Arrivederci!

I want to take a moment to say “Grazie Mile” (thanks so much) to Rome for the best food I have ever eaten.

The Last Supper

Tonight was our last meal with our host parents in Rome. It was very upsetting, but always delicious! For the first course, Anna made linguini with tomato sauce with mozzarella melted in. I am going to miss her pasta. It always tastes so fresh! For our meat course we had Chicken Marsala. Which, I was surprised was Italian and even called the same thing! It was the best Chicken Marsala I have ever had. I do not think anything will ever compare. For dessert we had gelato both limone and fragole (lemon and strawberry).

Italian... Mexican Food?!

I am a burrito lover. Chipotle-obsessed. When I heard of a Mexican restaurant in Rome, I had to try it!

The Perfect Bun. It is located near Piazza Navona off of Vittorio Emanuele II. When you walk in, you are greeted by tables the length of the restaurant. It is family style, in that you are rubbing elbows with strangers as you eat. There are no table clothes, place mats or table settings. If there were, everything would just get dirty! And you eat burritos with your hands not a fork and knife. The Perfect Bun sets the perfect location to Mexican food. I ordered nachos and a burrito. It was A LOT of food. Unfortunately, the burrito was a bit too dry for my taste. Nothing can be Chipotle! But it was still a delicious restaurant and great scene!

Assisi: A Medieval Grill

Who would have thought that a restaurant in an old renaissance house stable would be my favorite meal in Italy? In an Assisi restaurant, there is a grill so big that it could cook an entire cow (no butcher necessary) sat in the center of the restaurant. The walls were straight out of hell, covered in soot and scratch makes from the ancient horses. A fat lady, who instead of singing, was in charge of the grill, flipped a vegetarian’s nightmare filled with steaks, pork chops, sausages and quail. The smell filled my mouth with drooling desire but the temperature in the restaurant felt like we were dining with the devil at his house. The barbaric meal of meat and potatoes made up for the heat. Cheese Kebabs? Smoked and crunchy mozzarella that oozed when you cut into it.

Buona Pasqua!!

Happy Easter Travelers! This morning my roommate and I were greeted by HUGE Uova di Pasqua (Solid Chocolate Easter Eggs) from our host mother. This helped us this morning because we were a bit homesick, not being able to be with our families on the holiday.

I was surprised by Easter in Rome. For a city that is rich with religion, they did not do much to celebrate. We got tickets to have mass at the Vatican with the

Pope and we all dressed up, like in America. Italians greeted us in jeans, hats, and even an ACDC t-shirt. In American, after Easter mass, you often attend a big Easter brunch with family or friends. Our program was excited to see how big Italians feasted on Easter. To our surprise, they treated it like any other day when it came to food. We made our reservation for brunch a week and a half in advance, imagining a rush of people. We were the only ones at the famous restaurant, San Marco. It was the oddest day.

Killer Cravings

When in another country for a long period of time, surrounded by different foods than you are not used to, there can be some strong cravings. Take me, for instance; I crave juicy cheeseburgers with a side of fries and a chocolate milkshake. Luckily, there is a restaurant that

can help me with that, the Hard Rock Café. It is an American chain that has restaurants all over the world. It is a bit more expensive than an Italian meal, ranging anywhere from 15-25 Euros. I have ordered every single American craving – nachos, potato skins, Buffalo wings, burgers, fries, Caesar salads, chicken tenders. They have this amazing Jumbo Combo that

comes with 5 chicken tenders, 5 Buffalo wings, 3 spring rolls, 4 potato skins, and 4 jumbo onion rings. It is a lot to handle but perfect for a day of homesickness!!

Chicken Parm is NOT Italian?!

Italians are very firm with this belief. They do not make it at dinner. They do not offer it at restaurants. What is so NOT Italian about it? It’s chicken, tomato sauce, and mozzarella cheese I will never quite understand their issue with it.

There is ONE restaurant that offers chicken parm. Not simply chicken parm, but the best I have ever eaten in my life. It is called Hostaria del Moro but it is better known as Tony’s in Trastevere. They bring it out in a hot skillet and it is covered with so much sauce and cheese that it looks like a pizza. It’s far from a pizza, but delicious juicy chicken (a rarity in itself, in Rome). I can’t say enough good things about it! What is so great is that Tony’s knows their target audience. Americans love Chicken parm. It is not hard to make, so why not make us happy and make money at the same time?

You will recognize Tony the second you walk in the door. He is the Italian with long hair, glasses around his neck, and a huge smile on his face greeting you! He is there to make the

experience everything you want. Frequent free desserts and the check being lowered just because, how can you go wrong?

I have also had their Spaghetti con Vongole (clams), Fettuccini al Pesto, Fetteccini al Salmone, and Spaghetti Bolognese . All, delicious as well!

You cannot go wrong at Tony's!