February 20, 2007
Rome, Part 1
The grocery store and open-air markets were filled with cured meats and all sorts of cheeses.
Italians leave work, then hit the local bar for a drink and snack before dinner, which is why restaurants don't even bother to open until almost 8pm. Wanted to check out Caffe Greco right on Via Condotti and paid dearly for the privilege (that's a 12-euro Campari aperitif, folks). We skipped the afternoon bar breaks from then on.
Ristorante alla Rampa near the Spanish steps was a bit made-up for the tourists but it was close to our hotel and a bit of extra atmosphere ain't a bad thing for our first meal in Rome. The gray-haired waiters who've obviously been doing the job for a million years added to the environment and transacted smoothly in English. SO had the spaghetti pomodoro and I had the veal scappoline. Not brilliant but plenty good enough. Unfortunately we missed out on the famous antipasto bar but we weren't really that hungry.
We were wandering around Termini station looking for a place to eat. Pastarito was obviously a chain but it was clean and neat, a rather rare trait near the central station, and offered plenty of choices foodwise. Nothing fancy and not high-end, but the bruschetta had plenty of tasty topping on freshly charred italian bread. They delivered the pizza quatro stagione in one big pie and it was a bit of a pain to slice it with our butter-knives to share but we managed.
Ristorante alla Rampa
Piazza Mignanelli, 18
+39 06 678 2621
Caffe Greco
Via Condotti, 84
+39 6 679 1700
Pastarito Pizzarito
Via Gioberti, 25/35
+39 06 4882252