When in Rome...

As the saying goes... "When in Rome..." 

Eat like Romans?!

In my recent quest to acquire another flag-badge for my backpack, I joined Food Tours of Rome for a personal and well-guided traipse around the historical centre with Bruno! What a fantastic way to spend an evening- and I say that with the utmost sincerity! I've heard (and now experienced first hand) very mixed reviews about food in Italy; so keen to not be disappointed night after night, I booked a "Roman" food tour. 

While doing the Internet research, I realised there are about as many food tours on offer in the region as there are varietals, sizes, and shapes of tomatoes. So what was my criteria? Not too touristic, yet with some sight-seeing à la typical walking tour, and definitely not run by Eat, Pray, Love American defects.

The Food Tours of Rome website looked promising advertising "Bruno, (as) your local guide"... (sounds Italian). I booked the tour and Bruno sent me the details of where to meet him and the other tourists. After a hot, long, and drawn out afternoon of getting lost in and among the nooks and crannies of the heart of the city, we arrived just on time (slightly irritable) and with a very healthy dose of scepticism to a chirpy Bruno with a very American accent. My face said it to him before I even muttered the expletives in my head, and we were kindly shepherded inside to the rest of the flock where, with an upbeat round of introductions, we learned the authenticity of the back story. So Top Tip 1: even if you don't read any further- if you are looking for a truly authentic Roman food tour run by Romans, then look no further: Bruno is your man! And I'll let him tell you his story when you visit. ;)  http://www.foodtoursofrome.com/eveningfoodtour.html

So what was it like?

We started in Piazza Mattei just outside of the Jewish Ghetto at Pane Vino e San Daniele for a first meal. As mentioned, we had a round of introductions with a sampling of a speciality of the (H)Osteria: wine! It was explained that in the good ol' days, when you voted with your preciously earned coin, if you wanted good food, you visited a Trattoria; if you wanted good wine, you visited the Hosteria/Osteria. However, nowadays, the rules aren't so straightforward and akin to the UK, if you want nice wine- head to Aldi. 

Tourists at Turtle Fountain in Piazza Mattei.

What was on offer? To start: cheese and meat platters: ricotta with acacia  honey, prosciutto, and another tasty cheese I can't remember. This was the best ricotta that I've had (Bruno accredits it to the unpasteurized milk) and it was explained to us that saying prosciutto is as non-descript as blanket-naming cheese. There are finite qualities that different domains of prosciutto must have, and the San Daniele prosciutto must be guitar in shape, tender, and with a gentle aroma. The way in which the texture and flavours are developed are so precious that even cutting the meat is done rather manually (rather than with a power-generated slicer) to ensure that each nuance in maintained. I noticed at many restaurants in Rome, there was a man slicing their *bespoke* prosciutto with the manual slicer- I'm guessing that the act of doing it specifically at the front of the restaurant is similar to "see how big mine is".

Further dishes on offer at Pane Vino e San Daniele were two polenta dishes: one with a deer ragu (like a slowly stewed, moreish bolognese) the other with mushrooms and a local hard cheese, and creamed artichoke crostinis (NOT to be confused with bruschetta- pronounced bruss-KET-ta). Very delicious! Bruno explained that if we were doing the tour later in the season, we would be eating bruschettas rather than crostinis as tomatoes would be in season. I like the idea that they cater to seasonality, it means that when I go back, I know I won't be eating the same again.

First stop complete (and already feeling full), it is time to walk a bit of the food off as we ventured onward to more of the historic informative part of the tour. We parked our feet outside of one of the very very many churches within the Catholic capital where we were encouraged to look beyond the obvious. At Chiesa Santa Caterina of Funari Bruno explained how many churches and trades within Rome have adopted patron saints of some sort, where the Funari denotes the string and rope makers of the area (just East of the Tiber river) and the Caterina (of Saint Catherine of Alexander) attributes to her and her martyrdom. Apparently the Catherine Wheel firework is named so because of her tortured death where she was placed atop a spinning, spiked wheel- her blood spurted off (as a Catherine Wheel firework goes off ) as it spun. When the church was rebuilt in olde olde times, the wheel was part of the adornment in the marble (just below the word FECIT). Interesting, huh?!

Chiesa Santa Caterina dei Funari

Moving along to the next stop: a bit of food mixed with a lot of history, which ended up a lot of history whilst we waited for our freshly prepared food, we ventured into the Jewish Ghetto area of Rome. This truly historic area of the city was infamous as the name of the area describes; however, is historically monumental for again, reasons that you need to pay attention to as you walk around Rome.

In the background behind the cement ramp in which the Jews of Rome were assembled and taken away in WWII, the great Theatre of Marcellus hides from 13BC. But this is a food blog, so to not spoil it for other wanderers, I'll review the Jewish-style fried artichokes, instead.

Some of the remaining Jewish Ghetto Flats

Theatre of Marcellus in the background

Jewish-style: twice fried artichokes.

Now I felt bad at this part of the tour, because we waited a while for the restaurant to freshly prepare the artichokes and Bruno raved on about them as if they were the best thing since sliced bread, so I felt bad when I thought that I wish I would have come in tomato season or else would have preferred a pickled artichoke. The freshness of the artichoke was entirely appreciated, as the leaves were tender and rich in flavour. I think that what I didn't like was the amount of oil within the vegetable without some enhancing saltiness. But that's just my opinion- these guys have been making these delicacies for years and years and years and When in (the Jewish Ghetto in) Rome...

On our way out of the Ghetto, we passed by another interesting piece of newly historic information where a Catholic Priest used to sit in what looked like a life-size shrine and wait for Jews to visit for quickie-conversions to Catholicism. It was quite literally the ticket out if you were prepared to add the New Book to your prayer list.

Where the Priest used to sit at the edge of the Jewish Ghetto

Moving on to more food, we stopped at Forno Marco Roscioli and this is the reason why I wished we had done the tour first rather than at the end of our visit. You know when you are in a place you've never been, and it's near, or just past lunch time, so you are hungry, which is turning into h-angry, and you can't find what you are looking for?! 

Well, this is what you are looking for. A bakery, a deli counter, a sit-in or take away. Counters and displays of deliciously smelling and looking carbohydrate based goodies. This is where you buy pizza by the slice (by weight) and some white wine cookies, and mountains of meringues for later. Fantastically fresh and very, very tasty. So Top Tip: When you are out and about, look for a Forno or look in the window, just past the meringues, and you'll find the pizza you've been dreaming of.

Fresh pizza with tomato sauce and the best ever mozzarella  & White Wine Spiced Cookies

After this mini carb-fest, more walking was in order before our next sit-down meal. We ventured down some more streets that weren't quite as they appeared upon Bruno's explanation. Look beyond the obvious, and what looked like a unique shape to a stretch of flats, was actually built that way because of the historic theatre the modern city is built upon. Our next stop would explain just what we were standing on.

The Ristorante Da Pancrazio is built upon the Theater of Pompey, which to you Roman history buffs, is where Julius Caesar was murdered. The extraordinary discovery was made by the original (and still in the family) owners when they were attempting to extend their wine cellar and happened across far more than some very intriguing artifacts. The dining hall is split across two levels where downstairs you enter the cellar structured by archways and pillars from 1st century BC and adorned with the bounty found within the area. What us N Americans (and even Brits) thought were extremely valuable historical artifacts were in fact thought of a just another piece of old $#!+ by Romans back in the day.

This gem is not only a gem for ultra-ancient historical reasons, but also because it boasts typical Roman cuisine produced every day on site. As we were guests for a dinner feast, tradition says that you serve fresh shellfish (mussels and clams) in a parsley, garlic, butter, and white wine sauce.

Add Roman wine (nothing to write home about- a mineraly, "better with food" red), and a typical meal of "straw and hay"- descriptors of the pasta colours in this alfredo and pancetta type sauce. The real reason Bruno brought us to this treasure chest of history was for the traditional Roman soups: Pasta and Chickpea (Pasta e Ceci) on the left, and a Vignarola (spring stew type soup) on the right.

The recipes are both so simple and are intended to feed the farmers to keep them nourished to continue with their harvest activities. Macaroni, chickpeas, tomatoes, garlic, rosemary, and water make up the Pasta e Ceci and fava beans, peas, and (surprise, surprise) artichoke for the Vignarola spring stew.

Next up, dessert time with a bit of a sobering-up walk to the next establishment. I had a chuckle just as we were told to finish up at Ristorante Da Pancrazio where we had four-open bottles of wine all around half-full: what action do you take? 

Option 1: chug your glass, fill up, and repeat? (American way)

Option 2: ask for a plastic take away cup? (the refined Roadie)

Option 3: make a Roadie in a plastic bottle? (the Redneck way)

Option 4: quickly drink what you have before moving on? (Euro way)

Well, I can say that the American Dad method was to chug and refill and chug again- lending to the mentality "I would never do this at home, and heck, I'm on holiday so I'm going to chug (also because the Canadian dude beside me is telling me to chug". The Canadian dude filled his water-bottle and walked on, and I felt quite proud of myself to finish my glass like a lady and then leave the table, knowing that my uncouth N American Roadie and chugging days are done. How smugly EU of me.

As mentioned, our next stop was dessert at Nonna Vincenza's:  This was the treat of treats! Intricately hand- crafted, Sicilian desserts. We were treated to a selection of dolci secchi and topped up with a locally produced canella rosoli (cinnamon liqueur) in this passionate, family-owned business.

On the left are a type of cassate Siciliana: a sensual concoction of liqueured sponge, soft filling (like flavoured ricotta or cannoli curd), marzipan, and candied fruit. They come as a small and wobbly handful below (hence the sensual descriptor as the historic symbolism is as explicit as the dessert looks; I'll let Bruno explain the rest), or as large as a 10-inch cake. The dessert is to be fragrant, vibrant, and decadently tempting. On the right were some more subdued cannolis (in comparison, but even more excellent in execution) filled with a citrus cream curd that has entirely inspired me to give them a try at home! And if the cinnamon shot, cassate, and stuffed cannolis weren't quite enough, the signoras in the shop topped us of with perhaps the most pungently sweet wild strawberry granita I've ever tasted. Top Tip again: if you are ever in Rome for even 1 hour, seek out Nonna Vincenza for a hint of escapism.

Well full up now, Bruno took us on more a historical walk for the last leg of the tour: through the nooks and crannies of the old centre of Rome through the famous Piazza Navona and Piazza Farnese to the infamous Campo de Fiori, where a stern statue of Giordano Bruno looks to the direction of the Vatican as a reminder of his persecution. Again, this square in particular is not at all as it seems, teeming with history and symbolic importance.

An on the topic of persecutions, we ventured to our second last food stop: Sant Eustachio il caffe named after the patron saint of hunters (and sometimes coffee brewers). 

While waiting for our coffee orders, we were told the story of the saint and how Eustace was eventually roasted to death in a bronze pot for pledging his faith to the Catholic church- hence the tie to the coffee house. The flavoursome experience of drinking Italian-style (at the deco-era bar, so not to pay the unregulated "tax" of sitting outside at a table) was another tick off of the list of typical things to do in Italy...along with the last and final stop on the tour: Gelateria Artigianale Corona. 

An award-winning Father-and-Son owned gelataria boasting 40 different flavours from the less adventurous, but super juicy fragola to highly creative flavour combinations of lime and basil or citrus chilli. My personal favourite (after sampling about 10!) was the lime and ginger. 

The gelatos, granitas, and other desserts are produced on-site with a lot of love: "Un buon gelato é sempre un atto d'amore- a good gelato is always an act of love", and local and seasonal produce. Bruno says that once they're gone... they're gone; so who knows what tried-and-true or nouveau flavour combination you will try when you visit, but I can say that you will leave with a content smile on your face... and a feeling that you just spent a very worthwhile, entertaining, and enjoyable evening with Bruno in his neighbourhood.