Give Rome a Chance

The small beauty of a recent Covid infection is that the fear of imminent reinfection dwindles. And with this, Paul and I lived in hope that we'd make it to Italy for our Easter holidays, our first time since the world shut down. 

Rome was not a first choice for either of us: Paul's parents burned him out on the tour of every church and Catholic artefact in the city (no small feat at over 900) as a teenager; and my memories of travel there involved August, intense heat, travel buddies who didn't get on, travelling on a very tight MA student budget and being followed by a strange man staying in our hotel. 

But it turns out that our options were limited and Rome was one of a few places we could fly to from Edinburgh, where we found ourselves after a friend's wedding that took place in the backwaters of Perthshire in Scotland. 

Fortunately, with time, experience and a bit more money, we found the true delights of the Italian capital. We minimised time at the Major Tourist Sites and based ourselves in the Trastevere neighbourhood, a former working-class, student enclave of the city. We took our mission of eating everything and walking everywhere to heart--by the end of the week we'd wandered 183k steps, shunned all forms of transport and consumed 3 of the 4 iconic Roman pasta dishes.

As a testament to our hearty appreciation, I have over 100 photos from this segment of the trip. I won't bore you with all of them but I will start with the food. If you, like me, are a bit overwhelmed by ancient grandeur and centuries of history, you could ignore this all and just eat your way across the city. 

Let me convince you.

The Humble Artichoke 

The Romanesco artichoke rules Italy from February to April every year--they dominate menus, markets and street corners across the city. From Testaccio Market to the Jewish quarter, you can find them in all their splendour. Accompanied by their other colourful companions, they make stopping for food something you want to do whether you're hungry or not. 

Romans cook artichokes two ways, boiled and deep fried. When fried, the leaves crisp up like chips and you just peel them off and eat. 

The Four Pastas of Rome

Before travelling to Rome, we happened upon Stanley Tucci's very foodie TV exploration, Searching for Italy. His episode on Rome is steeped in food history and some delicious tips about where to eat. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the pastas of the city have their roots in poverty and necessity. Flour was cheap, cheese and pork were plenty, and thus four iconic dishes were born. 

Pasta 1: cacio e pepe

Don't let the simplicity fool you, this pasta laden with pecorino and black pepper is a genuine delight. It's rich, creamy and very more-ish. I found myself ordering it again and again and even had a concoction of it in a suppli, a Roman-style deep fried rice ball. 

Slight digression: if you find yourself in Trastevere and want epic, local suppli, head to Suppli Roma, an institution feeding locals for over 40 years. Our B&B owner recommended it and we joined the queue several times over the course of four days to enjoy the array of gastronomic delights, including the cacio e pepe suppli! 

Pasta 2: amatriciana 

Paul treated himself to this feast of tomatoes, guanciale (pork cheek), pecorino and pepper. He raved. 

Pastas 3 and 4: pasta all gricia; carbonara 

We have no photographic proof of either of these pastas but the first is a lot like the amatriciana, minus the tomato and add eggs. Carbonara, well everyone knows that one, and it's a solid favourite. 

Aperitivo
Aperitivo, not a food but a way of life, is a uniquely wonderful part of Italian life. Consider it a pre-meal drink to 'open the stomach' before eating. Aperitivo hour lasts from roughly 18:00-20:00, depending on the part of the city (and the city) you're in. Italians love drinks with a bitter flavour --Aperol and Campari come to mind--and these reign supreme. But perhaps most charmingly, you cannot drink without a snack. Sometimes the snack is a bowl of olives, some grisini (breadsticks) or a little bowl of crisps. Other times, it's much more involved as we discovered in Piazza San Calisto in Trastevere.

Depending on the size of the snack will also dictate whether a bar will charge you or not. The 'snack' above cost us an extra 2 euro/person cover, hardly breaking the bank and really putting London prices to shame. 

Upon reflection of our Italian travels, we deduced that Rome did indeed take aperitivo the most seriously. And for that, we are eternally grateful. 

Breakfast

One other food tradition I hadn't quite cottoned on to in my previous trips to Italy (I blame staying in cheap hostels) was that of breakfast. Italians aren't big on it. A coffee (espresso, not Americano size) and sometimes a pastry predominate. Pastries are low key; they come plain, or filled with nutella, chocolate or pistachio cream. Often they're accompanied by a cigarette or three. As we sat in the institution that is Bar San Calisto and watched local life, the 95-year-old woman travelling with her wheelie oxygen tank put that stereotype to rights. 

We sat here for a solid two hours, watching the world go by. It was perfect. 

Gelato

Finally, it goes without saying that gelato is a solid staple of the Italian nation. Everyone loves it, it comes in its vegan sorbet equivalent and gelaterias dot every street. This is an all-weather, all-season food. Cup, cone, one scoop or three, everyone agrees. 

So. In short, if for nothing else, go to Rome for the food. Whatever else you find along the way will be a bonus.