Italian vacation: Rome food tour
My wife and I just finished a visit to Rome. Our primary goal was to get the authentic impression of the city while taking on the best Rome food tour. We wanted to walk along the picturesque ancient lanes discovering the centuries-old history. We listened to stories about the history of Rome, the traditions, and the lifestyle of Italians, and of course, to taste the main Italian dishes in local restaurants!
The took a food tour in Trastevere area, the famous culinary district. This choice for a gastronomic excursion was not chosen by accident: it is not just the oldest, but also the most authentic part of Rome with a labyrinth of cobbled streets, drying clothes on clothesline and tavern tables covered with white and red tablecloths. The atmosphere is quiet and deserted in the afternoon, but everything around comes to life in the evening. The streets are crowded with a motley crowd of holidaymakers, and hundreds of restaurants open their doors for noisy lovers to eat and to drink.
Rome for gourmets: Italian cuisine secrets
Food in Rome is a national pleasure, all-embracing, all-consuming. First of all, you do not have to go to expensive restaurants for gastronomic ecstasy. Italian cuisine is democratic by nature, and you’ll try the best oysters in the market, the most delicious carbonara in your life – in an inconspicuous eatery for local people, and anyone can afford delightful lemon ice cream, like the young Gunter Grass.
To immerse yourself in the Rome Food Tour you need knowledge of secrets, places, nooks, where only a man who knows the city masterly can guide you. Roman guides from “Eyes of Rome” gladly take you to their favorite establishments, will show those restaurants of Trastevere, where local patrons gather, and also teach you to prepare classic dishes of Roman cuisine, among them Bucatini Alla Matratchana, crostata di ricotta, pâtés and dishes with truffles, porketta.
Our first Rome Food Walking Tour stop was Cheese and prosciutto in the Antica Caciara cheese and meat shop since 1900. Signor Roberto, whose family runs this shop for more than a century, had stood behind the counter since the time he was a 13-year-old adolescent. Now he has 54 years of work experience in cheese and meat delicacies. Our guide together with Roberto told about different types of cheese, Italian ham and sausages and how to choose and store them. We have tried the most valuable – the real Prosciutto di Parma, the Speck Alto Adige paddock, the Milan salami, the Pecorino Romano sheep cheese, popular since the time of the Roman legionaries, and the unique Parmigiano Reggiano 30 months old! Contrary to globalization, the real Parmesan remains only made and seasoned in the northern regions of Parma and Reggio.
Also, we wanted to learn a lot about the best wines in Italy, the secrets of choosing wines and combinations with dishes, learn to “read the label” and taste the wine in the Italian manner. The Romee Food Tour has plunged us into the incredible world of Italian wines that are an integral part of the Italy culture. We were tasting the biological Italian wine in the fashionable Alebic. The Italians begin their dinner with a glass of wine and a traditional aperitif. In the sacred 18:00 the doors of bars and enotecas start to open, where the main conversation issues are wine and football, women, food, and beauty. There is a unique atmosphere here, you will feel it! You will be offered a noble biological wine Nobili di Montepulciano or Chianti from Sangiovese, the main grape of Tuscany, or a fragrant tracer from the slopes of the Italian Alps – the best choice for lovers of white wine.
My wife has the sweet tooth, so her favorite part of the Rome Food Tour was traditional Italian sweets from the Innocenti old bakery which had opened since 1910. Crispy biscotti, crumbly wine Ghibelline, fragrant almond paste and favorites of many walnut Brutti. Stephanie was waiting for us with this branded pastry and a sincere smile. It is a family bakery, where her great-grandfather baked the first plate more than 100 years ago! After all, she invited us to come and to revisit her bakery during the spring holidays to enjoy the taste of the traditional Italian Easter sweet bread with almonds, or “mimosa” – in Italy this is not a salad, but a delicious spring dessert!
