrong on the price, but it was cheap, cheap, cheap. Well, I’m not in the habit of buying US wine while in Italy, but I thought, what the heck, it’ll make a good story someday, even if it’s cooked.

We brought a lot of wine home on that trip (all the rest Italian, of course!), and when we got around to opening that bottle of Zin, it turned out to be fantastic. What it was doing there near the Vatican on a forgotten, unreachable shelf, I have no idea (maybe the Vatican priests used it for communion wine?) From the amount of dust that was on that bottle, it was clear that no Roman was going to buy it. But it turned out to be a memorable wine. It’s the only bottle of US wine I have ever bought outside of the US to bring back to the USofA.

I do highly recommend getting and reading the latest edition of Gambero Rosso – the Italian version of WS or Parker’s – prior to going to Italy. At least it will give you a good idea of what wines to seek out whilst in Rome.

17

Tickets purchased, finalizing hotels. Excitement slowly building.

Thanks for the added info. L’Asino and Roscioli are already on the list. Tullio’s looks Tuscan. The description of grumpy old waiters in Frommer’s is interesting…sometimes they add a lot of charm (thinking of a little Trattoria in Milan). Osteria Dell’Ingegno sounds like a nice find.

Italian wines can be so overwhelming that I usually try to find helpful vendors/enotecas to provide guidance. I’d love to discover something like a Chambers Street NYC or Cave Auge Paris.

RT