When in Rome…eat a lot
I really do not know where to start but to say that I barely scratched the surface of what Rome has to offer. Which is funny because of the years of history that Rome has been built on. How amazing that you can dig just a few feet and see pristine marble floors?
Walking Food Tour
Before I get into this glorious food tour, I have to give the backstory how it was booked. Last year, my parents and I planned a trip to London and Paris and my mom does her due diligence when traveling. Whenever I would call, she and my dad would tell me about recommendations they heard from Rick Steves. “Rick Steves says to go to the museum on Thursdays. The seventh arrondissement is the best place to stay, according to Rick. Rick, Rick, Rick.” Every time we spoke, they were talking about this Rick. One night my mom starts talking about how in one of Rick’s videos he…I cut her off. Wait, you have a friend that makes Youtube travel videos? The entire time I was thinking this Rick was a friend of my dad’s but he’s an actual published travel guide.
So thanks to my parents’ good friend, Rick, my mom found Eating Europe Food Tours. Although they only had one spot available during the time we wanted, I emailed the contact and they were able to extend another spot for me. Talk about starting off on the right foot. We chose the four hour Twilight Trastevere tour. Trastevere has to be the most awesome area I’ve ever been to. It’s tiny cobblestone streets and ancient buildings make it mesmerizingly romantic and hip at the same time. Like Brooklyn, where residents already knew it was happenin’ and then the outsiders came in with their Columbusing.
Second bonus point for Eating Europe — we were running late, huge surprise, I know. Traffic was causing us to be 20 minutes late to the meeting point. I called the number on the ticket and not only were they able to tell us where the first restaurant was, they asked to speak to the driver to communicate this to him.
Many of the restaurants we visited were not yet open to the public for dinner, with Romans eating later in the evening. The exclusivity made it great for the group of 10 to hear the guide, whose name was Chiara (third bonus point because I have had excellent experiences with a Chiara). We hit FIVE different stops before we sat down for the main course.
First stop: Da Enzo al 29, a tiny restaurant; Food: Prosciutto and melon, Stracciatella (the creamy inside of burrata which I had to clue was an actual thing. That’s the best part), paired with Prosecco
Second stop: Spirito Di Vino, housed in a structure that was once a synagogue and built in 80BC. We visited the cellar where a statue that now sits in the Vatican Museum was discovered; Food: A pork shoulder stew made from a recipe belonging to Julius Caesar’s cook, paired with a Sicilian wine
Third stop: Innocenti ,a bakery that does not use any animal byproducts; Food: Biscottis, but not the long prepackaged ones you’re thinking of. Biscotti is just a general name for cookies and we tried 3 of them.
Fourth stop: La Norolneria, a small deli; Food: This was my all time favorite and I’m a little sad that we didn’t have time to go back — porchetta. OMG, was that swine fine. Unctuous goodness.
Fifth stop: I Supplì, a shop so small our guide Chiara asked us to wait outside; Food: Suppli and a slice of pizza with enough garlic in the sauce to make it spicy
Sixth stop: (I can’t remember the name), where we sat on a cute covered patio; Food: Carbonara, pesto and spinach stuffed ravioli which we were too stuffed to really enjoy and I was too tired to take a picture.
Seventh & final dessert stop: Fatamorgana; Food: Gelato, duh. Chiara gave us a firsthand lesson on how to tell the real gelato from the fake stuff we see all of the time. Tips — real gelato does not have wild colors and it is very dense so those high whipped piles you’ve seen, nope.
I can’t recommend this food tour enough. It’s not corny or touristy because you know I’m way too cool for that. Chiara was extremely knowledge not just about the restaurants or food, but history as well. So bonus for you — Eating Europe Food Tours holds tours in Rome, Florence, Venice, London, Amsterdam and Prague. If you use the code “Chiara” you will receive 10% off. You’re welcome.
