Monday, April 6, 2009

Ciao Roma!

Alright, this fourth and final post ought to round things out nicely, and then I promise I'll quit hogging the blog again. So, without further ado:

ROME

On our first night in Rome, the concierge at our hotel directed us to a family-run trattoria called Cecio. My sister ordered this "Exotic Salad," which she was forced to share with me because it was pretty large and in charge. Oh, and yes, we totally got french fries (FRITES!)
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I'm pretty proud that I chose this dish independently, because I later read in a guide book that it's a specialty in Rome (despite being invented elsewhere). This monster, ordered at Cecio, is Buccatini all'amatriciana. Buccatini is a type of pasta that looks like spaghetti but is actually a tube. The sauce is typically made with bacon (or pancetta, or pork of some kind), tomatoes and pecorino cheese, which is a new favorite of mine (and ridiculously expensive at Trader Joe's). Also, I learned that they serve it at Babbo's in NYC, which is even more incentive for me to go there.


Dessert at Cecio. It was only passable, but by this point I didn't notice because I was a few glasses of Vino Rosso in...and then I got the following dessert drink...


I especially appreciate that the glass itself was labelled, just to avoid confusion. Nice touch, Cecio. Anyway, as we all know, Irish coffee is just strong alcohol that tastes vaguely like coffee. So way to go, Ireland.


I picked up some street pizza from a cart outside the Vatican. It kind of TASTED like street pizza (think Cedar Point pizza, Ohioans...not great), but it was a pretty cool concept. Basically, it's a pizza...folded in half. So practical! And all Americans could come up with were stupid slices!? (Interrobang) Give me a break.


I ordered Buccatini again! It's just so delicious, I couldn't resist. It turned out to be a good idea, because this version (from a trattoria called Nuova Stella) was actually better than Cecio's dish. Sorry, Cecio!


On our last day in Rome we happened on Babington's Tea Room, which seemed vaguely familiar and which I'm pretty sure is famous. In any case, it's located near the bottom of the Spanish Steps across from the most intense shopping district in Rome, Via Condita. Everything was QUITE expensive, but it was worth it because THIS SCONE WAS BASICALLY THE BEST THING I'VE EVER EATEN. It seems like such a simple thing, something incapable of being any better or any worse than others of its kind, but this is not the case at all. Aside from my meal at A Putia Ro Vinu in Sicily, it was the best food I ate all week. Plus, it was served with whipped cream and jam! And my vanilla tea was SO GOOD! What a lovely way to spend my final afternoon in Rome!

6 comments:

CaseyMustPie said...

mm bacon sauce

mwr said...

props on the interrobang

k said...

that salad looks wonderful and i would like to eat it.

nrg said...

you've discovered my second love in life...Irish Coffee!!

k said...

what's your first nick?

eLs said...

YEAH NICK WHAT IS IT?