The Eternal City is one of Europe's most exciting gourmet metropolises - between trattorias and street stalls, fine dining and food markets, a culinary diversity unfolds that combines tradition and the present with relish.
Anyone traveling to Rome can sample the entire spectrum of Italian cuisine. From pizza to pasta to offal - the Roman "cucina" is versatile and characterized by a long tradition.
It may be that pizza was invented in Naples. "Nevertheless, ours is simply better," Roman restaurant critic Edoardo Cervigni is convinced - if only because the dough is thinner, the edges crispier and the Roman version is lighter and more digestible overall. To prove his point, Cervigni takes us to one of his favorite places: the delicatessen "Roscioli" with an adjoining restaurant. Roscioli is also famous for the classics of Roman cuisine, such as the local pasta triumvirate: cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper), gricia (cheese, pepper and bacon) and carbonara (cheese, pepper, bacon and egg).
You should also definitely try the traditional cuisine of the quinto quarto, the "fifth quarter": "That's what we call all the wonderful parts of the animal that are considered less noble," says Cervigni, "such as the oxtail, which is used to make the dish coda alla vaccinara - stewed in red wine sauce. Or the Roman-style veal tripe with tomatoes and polei mint."
Another typical Roman dish is rigatoni alla pajata - short pasta with tomatoes and the intestines of milk-fed lamb or veal. It sounds strange, but it tastes delicious. And anyway: the Romans love offal. And of course they love meat - in addition to coda alla vaccinara, for example, polpette al sugo (meatballs in tomato sauce), abbacchio allo scottadito (grilled lamb chops) or saltimbocca alla romana (veal cutlet with sage leaf). But even without meat, Roman cuisine has a lot to offer, including the deliciously crispy deep-fried carciofi alla giudia (Jewish-style artichokes), which have been prepared by the long-established Jewish community for centuries.
If there are three must-visit restaurants in Rome, then "La Pergola", high above the rooftops of the city, is where German Heinz Beck shows the Romans how delicate Italian cuisine can be. Sommelier Marco Reitano contributes the wines with a calmness, as if he himself had spent time in the cellar. "Il Pagliaccio is the playful antithesis: Anthony Genovese, the son of Calabrian parents who grew up in France, cooks with depth, soul and a touch of Asia; a culinary circus that never tips over into the loud. And then "Acquolina" by Daniele Lippi, a modern fine-dining restaurant in "The First Roma" hotel near Piazza del Popolo.
- Supplì and markets: Supplì, porchetta and pizza al taglio at the Mercato Testaccio or the Mercato Centrale.
- Try real carbonara: Guanciale instead of bacon, egg yolk, pecorino, lots of black pepper. No cream!
- Il Tevere and Dolce Vita: stroll from Trastevere across the Ponte Sisto to the Centro Storico, eat pasta del giorno, reserve a table outside; then gelato and espresso at the bar.
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