Many of the kilos that I'd lost before we left Australia have managed to find me :( I'm not too worried though, we're enjoying the great food here and I'll diet when we get home. We have been very lucky and have had some great meals and tried heaps of different things -more so than other times. Restaurants can be a bit hit and miss -places that you've been to before can have gone off or those that others recommend are not quite to your taste. We have been to old favourites and have tried new places. Our favourite place in Rome is still Taberna Recina in Via Elvia Recina 22-24-26 Roma
tel 067000413
The only problem with this restaurant is that we eat too much - the food is fantastic and everything is always freshly made. We decided to not have dessert last time we went but just had to try a chocolate and ricotta crostata which had just come out of the oven :) -it was beautiful. We hope to be able to go one more time before we leave.
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Pasta and broccoli in brodo di arzilla (a type of fish), very tasty |
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Fettucini guanciale e carciofi -not sure who had the best pasta, both were delicious |
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Carciofio alla romana - so good |
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Brasato di chianina al vino rosso (braised chianina beef filet) -Very tender beef in a tasty wine sauce |
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Abbacchio al forno -the best roast lamb on the planet |
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Insalata mista -baby salad vegetables including fennel, rocket, lettuce and radichio -just perfect |
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Chocolate and ricotta crostata -so delicious |
Yesterday we had lunch at 'Gusto Osteria which is just near Ara Pacis and the Mausoleum of Augustus. It was a busy time to be there -a lot of people out for Sunday lunch. We tried fairly typical Roman dishes and enjoyed our meal.
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Frittata di cicoria e pecorino -very nice too! |
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Tonnarelli 'cacio e pepe' -one of Rob's favourites |
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Scarola con uvetta e pinoli - endive with sultanas and pine nuts. A combination which works well. |
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Maccheroncini alla carbonara - really tasty and well made but with hindsight it was probably a bit too rich for me for a lunchtime meal |
Rob also had a tiramisu -quite a robust version. Over all a very nice meal in a bustling environment -the Roma v Firenze game live on TV was a bonus ;)
Today we bought some bread, cheese and prosciutto from "La Differenza di Paolo Stramaccioni" Largo Magna Grecia,4 Roma. The prosciutto was beautiful, the nicest that we've ever had. It was so sweet and nothing like the excessively salty prosciutto that we get at home -Italy keeps its best food for Italians whereas we export ours, we have got it all wrong!!
While I'm mentioning favourites, I may as well add our regular coffee places:
Alex Cafe Via Magna Grecia, 101/A Roma. The guys that run this place are really friendly and make good coffee, a regular stop off on our way to the metro.
The Gallery Cafe, Via Del Tritone, 36 Roma
Another place for good coffee and spremuta. They also make great panini and are next door to the Gallery Art & Fashion
Tourists always head for Tazza D'oro
and San Eustachio Caffe
because they are mentioned in all of the travel guides. They are there for a reason, they both make great coffee. When tours turn up at these bars it can be really crowded but otherwise they are fine. They each sell other coffee related stuff -snapped up by groups of tourists.
Our favourite pizza place is at Piazza Re Di Roma 19/20. Pizzeria (Alvasis S.R.L.) make the best suppli, arancione, calzone, pizza etc.... I love their pizza bianca stuffed with spinach - can't remember what it's called but it's great.