Showing posts with label Italy eating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Italy eating. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

It's Harder to Find Good Food in Rome Than You Think - My Two Secrets

I thought Rome was supposed to be one of the culinary capitals of the world.   I was wrong.

First of all, getting good pizza in Rome is a no brainer.  It’s everywhere you go. 

Pizza with anchovies, quite delicious and I'm no fan of anchovies
 
In fact, I think we ate it for lunch and dinner for at least two days in a row.  I do like pizza, but the main reason we kept eating it was we found the other food selections unappetizing. 

We had a few misses, for sure.  Here’s a big one:

Enoteca Capranica (by the Pantheon) - had expensive wine and food, and the service wasn’t that great either.

We also had a few places that were decent enough, but nothing to write home about.  They include:

Il Miraggio (by the Trevi Fountain)
Vincenzo alla Lungaretta (in Trastevere)
Gran Caffe Cavour (by the Coliseum)
Vernissage (by the Pantheon)

Vernissage - Not bad at all, but I wasn't sure what I was eating exactly
 
I finally convinced Frank we needed a really good meal in Rome before we departed and consulted the Rick Steves Italy book.  Frank is against Rick Steves, by the way, because he thinks it goes against everything about traveling.  I like research though, and I just consider it a tool.  And I’m glad I did.

The first restaurant it point us to was Hostaria Romana (Trip Advisor link here because I didn’t take my own pictures).  This place, not too far from Trevi Fountain, was filled with people, some tourists, some locals.  We got the appetizer platter, complete with fresh anchovies and different vegetables.

The next day, the Rick Steves book came in handy again when we found Ciccia Bomba.
 
Everything at Ciccia Bomba just seemed to glow!

Our first course, a flatbread with huge chunks of mozzarella, fresh leaves of argula, and delicious tomatoes.

Oh... my... gosh!  This was the most delicious flatbread ever!
I'm totally recreating it when I get the chance!
 
And it kept getting better.

 
I just had regular run-of-the-mill tomato sauce with pasta.  “When in Rome,” right?  Frank got swordfish carpaccio.  And to drink…

A restaurant after my heart...
 
Red wine… yep, it was €10.  For a liter.  Of wine.  In the U.S., they sell wine by the 750mL.  Rome is so SMART.

Our total meal, with an appetizer, two entrees, and wine?  About €35, less than the cost of two entrees alone back in the states.
 
Here’s what it’s not hard to find in Rome. 
 

Good gelato.  We tried to eat it every day of our two week journey in Italy.  It’s never very expensive, even at the most touristy spots.

This was a touristy gelator shop, Giolotti.  I'm not discriminating
though, it was still extremely delicious!

You’ll spend about €2 for a cup of gelato.  I’m not sure you could go wrong with any flavor, but after sampling dozens, my vote goes toward nutella gelato!


Total Cost: €35 for a full meal, €2 for gelato = $46

Best Deal: A liter of wine for €10 at Ciccia Bomba, that would be less than $13

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Monterosso al Mare - 5 Ways to Save in Cinque Terre Finale

You’ve drank and been fully entertained in the Cinque Terre, but what do you do when it comes to food?  That leads me to the fifth reason this region is so economical.

5. Dining in the Cinque Terre is one of the least expensive places I have ever experienced, especially in Monterosso al Mare.  Sure, you have this lovely scenery...
 
It's still early, but in a few hours, this beach is
bustling with people everywhere!
But imagine dining with that view without breaking the bank.   We spent just €18 for two sandwiches and a half liter of wine.  The rate of euro to dollar when we were there was €1 = $1.25.  That means our meal would have been about $22.  If you had two sandwiches and just two glasses of wine where I live in South Florida, this would be your bill.
Sandwich = $6
Sandwich = $6
Wine = $6
Wine = $6
Taxes = $1.44
Gratuity = $3.60
Which would be about $29, for not even as much wine. 

Here was our bill in Monterosso:
 
 
They have neither taxes nor gratuity in Italy.  They do have service charges sometimes, called “coperto” on your bill.  Waiters usually only charge it when you have bread with your meal, so if you don't want bread, make sure you notify the waiters.  On this bill, there is no coperto.

While I'm on the dining note, eating at a restaurant in Italy is not like eating in America.  You WILL be charged for water.  If you don't want it, don't let the waiter bring it.  You're almost better off buying wine.

Total Cost: €18 for two people to eat a tasty meal with drinks (that’s $22)

Best Deal: The anchovy plate we got for free in Riomaggiore because they only had a few left and didn’t charge us (people in the Cinque Terre are just that nice)