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!

Pizzeria da Baffetto

When asked what is the best pizza place in Rome, 9 out of 10 Romans would answer, “La Baffetto.” You always hear stories about the crazy Italian cooks who take their job so seriously. Well, this place would be no different. There is one man behind the counter.

He is responsible for every single pizza that is made. He rolls out the dough,he put on the sauce, the cheese, the toppings of your choice, and puts it in the brick oven. The past 3 times that I have been there, he has not been able to speak above a whisper because he has lost his voice from screaming at the waiters! Who doesn’t like a bit of entertainment while they eat?It opens at 6:30

pm, and if you are not there by 6:35, you are waiting on a line to be seated. I have seen the line up to 50 people deep. You know the pizza is worth it when people are willing to wait. If you are a party of two, they will sit you next to another party of twoat the same table in order to make more room. So far I have sat next to couples from Paris, Japan, and Ireland. My go-to pizza is Pizza con Peperoni (no, not the meat, in Italian that means green peppers). The pizzas range from 6-8 euros, what a deal!

95 Types of Spaghetti

When asked where to go for a good meal in Italy, five of my family members/friends replied,

“There is this amazing spaghetti place near the Trevi Fountain, but I forget the name.” So, me being the pasta lover than I am, I went on a mission to find this spaghetti that everyone is talking about.

L’Archetto. Do not forget the name! I kid you not; they have 95 different types of Spaghetti. I have been there… 7 times and have had:

spaghetti with spinach and ricotta cheese

spaghetti with fried eggplant and mozzarella in tomato sauce

spaghetti with shrimp and asparagus in tomato sauce

spaghetti with vegetable and shrimp in a cream sauce

spaghetti with garlic, oil, and hot pepper

spaghetti with vodka sauce (only time I have seen it in Rome, had to try it)

spaghetti with broccoli and hot pepper in a garlic sauce

Nothing has yet to disappoint me! I am on a mission to see how many of the spaghettis I can try! I will, obviously, keep you posted!

Kebab: No Squire Required

As we walked around Florence in search of some late night food, we stumbled upon heaven! We saw a huge line waiting formed outside this whole-in-the-wall restaurant. We ordered what everyone else ordered, kebabs. Imagine our surprise when instead of meat and veggies on a squire we get: French fries, chipotle sauce, lamb, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and yogurt sauce all wrapped up in a toasted gyro. I cannot even explain to you the flavors that attack your mouth. It’s so spicy, so refreshing, so juicy, so PERFECT.

Now, we have kebab in Rome, but nothing has yet to compare to the amazing “kebab/gyro/burrito thing” we ate in Florence.

Ps. we got kebabs all three nights we were there!

Acqua al’ Due

WARNING: Sorry vegetarians, this place isn’t for you!

If you do not attend this restaurant while in Florence, Italy, it will be something you will regret for the rest of your life.

A Florentine Steak. If you are a meat-lover, I am sure you have heard a thing or two about it. A huge slab of beef with a side of blood. These steaks are cooked RARE.

I heard from many people that if I was going to be in Florence, I had to go the Acqua al’ Due for dinner. And, boy, am I glad I listened! Imagine this:

1^st course: The Pasta Sampler. This is a quick and delicious way to get ride of all of their extra pasta. You get around 5 samplers of pasta. Instead of ordering which ones you want, they bring whichever they have left over in the pot. We got: pasta with spinach, pumpkin risotto, pasta with gorgonzola cheese, pasta with melanzane, pasta with vegetables. One pasta after another. Each one better than the last.

2^nd course: Balsamic Steak vs. Blueberry Steak. This restaurant is known for these two steaks. Who would ever think that either, blueberry or balsamicvinegar, would taste good on a steak? I can’t even begin to explain how good they are. The blueberry is sweet and savory at the same time. The balsamic vinegar is this thick sauce that almost taste like chocolate. My two favorite things, chocolate and steak! Good luck deciding which one to choose!

Dessert: triple chocolate cake. Enough said.

This restaurant is unlike any place I have been in Italy. The place is packed with people from all different countries and we are all there to eat the exact same thing! Talk about a melting pot!