Italy: all things food and wine-related

[frantic36]

5 hours ago, marazul said:

frantic36,

you are doing me in.  I just reserved Casa Bleve for lunch the same day we are going to Roscioli for dinner.

I may sink the ship!

Only trying to help marazul 😁. Which Roscioli have you booked? I am thinking of going to one of them.

 

Mind you my hotel sent me their list of restaurants they recommend nearby or a short taxi ride. After looking through just a few I think I need to book another trip to Rome just to get a chance to try a few more. Luckily Qantas are starting up direct flights from here in Perth to Rome so that makes it easier. I don't mind long flights as long as I'm in business class. 

[marazul]

1 hour ago, frantic36 said:

Only trying to help marazul 😁. Which Roscioli have you booked? I am thinking of going to one of them.

 

Mind you my hotel sent me their list of restaurants they recommend nearby or a short taxi ride. After looking through just a few I think I need to book another trip to Rome just to get a chance to try a few more. Luckily Qantas are starting up direct flights from here in Perth to Rome so that makes it easier. I don't mind long flights as long as I'm in business class. 

We booked the Salumeria con Cucina Roscioli and got a table in the wine cellar.

Did you manage to stay at Spaletti-Trivelli? They were booked one of our nights and we are at the Albergo. No complaints there. 

Two weeks to go!

[frantic36]

5 hours ago, marazul said:

We booked the Salumeria con Cucina Roscioli and got a table in the wine cellar.

Did you manage to stay at Spaletti-Trivelli? They were booked one of our nights and we are at the Albergo. No complaints there. 

Two weeks to go!

 

Yes, we are at Villa Spalletti for 5 nights and looking forward to exploring a new area for us.

 

I like the look of the menu of the Salumeria and was my preference on a quick dive. Knowing you can book a table in the wine cellar makes it more appealing so I will look further and get the hotel to book for me if we can fit it in.

 

Only two weeks for you? I hope you have a great time and it will be interesting to see if you get to Morocco? We have 6.5 weeks which makes it both scary and exciting as I feel like I'm running out of time to get things organised both here and there.

[slidergirl]

my dinner at Roscioli was down in the wine cellar.  Small, but quiet.   I was taken care of well.  The burrata and tomato appy was too large for one, so my server made me a small dish of mozz and the tomatoes.  i asked him to select a wine for me - he brought an amarone to try.  never had it before and loved it.  Only restaurant where I did appy, pasta, main and dessert!!!  I didn't eat all day in preparation!!

[Host Bonjour]

On 5/19/2022 at 1:29 PM, slidergirl said:

he brought an amarone to try

 

Got my first taste of Amarone in Taormina a while ago (nope, the restaurant in Little Italy) but had the same reaction... amazing. I wish more shops sold it in small bottles as it's a pricier wine, and I can't really finish one quickly enough, I refuse to chill a nice red wine, to make it worth the indulgence. Just such a delicious, rich variety. Highly recommend trying to anyone seeking a new addition to their wine repertoire. 

 

Also a fan of making a meal out of any particular order of the menu, including just apps, or soup, wine, and dessert, or however it goes. No one ever said you have to comply with the regular order of things, and that wouldn't necessarily be a cultural faux pas, unless one is at a restaurant where there was only a certain option, very formal dining... don't ask for change-ups or substitutions, check before you go.

 

Ahh, now I could really go for that wine. 🍷 Cent'anni everyone.  

[marazul]

 Cruising now, but I have a few brief comments on restaurants in Rome.

Ba'Ghetto - the artichokes alla giudia are wonderful. If you like sweetbreads, you are in for a treat. The sweetbreads with artichokes are the best I have ever had. They have a very good vermentino to go with the above. (Thanks for the recommendation, Cruisemom!)

 

Roscioli - it is wonderful. We had a table in the wine cellar. We shared a plate of their salumi "casa nstra" and they were excellent.  We were 4 and we tasted 4 different pastas. All yummy. So go with what catches your eye.  There are no wrong choices.  They have a spectacular wine list.

 

Armando al Pantheon - another winner. We had their special of the day appetizers and they were very good.  For pasta,  we had the Amatriciana and the Carbonara, and they were truly special. The portions were a little larger than expected. We had a lovely Barbaresco for our wine.

 

La Rocca in Ceri - we were taken to this restaurant in the countryside by Savino, our excellent driver from Stefano's Rome Cabs. We had an assorted salumi plate which was very good. Then we had roasted maialino (suckling pig) which was amazing. 

 

And now, 75 pounds heavier, we are having a wonderful cruise. 

 

PS- we canceled our reservation in Casa Bleve. We couldn't eat anymore!

 

Edited June 7, 2022 by marazul

[slidergirl]

Marazul - sounds like you had some good dining around Rome.  Good to know Roscioli and Armando are still providing good dining.  I've been eating at Armando since 2007 and it hasn't disappointed.  

I'll have my dining experiences in Florence and Bologna this year.  Yum!!

[frantic36]

16 hours ago, marazul said:

And now, 75 pounds heavier, we are having a wonderful cruise.

 

So glad you had some wonderful meals pre cruise and are now enjoying the cruise. I will do the test run at Casa Bleve and report back if it was worthwhile.

 

Just over a month before we board. How was the boarding procedure at Civi and did you test prior to going to the port or at the port? 

 

If you prefer since we can't private message, you can contact me on julie z marshall at icloud dot com.

 

Julie

[marazul]

2 hours ago, frantic36 said:

 

So glad you had some wonderful meals pre cruise and are now enjoying the cruise. I will do the test run at Casa Bleve and report back if it was worthwhile.

 

Just over a month before we board. How was the boarding procedure at Civi and did you test prior to going to the port or at the port? 

 

If you prefer since we can't private message, you can contact me on julie z marshall at icloud dot com.

 

Julie

I sent a test email.

[bennybear]

On 6/7/2022 at 2:38 PM, marazul said:

 Cruising now, but I have a few brief comments on restaurants in Rome.

Ba'Ghetto - the artichokes alla giudia are wonderful. If you like sweetbreads, you are in for a treat. The sweetbreads with artichokes are the best I have ever had. They have a very good vermentino to go with the above. (Thanks for the recommendation, Cruisemom!)

 

Roscioli - it is wonderful. We had a table in the wine cellar. We shared a plate of their salumi "casa nstra" and they were excellent.  We were 4 and we tasted 4 different pastas. All yummy. So go with what catches your eye.  There are no wrong choices.  They have a spectacular wine list.

 

Armando al Pantheon - another winner. We had their special of the day appetizers and they were very good.  For pasta,  we had the Amatriciana and the Carbonara, and they were truly special. The portions were a little larger than expected. We had a lovely Barbaresco for our wine.

 

La Rocca in Ceri - we were taken to this restaurant in the countryside by Savino, our excellent driver from Stefano's Rome Cabs. We had an assorted salumi plate which was very good. Then we had roasted maialino (suckling pig) which was amazing. 

 

And now, 75 pounds heavier, we are having a wonderful cruise. 

 

PS- we canceled our reservation in Casa Bleve. We couldn't eat anymore!

 

We had a lovely lunch in Ceri,  could smell that roast pork.  Next time I will have it,   A sweet little town.

[frantic36]

As promised my review of places I dined when in Rome.

 

Piccolo Aranci was a small but very busy place near our hotel. They had misplaced our booking the hotel had made, I expressed my disappointment politely. We were trying to decide what to do when the message was sent the owner had found us a table. As an apology we got served a Prosecco to start and limoncello to finish, and no they weren't on the the bill later.

 

My classic trippa in tomato sauce was the best I have eaten, so tender. My husband had veal with shaved truffle and they were very generous with the truffle...it was white truffle. The side salad was lovely and fresh. I didn't post the trippa photo just in case someone can't stand offal.😊

 

Rinaldo Quirinale just 50metres form our hotel specialises in seafood. We had Scorpion fish served with two ways with a cream sauce and tomato. It was wonderful but expensive as charged by 100gm. We will go back tonight for our last night but will test their Vongole which is a reasonable price.

 

 

Colline Emilliane was lovely but I wasn't wowed like I thought. My gnocchi was not as light as what was made in our cooking class. Maybe my expectation was too high? I had eaten too much pasta at other meals including our cooking class so skipped it this time.

 

La Lanterne we went for lunch and had fried calamari and scampi to share to start and Saltimbocca Romano. The seafood was so sweet and fresh and our mains were good. The staff are young but very efficient and professional. Definitely would go again, maybe for dinner.

 

Casa Bleve was in a lovely setting and definitely for a special meal. I had Vittello Tonnatto to start and it was great but a big portion so I couldn't finish. My husband and I both had the Umbrine with clams and  fennel and it was amazing. Our best fish dish for a long while.

 

 

Sorry about the upside down ones but I have tried various ways to correct with no luck. I think there is a trick with which way you take the photo with my iPhone. Any hints welcome.

Edited July 21, 2022 by Host Bonjour
Correct orientation of images

[slidergirl]

I’ve had a few of my photos post upside down,  too.  No idea why.

[bennybear]

Me too!  But enjoyed the photos thanks.  

[circee]

How early before our trip should I reserve my preferred restaurants, for example at Roscioli and Armando? 

 

[marazul]

5 hours ago, circee said:

How early before our trip should I reserve my preferred restaurants, for example at Roscioli and Armando? 

 

Go on their website to reserve. Usually, you can only reserve a month ahead of time.  If you have trouble,  you can ask  your hotel to make them for you.  

[BeginnercruiserHD]

Any recommendations for restaurants specifically in the Monti neighborhood for dinner? We're going to be doing a lot of walking so don't want to stray too far from AirBnB for dinner.

 

Not looking for something super expensive but aren't afraid to pay for high quality food either.  Would prefer a traditional roman food place which has some vegetarian options (shouldn't be a problem I think).

 

There's just so many options it's hard to hammer down what's good and what isn't.

Edited July 14, 2022 by BeginnercruiserHD

[cruisemom42]

21 hours ago, BeginnercruiserHD said:

Any recommendations for restaurants specifically in the Monti neighborhood for dinner? We're going to be doing a lot of walking so don't want to stray too far from AirBnB for dinner.

 

Not looking for something super expensive but aren't afraid to pay for high quality food either.  Would prefer a traditional roman food place which has some vegetarian options (shouldn't be a problem I think).

 

There's just so many options it's hard to hammer down what's good and what isn't.

 

La Taverna dei Fori Imperiali is a good choice in that area for a traditional style restaurant that's well regarded and packed most nights (a reservation is recommended).

 

You can check their menu for possible vegetarian options here:  La Taverna dei Fori Imperiali - La migliore cucina nel cuore di Roma - The best cuisine in the heart of Rome

[circee]

On 7/13/2022 at 8:17 PM, marazul said:

Go on their website to reserve. Usually, you can only reserve a month ahead of time.  If you have trouble,  you can ask  your hotel to make them for you.  

Thanks so much for the tip!

[slidergirl]

On 7/13/2022 at 8:57 PM, circee said:

How early before our trip should I reserve my preferred restaurants, for example at Roscioli and Armando? 

 

Absolutely make a reservation!  Both are small and always full.  

[marazul]

GAMBERO ROSSO MAGAZINE TOP AWARDS FOR LAZIO AND ROME 2O23

 

Gambero Rosso just announced its top awards for 2023.  

https://www.gamberorosso.it/ristoranti/roma/

Tre forchette = three forks - fine dining

Tre gamberi = three shrimp - trattorie

Tre bottiglie = three bottles - wine bars and restaurant cellars

Tre mappamondi = three world maps - foreign food

Tre cocotte = three casseroles - casual restaurants

 

Our favorite Armando is still there with three shrimp along with DaCesare and Arcangelo. Grappolo d'Oro is the newcomer to the category.

Roscioli is now in the three bottles section.  From my personal experience, it should still be in the three shrimp also.

The new Pantheon Iconic Hotel is there with awards in both the three forks and three casserole categories.  Next trip...

[slidergirl]

39 minutes ago, marazul said:

GAMBERO ROSSO MAGAZINE TOP AWARDS FOR LAZIO AND ROME 2O23

 

Gambero Rosso just announced its top awards for 2023.  

https://www.gamberorosso.it/ristoranti/roma/

Tre forchette = three forks - fine dining

Tre gamberi = three shrimp - trattorie

Tre bottiglie = three bottles - wine bars and restaurant cellars

Tre mappamondi = three world maps - foreign food

Tre cocotte = three casseroles - casual restaurants

 

Our favorite Armando is still there with three shrimp along with DaCesare and Arcangelo. Grappolo d'Oro is the newcomer to the category.

Roscioli is now in the three bottles section.  From my personal experience, it should still be in the three shrimp also.

The new Pantheon Iconic Hotel is there with awards in both the three forks and three casserole categories.  Next trip...

If you’ve not been to Da Cesare, give it a try.  It’s out of the tourist area but easy to get to via the #8 tram.  It’s at the end of the line.  Best to go with at least one more person so you can try a bunch of their antipasti.  The fried gnocchi in Gorgonzola is freakin amazing.  Wish I had room to try their frito mixto- people next to me had it and it looked scrumptious.  Reservations absolutely necessary.

I’ve been to La Pergola, but not to dine.  One of the concierges took me up for a look at the view.  I was staying there on an award for a Hilton employee contest. 

Edited July 19, 2022 by slidergirl

[Host Bonjour]

On 7/9/2022 at 1:20 AM, frantic36 said:

As promised my review of places I dined when in Rome.

 

Piccolo Aranci was a small but very busy place near our hotel. They had misplaced our booking the hotel had made, I expressed my disappointment politely. We were trying to decide what to do when the message was sent the owner had found us a table. As an apology we got served a Prosecco to start and limoncello to finish, and no they weren't on the the bill later.

 

My classic trippa in tomato sauce was the best I have eaten, so tender. My husband had veal with shaved truffle and they were very generous with the truffle...it was white truffle. The side salad was lovely and fresh. I didn't post the trippa photo just in case someone can't stand offal.😊

 

Rinaldo Quirinale just 50metres form our hotel specialises in seafood. We had Scorpion fish served with two ways with a cream sauce and tomato. It was wonderful but expensive as charged by 100gm. We will go back tonight for our last night but will test their Vongole which is a reasonable price.

 

 

Colline Emilliane was lovely but I wasn't wowed like I thought. My gnocchi was not as light as what was made in our cooking class. Maybe my expectation was too high? I had eaten too much pasta at other meals including our cooking class so skipped it this time.

 

La Lanterne we went for lunch and had fried calamari and scampi to share to start and Saltimbocca Romano. The seafood was so sweet and fresh and our mains were good. The staff are young but very efficient and professional. Definitely would go again, maybe for dinner.

 

Casa Bleve was in a lovely setting and definitely for a special meal. I had Vittello Tonnatto to start and it was great but a big portion so I couldn't finish. My husband and I both had the Umbrine with clams and  fennel and it was amazing. Our best fish dish for a long while.

 

 

Sorry about the upside down ones but I have tried various ways to correct with no luck. I think there is a trick with which way you take the photo with my iPhone. Any hints welcome.

 

The images aren't in the same order as you originally posted them, but I was able to correct the orientation so they're no longer upside down.

 

There isn't a way to fix them in our tools on the board, but it's relatively easy to do on the iPhone. Were these horizontal/landscape images? That could be why they posted upside down, not so sure.

 

The way to rotate an image on your phone is by opening that image in your photos app, click on the three dots in the edit button in the upper right corner, then in the bottom menu, click on the box with two arrows moving counterclockwise. Then go to the upper left corner, find the square with one arrow pointing counterclockwise, and click until the image is positioned to where you would like it to be. 

 

Yes, they could probably make it simpler, but there are a number of other directional adjustments available and so that's why there's all the options. (And, we do have a Digital Photography Discussion topic, including phones, for anyone interested!) 

And, the food looks amaaaaazing! I don't love the look of tripe (grazie), but it occurs to me that not everyone might know what it is, or looks like, and so it could be interesting for some to see. When it's cooked, it doesn't look as uninviting as it does in the salumeria, pork store, supermarket. 😉

 

 

 

[slidergirl]

@bennybear - I drove to Spilamberto today and found the Balsamic Vinegar Museum.  Very interesting with how that DOP is so hand made.  I got to sample a 12 and 25 year old- surprised at the difference.   The women in the office told me to go down to street to a gelateria and get some balsamic gelato.  One said to get it with the ricotta,honey and nut gelato.  It was sooo good!  I saw a jewelry store by the museum but I didn’t go in because I saw too many things I wanted in the windows!

[bennybear]

2 hours ago, slidergirl said:

@bennybear - I drove to Spilamberto today and found the Balsamic Vinegar Museum.  Very interesting with how that DOP is so hand made.  I got to sample a 12 and 25 year old- surprised at the difference.   The women in the office told me to go down to street to a gelateria and get some balsamic gelato.  One said to get it with the ricotta,honey and nut gelato.  It was sooo good!  I saw a jewelry store by the museum but I didn’t go in because I saw too many things I wanted in the windows!

Oh I’m so glad you experienced it,  if we hadn’t been staying very nearby we wouldn’t have known about it.  We bought some of the 25 year old, it is still amazing.  And I wear those earrings early every day.  We also had the gelato,   Isn’t it fun to discover these little hidden gems!  
Thanks for sharing,  here’s a few photos from our visit.  

[slidergirl]

23 hours ago, bennybear said:

Oh I’m so glad you experienced it,  if we hadn’t been staying very nearby we wouldn’t have known about it.  We bought some of the 25 year old, it is still amazing.  And I wear those earrings early every day.  We also had the gelato,   Isn’t it fun to discover these little hidden gems!  
Thanks for sharing,  here’s a few photos from our visit.  

The women at the museum told me a new one is coming - done in Cherry wood barrels.  Keep an eye on the web site for it.  I’m going to buy when I get home.  Free shipping and I don’t have to stuff it somewhere in my bag.