Where to Eat in Rome

Rome is a great food city. If you're planning on visiting, I'm going to assume you know this. A good meal isn't hard to find, but some places are definitely better than others. Three things I used to find good restaurants were:

1. TripAdvisor: For those of you familiar with Yelp, it works in the same way, but in Italy. If you go on their site and search "restaurants near Rome," it'll give you a pretty good list of recommendations. That's how I found a lot of these places.
2. Watch for Stickers: If you see a restaurant with a lot of stickers in the window, that's an excellent sign. The more the better, I've found. Be sure to look not only for Tripadvisor stickers (make sure they say "recommended" or "certificate of excellence" and not just "review us") but also for any with dates on them, like "Roma 2014" or something like that. These are usually signs of good places to eat.
3. Who is there/When?: When you walk by a restaurant, do you see mostly tourists or a bunch of locals? If you see a lot of locals eating there, that's a good sign. This is especially true if you see the restaurant packed at like 2 PM or 6 PM, times that are less busy than the respective lunch and dinner rushes. A restaurant being busy or having a line all the time is a double-edged sword. It means you have to wait a bit, but it's also the sign of a great restaurant that's probably worth waiting for. This is a great way to find good restaurants anywhere, not just in Rome.

While it's hard to go wrong with food in Rome, here's a few of the places I tried and would recommend going. Keep in mind that these places are takeout restaurants or street food. If you're looking for a fancy, upscale meal with friendly waiters in a place that oozes luxury, this list isn't for you. I travel on a budget and I'm also a firm believer in the fact that you can get as good if not better food from downscale local places than any fancy 5-star restaurant. At all of these places, you can get amazing food for €8-9 or less.

The Essentials--Places I'd consider can't-misses and worth going out of your way for:

One of Biscottificio Innocenti's owners and their cookies

Biscottificio Innocenti, Via della Luce, 21 (Trastevere): Holy shit, these cookies. The bakery is tucked away on a side street. If you can find the street, the bakery shouldn't be too hard to find--not because it's obvious, but because you can smell the delicious sugary smell from a good distance. The bakery is a family business that's been going for 4 generations, so they know how to bake cookies. Every single cookie I tried was incredible. They somehow manage to give them all a perfect texture. Not too chewy, but not too crunchy either. I can only describe it as "just right" and every one is a heavenly sensation in your mouth. I recommend getting the assorted cookies. It's a little more expensive, but for €6 (300 g) you get a pretty full bag, and it's a great way to try all the types of cookies they have. A majority of them are sugar cookies, but a good number have chocolate, nuts, coconut, or raisins. It took a good deal of restraint to not eat the entire bag in one sitting. This place is definitely a must visit if you're in Rome.

Da Simo's sandwich with chicken, pork, lamb, and chicory

Da Simo... pane e vino, Via di Parione, 34 (near Piazza Navona): This is one of the places in Rome I'm going to miss the most. They have the best sandwiches I had in the city. Whenever I needed my meat fix, I went here. The workers are all extremely friendly and speak pretty good English, and they knew me by name by the last couple times I visited. The sandwiches are a little more expensive than other places in Rome (€4.50 for half, €6 for full), but you get what you pay for. They're big, they have a lot of meat, they're insanely delicious. I've had the one with chicken, pork, and lamb, the one with boiled beef, onions, and chicory, and one with meatball and artichoke and they've all been crazy good. They also have a nice selection of beers in the fridge, though I never really took advantage of that because I usually had class right after I ate lunch. The seating area is subpar (all outside and on cheap tables), and they do tend to take their time, especially when they're busy, but the sandwiches are more than worth it.

Gelateria Frigidarium, Via del Governo Vecchio, 112 (between Piazza Navona & Castel Sant'Angelo): Hands down the best gelato in Rome. I've had some very good gelato in Rome, but this place is consistently head-over-heels better than any other place I've been (the only better gelato I've had anywhere was in Florence). There is usually a bit of a line, but don't be intimidated. It moves quickly and the gelato is totally worth the wait. €2 gets you a small cup (2 flavors) and then you have the option to dip it in white or dark chocolate. Frigidarium, the namesake flavor, is the best in my opinion. It's yellow with a chocolate swirl and cookies sticking up out of it and it tastes like a buttery chocolate cookie. Other flavors I really liked were the dark chocolate (fondente) (which is especially good if you combine it with the caffé flavor) and cannolo (cannoli). You won't go wrong with any flavor though. I've made a point to try at least one new flavor every time I went and everything I had there was amazing.

Trapizzino's coda alla vaccinaria (oxtail)

Trapizzino Testaccio, Via Giovanni Branca, 88 (Testaccio neighborhood)- A trapizzino is basically a pocket made out of pizza dough and filled with a variety of things. I've had the chicken cacciatore and the oxtail (coda alla vaccinanara) and they've both been amazing, though I think I liked the ox tail more. I think the concept of a trapizzino is unique to this restaurant, which has two branches in Rome, though I've only visited the Testaccio location. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but around lunch, there's usually a line or a crowd of people around it, which is always a great sign. Just be warned that since it's street food, seating is limited.

Other favorites: A tier below "can't miss," but also incredibly good.

Bar Amore's cappuccino

Bar Amore, 41 Via dei Banchi Nuovi (between Piazza Navona & Castel Sant'Angelo)- I went here probably more than any other restaurant in Rome, for three reasons: 1). It's right next to the UC study center, 2). It's delicious, 3). It's a great value. This place is really easy to miss. The only thing that makes it place stick out from the street is a thin sign that says "snack bar," that you probably wouldn't pay attention to unless you knew it was there. There's usually a line when you go in, and there's two areas of the restaurant: one where you can order a panino or a pastry, and then the coffee bar. Their cappuccinos are truly some of the best I had in Rome. I didn't drink a cappuccino the last day I was in Rome because I wanted my last cappuccino in Italy to be from Bar Amore. Their paninis are also great. They have several different types of meat and vegetables to choose from as fillings, and the portions are also pretty big for Italy. It's a great place to get coffee and/or lunch.

Suppli'

I Suppli', Via di S. Francesco a Ripa, 137 (Trastevere)- Suppli', for those who don't know, is a fried rice ball filled with meat sauce and cheese. Yes, it's as good as it sounds, maybe even better. I about cried the first time I had suppli' because of just how good it was. I Suppli' is easy to miss. I walked past it a good 2-3 times without ever noticing it, but just look for a mob of people eating rice balls outside, and that should help you find it. They also have pasta and pizza, which I didn't try, but the suppli' is the main attraction, and at €1.20 a piece, it's a great deal. They're kinda small, but they're definitely filling.

Pasta e Vino's Fettuccine Carbonara

Pasta e Vino Come na vorta, 
Vicolo Del Cinque 40 (Trastevere)- Really good pasta place. They have some of the tastiest and richest carbonara (a Roman specialty made with cheese, pork cheek, cream, black pepper, and eggs) in Rome. They seem to have perfected "al dente," as the pasta consistency is perfect. This is probably due to how fresh it is. You can see the pasta being made right in front of you. The restaurant has a window in front of a cutting board where you can watch the owner knead the dough and then cut it into pasta-shaped strips and prepare it to be cooked. It's a little more expensive than some of the other pasta take away places in town, but not overpriced by any means (€6-7.5 per plate). Just be sure to plan ahead if you decide to go. Seating availability is limited and this place also likes to take its time making your food.

Fettuccine with Pesto

Pasta Imperiale, Via dei Coronari, 160, (Pretty close to Castel Sant'Angelo): I'm sad because I only got to visit this place once, on my last night in Rome. The pasta I had, though, was excellent--truly some of the best I had in Rome. I had the pesto and it was absolutely fantastic. I'm not sure if I've ever had such fresh, tasty, and cheesy pesto. I really regret not finding this place sooner. You can also get it in a combo meal, which is €8-9 and includes pasta, a piece of tiramisu and a bottle of water. The restaurant has a couple small tables, but not much. I didn't get to eat my food there at all, so I can't comment too much on it.

Cappuccino & mini cannoli 

Sicilia e Duci, Viale di Trastevere, 69 (Trastevere): This was a place I found on accident when I was walking somewhere and impulsively decided to get coffee. They have pretty good coffee and excellent Sicilian pastries. This was my favorite place to get a cannoli in Rome. They have mini cannolis that are delicious, only €1, and not so big and filling as in other places. They also have freddo, which is one of the only ways to get iced coffee in Rome. Like many cafés, they also have actual food, which I didn't try, but can only assume is delicious based off the quality of the other stuff they had. It's a great place for a mid-afternoon snack and coffee.

Solopasta's spaghetti carbonara & wine

Solopasta, Via della Vetrina, 1 (Between Piazza Navona & Castel Sant'Angelo)- Really good pasta place. I've had the carbonara and ragu' before and they're both excellent. The best part about this place is the deal you get: €5 gets you a big plate of delicious pasta AND a drink, which is pretty much unbeatable. They have Peroni, the standard Italian beer, red and white wine, and water to choose from. Just don't go if you're in a hurry. The place is small and it can take them a little time to get your order out, but it's worth it for the food and the value.

Honorable mentions: Pompi (Via Albalonga, 7, near the Spanish Steps), Il Pastaio di Roma (Via dei Coronari, 102/103, down the street from Pasta Imperiale), Caffe' Lungara 1940 (Via della Lungara, 14, Northern Trastevere)

Now go to Rome and eat like motherf'ing royalty.

More Notes on Rome

Song

You know those movies or books that are basically just a collection of short stories or vignettes, loosely united by a common theme? That's this post. Imagine me as Tarantino minus the cartoonish violence.

Rush Hour- Growing up in Los Angeles, I'm no stranger to traffic, but Rome's rush hour is pretty insane. I normally walk to class instead of take the tram because it's cheaper and the exercise justifies the plate of carbonara I'm most likely going to shove down my throat during lunch, but I've had the (dis)pleasure of being a part of Rome's rush hour a couple times. I live in Trastevere, which is a neighborhood West and across the river from the center of town. In the morning, every street on my route to class, in the center of town, is gridlocked. Cars try to squeeze through any way they can on the narrow streets, creating lots of honking and near misses.

The train on a day I walked to class.

         "Wow, that sounds bad, Noah," you're probably saying, "but you should take the train and you'll be fine, right?" Wrong. One time, I was going to take the train to class with a few classmates. The train showed up and it was so full that it was physically impossible for me to get on, even when everybody squished in as far in as they could. There was nothing I could do. I'm not small and neither is my backpack, so as the train doors closed and departed with my classmates inside, I was left at the station. It felt like one of those old movies when someone says goodbye to somebody leaving on the train, except it was more of an, "oh crap. I guess I'm walking" reaction instead of a teary, heartbreak-filled goodbye.
           However, this only seems to be a problem outside of the downtown touristy area. Once I got to the center of town (this was about 9 AM), the streets were surprisingly empty. I guess the tourist area doesn't get busy until later in the day.

Cappuccinos are the best. Never let anyone tell
you otherwise.

Coffee- Coffee culture is everywhere and I love it. Every restaurant or snack bar has coffee, every street vendor sells espresso makers, and I've even seen a few coffee vending machines. This all means that I haven't had a bad cup since I've been here (I'm not doing that cup I had on the plane the decency of calling it "coffee"). Cappuccinos have become my drink of choice. For those of you who don't know, it's a shot of espresso with warm, foamy milk (and sometimes cocoa powder) on top. It's simple, but delicious. It's cheap as hell too. The most I've paid for coffee here is €1.5, which, even with the exchange rate, is still cheaper than any halfway decent cup of coffee I could get in the US. Granted, the portions are smaller since coffee and espresso mean the same thing here, but it doesn't matter because it's so good and these little shots of espresso pack a punch in terms of caffeine. One shot of espresso does me just as well as a 16 oz drip coffee. Unfortunately for me, an avid iced coffee drinker, it's a lot harder to find cold coffee. It exists and is called either a freddo (basically sweet cold brew espresso) or a shakerato (made by shaking ice, sugar, and hot espresso together in a cocktail shaker), but they're usually a little more expensive and harder to find.

Have a generic crowd shot for lack of anything else relevant

Clothing- People seem put a lot more effort into fashion here than they do in America. The Romans dress well and seem make an effort to look nice and put together outfits. As someone who puts next to no effort into fashion as it is, I feel a bit underdressed. This is especially true when I wear shorts. Wearing shorts is a great way to immediately be identified as a tourist. The only people I've seen wearing shorts, even in warmer weather, are foreigners. The only Italians who don't have their legs covered are women wearing skirts and children. Ever since I realized this, I've tried to wear long pants when I can and when it isn't too hot, but since the rest of my wardrobe consists of t-shirts and tennis shoes, I still look like an underdressed foreigner. Part of me wants to try to dress the part of a European a little more, but the other part of me knows I don't have money to burn (I'd rather spend it on food) or an adequate knowledge of fashion to make it happen.

Sandwich with chicken, pork, lamb, and chicory. Oh god yes

The Standard of Food: One of the things I've noticed is that in Italy, the standard of food seems to be much higher than in America. There are very few chains, meaning every other restaurant is locally owned. This makes me happy. There also seems to be an emphasis on fresh ingredients and local products. It's like this place was made for a food lover/hipster like me. Both of these things make a huge difference in the quality of food (free cooking tip while I'm at it: Fresh ingredients absolutely matter). Even the more average meals I've had here are as good as the above average ones in America. Though I still try to go to the highest-rated places, there's much less of a risk at ending up getting a subpar meal than if you wander into any restaurant in the US. I'm not going to lie, the food is probably my favorite thing about Rome.

The Communist Party door I mentioned. I love the fact that it's
red. It's so cool, it's Com-rad. I'll see myself out.

The Presence of Communism- In America, thanks to Mr. McCarthy and others, "communist" and "socialist" have (unjustly) become dirty words few are willing to publicly associate with. However, the only Red Scare in Italian history was called "fascism," and we all know how well that went over. Therefore, Communism doesn't have the stigma it does in America, so it's still alive and kicking. It's pretty common to see the sickle and hammer graffitied on walls when you're out walking, and I've also seen some campaign posters for Communist politicians. On my way to class, I also pass by an office for the Communist Party, sitting there amongst the gelato shops and a gift stores on a big street. It's something that shouldn't surprise me but does. Communism is such a taboo thing in American politics that I've been led to believe it's a dead philosophy nobody but extremists believe in any more. That may be true in the US, but definitely not in Italy.

Taken in downtown Naples, on one of the major streets. 

Crosswalks- Pedestrian signals are completely arbitrary. Crossing the street is all about being opportunistic. There are pedestrian signals (which look like stoplights, but with a pedestrian silhouette), but following them might actually be more dangerous than just jaywalking. Often times, the light will be red but no traffic is coming, so it's perfectly safe to go. Other times, the signal is green, so you step out in the street and almost get run over by a Porsche, a taxi, and 3 motor scooters, who all honk at you to get out of their way. For big roads, the signals do help, but in general, it's best to disregard the signal and cross when others cross or when there's no traffic coming. Roman drivers also think they own the road and won't hesitate to honk at you or speed past you when you're a foot or two away. I never want to drive here. I feel like I'd get in a crash within a week, and I consider myself a pretty good driver.

I take classes in this building.

Classes- Oh yeah, those. That's right, Noah's actually doing studying in Europe and not just taking a 3 month vacation. Kinda forgot, right? I'm taking one about 20th century Italian history through film and one about Early Modern Europe. They're alright, though it's hard when they have to cram a quarter's worth of work into 5 weeks. If you thought the quarter system was fast-paced, try this on for size. Because of this tight schedule, the classes are 3 hours long. I don't care how interesting the class is--that's brutal. Oh, and I'm procrastinating on them by writing this post. Whoops.

Getting There is Much, Much Less Than Half the Fun

           Let's set the mood with some Black Keys.

            Whoever said “getting there is half the fun” is a filthy liar, or at least had a very different experience of travel. Here's how my weird day unfolded:

            4:35 AM (CA time)—I stayed up packing last night, so I ended up getting only 3 hours of sleep. Despite my best efforts to squeeze in a few extra minutes of sleep, I accepted my fate and woke up. I reluctantly got out of bed 5 minutes later, and, scrolling through facebook, learned of the terrorist attack in Brussels. I know the odds of me being involved in something like this, even if it did happen in Rome or Madrid when I'm there, are slim to none, but it was definitely an ominous note to start the day off on. 

           I made it to LAX in about an hour with a surprisingly reasonable amount of traffic. There were thankfully no lines at the airport. 

To my delight, it actually WAS sunny
in Philadelphia (It's Always Sunny in
Philadelphia is one of my favorite shows)

           8:45 AM--I sat next to one guy from the program on the flight, so I talked with him a little, but I knocked out for a good 3.5-4 hours of the flight. I was so tired that it came easily.

            1:30 CA time/4:30 PM Philadelphia time—Arrived in Philadelphia. Outside the exit, I met with a bunch of other people from the program and we walked from gate A6 or so to A18, which were a surprisingly large distance apart.

            4:45 PM (PA time)—Still walking to the new gate, I saw a woman in workout clothes jogging through the airport. Is it sad that this is the first thing on a list of “things I’ve never seen before” for this trip?

I immediately went in search of food. I got a crappy, overpriced slice of pizza and a chicken breast covered in sauce with a slice of cheese on top that could loosely be called "chicken parmigiana." Coming back, I dropped the chicken and saw $4.50 splatter on the floor along with that sauce. It was a tragedy. We left Philadelphia about 6:50 PM.

            7:40 PM PA time/12:40 AM Rome time—For the first time in years, I was served a free meal on a flight. It wasn't bad for what it was either.

Proof of the 2:15 turbulence, on the GPS
on the TV on the seat in front of me

2:15 AM Rome time—I managed to sleep for about an hour and a half, but woke up again because of an announcement about turbulence over the ocean. According to the GPS map on the screen in front of me, it was right over the place where the Titanic crashed, so it was a little eerie.

2:32 AM—I was definitely awake now. I had coughing lady to my right and snoring man behind me. I wasn't sure which one I wanted to be around less, since they were both making it hard to sleep. I really want to whip out my phone and check facebook and/or scroll through reddit to pass the time, but I couldn’t because I’m on a plane. #problems

3:50 AM—Just under halfway and it’s become really difficult to sleep. My mind says sleep, but every other part of my body wants to be awake, since I was really only awake for a few hours today (or yesterday. I dunno, time is weird). It’s harder too because comfort has begun to matter. I couldn’t fall asleep purely on tiredness, like I did on the first flight or even earlier in this one.

4:00 AM—The guy next to me needed to get out to use the bathroom, so I used this as an excuse to get up and walk a bit. It felt amazing. Spent 10 minutes just pacing up and down the aisle, moving my body in any way I could in such a small space. Unfortunately I think woke several people up in the process, including coughing lady and snoring man. Crap.

5:00 AM—It was less “sleeping” and more “closing my eyes and hoping to find a comfortable position” at this point. I gave up on sleeping and decided to do some writing instead. I also managed to freeze the TV screen in front of me, which had a map of where the plane was, so it no longer gave me this information, nor could I turn it off.

7:00 AM—Got a surprisingly refreshing sleep for a little over an hour. I woke up to a bright cabin and free continental breakfast. I feel pretty rested and a lot less terrible than I did when I fell asleep. They offered coffee, so I tried it. I honestly didn’t know it was possible to make coffee taste like literal garbage, but apparently it is. Like, I don’t know if I’ve ever had a worse cup of coffee, or even if such a concept is possible. I really wish I was exaggerating about this. Not even cream and sugar could save this steaming drink that tried to call itself "coffee."

8:15 AM—The guy sitting next to me finally opened the window for the first time 8 hours, so I got my first view of foreign waters, and I only caught glimpses of land a minute or two before we landed.

My first view, albeit a crappy one, of Italy from the plane

The first thing I noticed in the airport is just how much better than LAX it is. It’s clean, organized, and it feels relatively pleasant to be in, none of which can be said about LAX.

I walked through the airport and as I was about to go to the baggage claim, I had to go up to a window. A lady unenthusiastically stamped my passport and I walked right through. 

I was going to write a whole separate post about how traveling to Europe in the wake of a terrorist attack was, and make a big deal out of the heightened security and how customs took an especially long time and how the security was hyper-present and relate this all to the human condition and the world's political situation.

Nope.

At the baggage claim, I was talking to a couple people on the program and asked, "so when do we go through customs?" and they were like, "that WAS customs." I'd heard horror stories about customs taking hours and involving long lines and gigantic pains for everyone involved, so I was shocked at how quick and nonchalant everything was.

Even security seemed lax. I saw two security guards in the entire airport. I really thought security would be airtight with a major police presence and customs would be especially strict, but apparently not, at least not in the part of the airport I saw.
This was one of the weirdest days of my life, both because of that and the things time does to you. I was only awake about 8-9 hours out of what was essentially a 16-hour day because of the 8 hour time difference between California and Rome.

So the story ends a little anti-climactically. I've been here a full afternoon and evening now, but I need more time to write something interesting about it, so I'll leave it here.
 In one of the two words I know in Italian, Ciao.