Tips & tricks, stories and more about Rome by a Roman that, after traveling for 30 years, now welcomes guests from around the world in his B&B’s. -
Consigli pratici, storie e altro su Roma raccontati da un Romano che, dopo aver viaggiato per 30 anni, ora accoglie ospiti da tutto il mondo nei suoi B&B
Nowadays every traveler wants to "live as a local". In my opinion, at the very end, because of their choices that are strongly influenced by the hype that is created by strong marketing campaigns, they end up knowing very little of the place they visit, especially in a city like Rome.
Staying in some specific areas of the historical center means not seeing some of those things that made Rome what it is and not really knowing a key element of the local culture, that is the cuisine.
In every city of the world, eating in the center means having "touristic food" or spending a lot of money.
As we wrote here, Rome has a long tradition for the street food. Even if pizza is the most common stree food, in Rome there is only one king
SUPPLI' - THE KING OF THE ROMAN STREET FOOD
What is supplì? They are balls of rice cooked in tomato sauce, filled with a small piece of mozzarella chees and then deep fried in olive oil. Here it is possible to find a possible recipe.I would recommend a small variation, as taken by an Italian recipe. After cooking the rice and before it cools down, add some butter and beaten eggs; the rice will stick together even better.
The nice thing of home made supplì is that one can prepare 20, 30, 40 of them in the same time, more or less, that is required to prepare few ot them. Then, they can be frozen and cooked according to the needs in few minutes. So they can be a great resource for those having young kids coming back home very hungry.
And now, where to eat the best supplì in Rome. Next map shows one the latest recommendations found on the web. As it happens for all those recommendations, it is not the Truth and the ranking might change every day.
Anyhow most of the best places are out of the center. And that is the same for any type of food you are looking for in Rome
By the way, supplì is my favourite street food and my son, that is a professional cook, prepares some of the best home made ones. But he is going to take a long vacation starting next week.
What does it mean to live like a local? Having to go to buy bread, milk and meat at the supermarket or discovering the pleasures of the place one is visiting?
In my opinion only the second. The first is a boring duty that one has to do every day.
One of the local pleasure in Rome during the summer time is the grattachecca. What's that?
It is crushed ice with a syrup, lemon, cherry, mint, almond or whatever the fantasy might suggest.
Grattachecca is something completely different from granita, a typical specialty from Sicily, and sorbet.
These last two specialties are prepared starting from water in which the sugar has been melted making it boil. The syrup is then added to the water, also a liqueur or prosecco for the sorbet and everything is then put in the freezer stirring every 15-20 minutes. The final result is something that is at the same time granular and creamy. In some recipe, also some drops of milk to get it more creamy.
The preparation of grattachecca is much quicker as it is made from blocks of ice that are crushed at the moment, the adding the syrup. Therefore at the same time one will drink and chew the ice.
Because of the low sugar content, it will result strongly refreshing and thrist quenching.
Grattachecca is typically sold in small kiosks that normally open in the late afternoon or even only in the evening. Those kiosks usually become also meeting point for the people.
One of the best grattachecca in Rome is sold in a kiosk that is located just steps away fro the St. John Villa, along Via Magna Grecia, close to the subway stop. The name of the place is Er Chioschetto.
In a city like Rome there are thousands of restaurants of every type for all pockets.
And there are a lot of websites where one can find the ranking of their top restaurants.
Obviously the rankings are not always the same but some restaurants can be found in several of them.
But, in most of the cases, their location is not whown on a map. Once entered in those websites, the visitor will have to start huntng to find the closest place.
Well, I took one of those rankings, click here to see the full details, and placed all of them on a map of Rome. It contains 38 restaurants of all types and for all pockets. Just open the map and give a look.
And, don't forget to book your room at our properties.
Piper Club, simply said, is the most famous disco in Italy. Opened in the 60's of the XX century, The Beatles, The Who, The Genesis, Nirvana and a lot of the most famous Italian artists have performed here.
- Piper Club, Via Tagliamento 9 Art Cafe and its twin Babel are currently considered to be the best place in Rome. Many VIPs spend their nights here.
- Art Cafe & Babel, Via del Galoppatoio 33 (Villa Borghese underground parking) Alien club Roma is one of the most popular among foreign people and it is one of the most beautiful places, popular among high-level people.
- Alien club Roma, Via Velletri 13
Close to San Lorenzo Guest House you will find mainly live music clubs. Anyhow there are two places that are worth a mention. Like al the San Lorenzo district, they are characterized by an anarchic and young style.
Ex Dogana, located in the former customs area of the railway goods yard, is not only a disco but a huge space for events and performances
- Ex Dogana, Via dell Scalo di San Lorenzo 10 7cl San Lorenzo (also known as Ex Balic) is one of the places that have made the history of the night life in San Lorenzo neighborhood
- 7cl San Lorenzo, Via degli Aurunci 35
When staying at the St. John Villa, there are two places that you can easily reach.
Dancing Zanussi is probably the best place in Rome for the Latin-American dance, especially for salsa, and for group dancing.
- Dancing Zanussi, Piazza Tarquinia 5 Ore 20, located on the attic floor of the COIN department stores building, offers a stunning view of Rome. It is a very versatile place, operating as a cafe during the day for a break during the shopping, it becomes an elegant disco-restaurant in the evening.
- Ore 20, Via Magna Grecia 2
Videos of the performance of The Genesis and of Nirvana at the Piper Club
The secrets for a perfect cooking scientifically explained
This post is just for personal amusement. I am not a chef but a chemical engineer that, because you never know what's going to happen to your life, has become a host managing some bed and breakfast activityy. A part of my job is to talk about my city, Rome, and my country, Italy, to my guests, especially foreign guest. And pasta is definitely one of the most important hallmarks of Italian cuisine if not all of Italy.
So, ho to prepare it in the proper way? When I was often travelling abroad, very often I was offered pasta that was rather good as glue. I obviouly politely said it was perfectly prepared.
I will try to explain, scientifically, the secrets to cook properly dried pasta.
They are seentially two, heat and time.
Essentially what is important is that, when you put pasta into the boiling water temperature is high enough to allow the external part to harden quickly so that starch is kept inside and not released transforming pasta into glue. Threfore: 1) Add salt to the water before adding pasta; that will increase of a couple of degrees the boiling temperature of the water (ebullioscopic effect). Higher temperature means quicker hardening
2) Use enough water, at least 1 liter per each 100 grams of pasta. When you add pasta to the boiling water, the temperaure of the water will drop because pasta is colder. Using the above proportion, temperature will drp about 4 °C. If one uses half of the water, the drop will be 8°C and the external part will not harden quickly enough.
3) Do not overcook, take out pasta from the water at the proper time. Start to taste it one minute before the time that is indicated on the packaging
And now, after adding a good sauce, but fo that you need a chef's recipe
In Piazza di Pietra one of the most beautiful squares of the center of Rome, looking to the Temple of Hadrian, you may taste the best of the Carnival sweets from the tradition of Naples and Rome at the Gran Caffè La Caffettiera.
Alcuni suggerimenti di vario tipo e in varie zone di Roma, dal ristorante raffinato alla tavola calda
Some recommendations for eating in different ways around Rome
L'Arcangelo - Via Giuseppe Gioacchino Belli 59 - Prati, Castel Sant'Angelo
Ristorante raffinato sotto la guida del famoso chef Arcangelo Dandini Fine restaurant under the guid of the famous chef Arcangelo Dandini
Kinkku - Viale Guglielmo Marconi 415 - Ostiense, Basilica di San Paolo, Università Roma 3
Cucina espressa, take-away con alcuni tavolini sotto la guida dei giovani chef Simone Santini e Luigi Torraco Express cuisine, take away with some seats operated by the young chefs Simone Santini and Luigi Torraco Ginger Sapori e Salute - Via Borgognona 43-46 - Piazza di Spagna
Panini gourmet, frullati e piatti bio Gourmet sandwiches, healthy and susteinable shakes and meals
Roman cuisine is not sophistcated, it is normally based on simple and cheap ingredients, but it is very tasty.
Spaghetti alla carbonara
Here are some restaurants, that are also among my favourite ones, offering typical Roman cuisine at reasonable price in pleasan places. La Carbonara is located at Campo de' Fiori, one of the most lively Roman squares, facing the statue that is dedicated to Giordano Bruno, the great monk philosopher philosopher who was burned at the stake for heresy in this square.
Carciofi alla giudia
Giggetto al Portico d'Ottavia is located is the Jewish ghetto. It is curious to observe that it is the only restaurant in the area that is owned by a not Jew. The porch that, looking at the restaurant, is located just on the right was dedicated by emperor Augustus to his sister Octavia. In the past the porch was the border of the ghetto, the area where the Jews were obliged to stay at night. It is important to observe that Roman cuisine owes a lot to the Jewish culinary tradition. Carciofi alla giudia (artichockes Jewish style) are a typical example, as well as all the recipes based on lamb (agnello or abbacchio).
Abbacchio alla romana
Saltimbocca alla romana
Romolo e Remo restaurant has a name that does not create any type of confusione about the type of meal one can have there. It is located just outside of Porta Metronia, one of the gates of the Aurelian walls, few hundred meters away
from the cathedral of Rome, the Basilica of St. John Lateran. Being out of the historical center, although just for a matter of meters, it is mostly popular with locals. That is normally a guarantee of having a good meal. It is very easy to reach from the Colosseum in about 15 minutes. Starting from there, walk along via Claudia - via della Navicella, cross the arches of Porta Metronia and, at the roundaubout, take via Pannonia. You will find the restaurant on your left.
La Carbonara - Campo de' Fiori 23 - + 39 06 6864783
Giggetto al Portico d'Ottavia - Via del Portico d'Ottavia 21a - +39 06 6861105
Romolo e Remo - Via Pannonia 22 - + 39 06 77208187
Staying at San Lorenzo Guest House and looking for a quick lunch break close to us?
Just one hundred meters away you will find Mejo Pani Enoteca offering, at a budget price, a variety of filled pizzas and few dishes of the day. A good selection of wines is also available
Grattachecca is typically sold in small kiosks that normally open in the late afternoon or even only in the evening. Those kiosks usually become also meeting point for the people.
In a city like Rome there are thousands of restaurants of every type for all pockets.
Piper Club, simply said, is the most famous disco in Italy. Opened in the 60's of the XX century, The Beatles, The Who, The Genesis, Nirvana and a lot of the most famous Italian artists have performed here. 
1) Add salt to the water before adding pasta; that will increase of a couple of degrees the boiling temperature of the water (ebullioscopic effect). Higher temperature means quicker hardening
In Piazza di Pietra one of the most beautiful squares of the center of Rome, looking to the Temple of Hadrian, you may taste the best of the Carnival sweets from the tradition of Naples and Rome at the Gran Caffè La Caffettiera.
