Roman Holiday - the food

when in Rome...

one must sample everything... especially the food!

(1) bucatini all'amatriciana - all the rich sauce goes inside these hose-shaped pasta making it more delicious!  Chef Mario Batali frequently does this dish in his many restaurants :)

(2) spaghetti cacio e pepe - also a Batali favorite, a simple pasta dish with just cheese and pepper

(3) pizza con le acciughe - with anchovies

(4) pizza quattro stagioni - what can i say?  he loves his pizzas.

(5) tiramisu - what?! visiting Rome and didn't sample the tiramisu??!!

in Pompi???? (via della Croce 82, near the Spanish Steps)

(6) the classic simple canolli - a Sicilian pastry dessert that melts in your mouth!  found this one in a tiny shop on a nondescript street on our way to the Pantheon

(7) a day is incomplete without gelato!  they have many interesting flavors like prosciutto, foie gras, habanero, avocado, etc., i chose the simple ones, combining, coffee, chocolate, banana and coconut.

(8) Silvano, our hotel's pastry chef was very proud of his chocolate truffles and they were soo good I had to take a picture.  he was so pleased and told me to spread the word (i'd be glad to!)

(9) like every holiday we go to, i always do extensive research online before visiting a place.  in many of my online searches, this Sant Eustachio coffee shop off the Piazza Navona always came out tops so me and the mister had to try this one out.  i ordered a cappuccino "banco" which basically means i will be drinking it standing up right at the counter and not "tavolo" which is more expensive because you will be sitting down in one of the tables.

no wonder its been voted the no. 1 coffee in Rome... it is heavenly! there's something in it that's very sophisticated and earthly at the same time.  not too cloyingly sweet and not too strong either.  

i bought these chocolate bon-bons as a souvenir :)

(10) another great coffee place is the distinctly italian brand illy.

(11) another coffee i sampled in Rome is the ginseng coffee in Castroni.  only half a cup full and comes in a demitasse cup :P  i was left wanting more.

(12) pasta, pasta!  we found this unusual pasta shop in an alleyway on our way to the Trevi fountain selling very colorful pasta with whimsical designs! check this out: 

these farfalle or "butterfly" pasta is made with beetroot, seaweed, arugula and other colorful vegetables!

this spaghetti is made from pepperoncini, squid ink, seaweed and vegetables! we cooked this when we got home and it had a very nice flavor mixed together with the sauces!  i just wished i could have bought more.

(13) street food in Rome! like the roasted chestnuts below:

fresh and crunchy coconut chunks:

hot donald's buns hehe

(14) French macarons bought at Laduree, a French pastry shop - pistachio, strawberry, chocolate and vanilla.

(15) seared tuna in sesame seeds - so simple and yet so tasty! we ate this at a restaurant near our hotel in the middle of the night when we were so bushed from a day of sight-seeing.  washed down with a glass of spumanti, of course

(16) and lastly, still in Castroni... i bought some familiar goodies from my childhood :)