One becomes fluent in a cuisine as in a language, steeping oneself in its
idioms, getting its accents right,” said the great Italian food writer
Marcella Hazan. She might have added that in Italy cuisine does not speak
one language but many. Every region has its own distinctive flavours, and
nowhere are they more pronounced than in Rome.
There are good historical reasons for this. For centuries, the presence of
both the court and the Vatican meant an over-supply of wealthy nobility, who
monopolised the best cuts of meat. All that was left for the poor was the
so-called “fifth quarter” of the animal: the bones, cartilage and offal. To
tempt their customers to buy these offcuts, the slaughtermen started
thinking up new ways of cooking them. The first restaurants in Rome were
therefore also butchers’ shops, and a dish such as coda alla
vaccinara is literally “oxtail cooked the butchers’ way”.
These butcher-restaurants were, for obvious reasons, mostly clustered around
the mattatoio, the slaughterhouse. That has long closed — it now
provides stabling for the carthorses that trudge wearily around Rome,
pulling tourists — but the area still contains a number of good places to
eat, such as Checchino dal 1887.
In a tunnel hollowed out of Monte Testaccio — not actually a hill at all, but
an 80ft-high rubbish mound made out of broken olive-oil jars, left there by
the ancient Romans — you can eat schienale, spinal marrow, coratella,
a young lamb’s heart, zampone, pig trotters stuffed with
snout and sinew, or pasta con pajata, intestines from a calf that
has never tasted grass, only its mother’s milk. Even the salads here contain
strips of boiled cow’s knee, as in the insalata di nervetti.
For the squeamish there is carciofi alla romana, a tender variety
of artichoke unique to the Lazio region, cooked whole with garlic and Roman
mint.
Restaurants such as Checchino’s are inevitably brightly lit, the better to
inspect what is on your plate. Romans tend to be suspicious of “ambience”,
believing that it probably heralds some culinary deception. Now, however, a
new generation of restaurants is adding candlelight to good cooking. My
favourites are in Trastevere, the once run-down area west of the Tiber,
where the streets are rarely wider than a desk and even the Romans’
miniature cars have trouble getting around — not, of course, that it stops
them trying. The restaurant/bar Ferrara is one of the nicest, a sprawling
succession of cave-like rooms off Piazza Trilussa, while Asinocotto in Via
dei Vascellari takes a more creative approach to classic Italian
ingredients.
I started researching these places because I was writing a novel, The Food of
Love, a modern-day Cyrano de Bergerac with food taking the place of poetry
(boy meets girl, boy tries to impress girl by telling her he can cook, boy
is really only a waiter, boy’s talented chef friend helps out). It was
intended to be a light romantic comedy, the foodie equivalent of chick lit.
Gradually, however, as I wrote, a new theme started to clamour for my
attention.
My protagonist, the chef, finds himself working in a Michelin-starred but
utterly soulless restaurant, the kind of blandly excellent place that could
— and does — exist anywhere in the world. Cooking for his friend’s girl is
his first chance to prepare the sort of food he actually likes — which is to
say, traditional Roman food.
Like my hero, I increasingly found myself turning my back on fine restaurants
and fancy menus in search of the authentic, everyday flavours of the city.
You’ll find plenty of such places in Trastevere. Those who say it’s full of
tourists are missing the point: in Rome, they take food far too seriously to
serve rubbish just because they could get away with it. One example is Da
Lucia, in the Vicolo del Mattonato (“the little street paved with bricks”).
Like many of these smaller places, they take neither bookings nor credit
cards. The same applies at Da Augusto, a few streets away in the Piazza de’
Renzi.
Cheaper restaurants often don’t bother with a menu. Instead, they serve a
weekly repertoire.
One of the joys of this messy, chaotic yet always elegant city is its street
food. Porchetta, roast suckling pig, is a dish that defines the
regions of Italy. In Sardinia, they serve it filled with lemons and minced
meat; in the Marches, with wild fennel and juniper; but here in Rome it’s
stuffed with its own fried organs and served as a snack. It’s available from
butchers’ shops and market stalls, often wrapped in myrtle leaves that both
serve as a disposable plate and infuse it with flavour. They’ll sometimes
give you the first one for free, saying that once you’ve tasted it, you’ll
happily spend a lifetime paying for it.
Romans believe that the best porchetta comes from Ariccia, a small
town in the Roman hills. If you don’t want to go all the way there, you can
try the genuine article from the back of Tonino’s truck, which is usually
situated on the Via Torre Clementina in Fiumicino, traffic wardens
permitting. A more central option is Vino e Porchetta, a tiny
hole-in-the-wall near the Opera.
An equally celebrated street food is ice cream. The best gelaterie
take their product as seriously as any Michelin-starred chef takes his
creations, using only the finest seasonal ingredients: walnuts from
Sorrento, figs from Abruzzo, peaches from Solonna. Many think the best is
the cupboard-sized Gelato di San Crispino, near the Trevi Fountain. Among
the flavours is a rich zabaglione, and one called simply San Crispino, which
is made with corbezzolo, the famous (and rare) bitter honey of
Sardinia. The cupboard closes for the winter from mid-November, but a
second, larger shop on Via Acaia stays open.
Seasonality plays a big part in Roman food. At this time of year, almost every
town in Lazio celebrates its specialities with a festival, be it of
mushrooms, beans or wine.
On the second Saturday in November you can visit Rocca Canterano for the
annual Festival of Chestnuts, which doubles as a Festa del Cornuto, or
Festival of Infidelity.
Of all the seasonal specialities, none is more eagerly awaited in Rome than
the new olive oil. This coincides with the first chilly mornings of winter,
when there is no finer snack than a piece of bread toasted over a naked
flame and soused with sharp new oil.
Finally, you cannot visit Rome without eating at least one Roman pizza. Thin
as poppadoms, and just as crisp, they are slathered only in oil, tomato,
mozzarella and basil — even a pizza marinara simply means a
fisherman’s pizza, ie one without cheese. They should be cooked in a
wood-burning oven for the length of time the chef can hold his breath.
There’s a good example on Viale Trastevere called Pizzeria ai Marmi, though
most people know it as L’Obitorio — “the morgue” — on account of its marble
tables.
None of the above is likely to trouble the Michelin inspectors, though you
could indulge at the one-starred Agata e Romeo, a small neighbourhood place
that still bears a sign outside saying “hostaria”, and which differs from
other small neighbourhood places only in the brilliance of Agata’s cooking.
Of course, there are plenty of other one- and even two-starred restaurants —
but before you splash out, bear in mind the old Roman saying: più si
spende e peggio si mangia — the more you spend, the worse you eat.
Centuries may have passed, but the legacy of those slaughtermen lives on.
- The Food of Love is out now, Time Warner £6.99 Where to eat 1 Checchino dal 1887 Via di Monte Testaccio
30 (00 39-06 574 3816). Dinner £30, without wine. 2 Ferrara Piazza Trilussa 41 (06 5833 3920). Dinner, £30. 3 Ristorante Asinocotto Via dei Vascellari 48 (06 589 8985);
£30. 4 Piccolo Trattoria da Lucia Vicolo del Mattonato 2 (06 580
3601). Dinner £12. 5 Da Augusto Piazza de’ Renzi 15 (06 580 3798). Dinner £12. 6 Tonino’s Porchetta Stand Via Torre Clementina,
Fiumicino. 7 Vino e Porchetta Via del Viminale 2 (06 488 3031). Dinner
from £5. 8 Il Gelato di San Crispino Via dei Panettieri 42; £1.50 a
scoop. 9 L’Obitorio Viale Trastevere 53, (06 580 0919). Pizzas
from £8. 10 Agata e Romeo Via Carlo Alberto 45 (06 446 6115). Dinner
about £50.THE SINFUL HOTELIn the Hotel Aleph, off Via Veneto, the theme is based on the Divine Comedy.
But the hotel reverses Dante’s order of things: you ascend to the
infernal red Sin Restaurant and bookless library, and descend to the
Paradise Spa in the old vaults, to indulge in a melted-chocolate massage
(00 39-06 422901, www.boscolohotels.com); doubles from £230. TASTING THE VINO Right next to Rome’s sweetest rococo confection, the Spanish Steps, the
International Wine Academy occupies a 16th-century palazzetto on the
spot where in antiquity Lucullus held his fabled banquets. Just four
intimate rooms, each with a ringside view of the Steps, sumptuous beds,
and bathtubs big enough for two. Plus a great restaurant and the option
of evening wine tastings (06 699 0878, www.wineacademyroma.com;
£135-£220, B&B). SHOPPING IN LUXURY The cutting edge in fashion or moda alternativa, the ultimate espresso
machine, bespoke Italian shoes, grappa, marbles — if money can buy it in Rome, personal shopper Chiara Fiorina can track it down. Fiorina can also take
you behind the scenes to visit traditional Roman workshops, and arrange
private fittings in ateliers (33 3496 0456, www.shoprome.it; personal
shopping £160 a day). TAKE A ROMAN BATH Rome’s classical masses had the most palatial public baths in the world. Now
spas are making a comeback, although not exactly for the plebs. At the
sleek and stylish Hotel de Russie, on Via del Babuino, enjoy massages,
baths and beauty treatments even Nero and Poppaea never dreamt of —
stone therapy or watsu underwater massage (both £83), or perhaps a
Pevonia pedicure (£18). Follow with tea in the hotel’s Stravinskij bar,
one of the loveliest in Rome, and play spot the celebrity (06 328881,
www.hotelderussie.it). THE SISTINE TO YOURSELF Cardinals in conclaves have days to ponder the world’s greatest work of art.
For everyone else, Michelangelo comes with wall to wall, chattering
tourists — unless you make a cunning plan to get into the Sistine Chapel
after it closes. American-based Select Italy offers two-hour private
viewings — and a chance to see the Sistine’s beautiful, otherwise
invisible, 15th-century Cosmatesque floor — plus anything else you fancy
in the Vatican Museum, for £2,267, or £220 per head if you can bear to
share with a few others (00 1 847 853 1661, www.selectitaly.com). THE BALLOON SHOW Rome has its famous belvederes — the keyhole of the Knights of Malta Priory on
the Aventine, the Pincio, and the snoggers’ paradise, the Janiculum. Go
one better and look down on the belvederes themselves from the “Eighth
Hill of Rome” — the Aerophile 5500, the world’s largest tethered
balloon, which climbs 500ft above the Villa Borghese’s Galoppatoio (00
39 06 3211 1511, www.aerophile.it, £11). The most magical time is at
sunset. THE CITY’S BEST BAR As Cinecitta continues its comeback after a long post-Fellini slump — the
BBC’s Rome is only the latest offering to be filmed here — it’s not
surprising that the stars are rediscovering their honeyed haunts along
the Via Veneto. Starwood’s $30m revitalisation of the Rome Excelsior
(where Anita Ekberg stayed in La Dolce Vita) includes Doney’s Bar, where
the paparazzi could always find a famous face. After a sleek make-over,
Doney’s is all neoclassical columns and Roman irony; order a cocktail,
sit back and savour the scene. THE SOFA SUPPER CLUB Rome’s trendy Supperclub, hidden away on Via de’ Nari, near the Pantheon (06
6880 7207, www.supperclub.com), proposes to “renew the origins of the
Roman banquet”. Recline on sexy white mattresses during a four-course set meal (£47 plus
drinks), while glamorous waiters and waitresses offer free massages, and
a live DJ, VJ and a bevy of eclectic artistes amuse. After supper comes
the clubbing — many Romani arrive around midnight, especially on
Mondays, when the place really bops. No nightingales’ tongues, but try a
smoky martini. Getting there: there are flights from Belfast, Bristol,
Durham Tees Valley, Glasgow, Liverpool, Stansted, Gatwick, Heathrow,
Luton, Newcastle, Nottingham, Cork and Dublin. Contact Alitalia (0870
544 8259, www.alitalia.co.uk), British Airways (0870 850 9850,
www.ba.com), EasyJet (www.easyjet.com), Jet2 (www.jet2.com), Ryanair
(www.ryanair.com) and Aer Lingus (0818 365000, www.aerlingus.com). Tour operators: Kirker (0870 112 3333,
www.kirkerholidays.com); Ebookers (0870 814 0000, www.ebookers.com). In
Ireland, Arrow Tours (041 983 1177, www.arrowtours.ie). Sleeps on the cheap: look to Rome’s fun and lively Trastevere
for affordable hotels. Hotel Santa Maria (00 39-06 589 4626,
www.htlsantamaria.com) is quiet and romantic, occupying a 16th-century
convent. Doubles from £110-£144. Hotel San Francesco (06 5830 0051,
www.hotelsanfrancesco.net) is sweet, with a lovely roof garden. Doubles
from £87.
