New discovery in Trastevere

It's nice to see new places popping up in Trastevere... things had been stagnating here while neighborhoods like Monti and Pigneto were blowing up with all sorts of fun things. Needless to say, I was ever so jealous till now!
On my way to my favorite produce vendor in Trastevere, I spotted this tiny shop that I'd never seen before: Pasqualino.
He just opened this shop one month ago but had been at the Ettore Rolli market for years. It caught my attention because I spotted PECANS - both whole and shelled!! I stepped into his tiny shop and was amazed by the products, most of which are sold in bulk: black beans (from Mexico), dried spices, seeds (flax, sesame, you name it!), goji berries and all kinds of dried fruit and nuts, farro + lots of other grains, reasonably priced Italian whole wheat pasta, different kinds of pâté, sauces, dried olives, fresh porcini mushrooms, PAN masa harina, etc.
Bravo Pasqualino!

Pasqualino
Via Portuense 96/E
cell: +39 339-244-1350 or +39 333-912-0732
http://www.agriroby.it
(they'll be updating the website soon with new address and info)

Nothing gold can stay...

Okay, maybe I’m being a bit dramatic with that title but I am genuinely bummed out about what’s happened to my beloved Farmers’ Market in Garbatella. Backstory: In March 2013, the market was moved from its convenient (for me, at least) Testaccio location to the current Garbatella venue. That in itself was a bit traumatic for me, as it would now take me 45-60 minutes to get there by transpo, BUT my love for this market was great enough for me to overcome that hurdle. And week after week, I schlepped myself and my granny shopping cart there.

Just this month however, I discovered that some of my favorite vendors are no longer part of the market: Giulio Pace who sold to-die-for spelt bread; the man (whose name I don’t know but he had impressively ornate sideburns/facial hair) who sold drool-inducing cheese that people would wait in line forever for; the chatty lady who sold jams and honey; the rosy-cheeked organic produce vendor who sold hard-to-find butternut squash amongst other things (he still has a stand at the Via di San Teodoro market and I discovered he has a shop too!); and a few others.
Apparently when the city (or whoever runs this market, it’s not very clear to me) first decided to create this market, it was viewed as a trial run, so they didn't ask vendors to pay rent. Cut to September 2014, they realized the market was profitable and now wanted to be paid rent. Seems fair enough to me but some vendors didn’t want to pay for some reason or another, so they left. As for my spelt-bread man, he was actually from L'Aquila in Abruzzo, and at the start was allowed to partake in the market (which is strictly for Lazio producers) only because they wanted to help out his company after the devastating earthquake. But I guess the city no longer deems that necessary so they tossed him out. And so, yet again, Rome has managed to ruin what was once a perfect setup...

I wouldn't want this to come across as a gloom & doom post so I must point out that a handful of the vendors from this market- including my absolute favorite produce dealer Leopoldo Antonetti & family and the lovely lady who sells potatoes/Asian pears/etc. from Azienda agricola Provvedi Alessandro - have opened up a shop in Trastevere where you can find the same products (and more!!) on sale EVERY DAY... well, except for Monday.

La Bottega di Campagna Amica di Trastevere
Via Bernardino Passeri, 6/8
mass.nesta@gmail.com
cell: +39 339-5214733
closed Mon
Tues Wed Thu Fri Sat 8:00- 20:00
Sun 8:00- 14:00
(I'd suggest calling to double-check the hours on holidays and during the month of August)

Famers' market

In the past few years, I kept noticing posters in Rome advertising "Farmer's Market" (ahem: unless it's just one farmer selling his/her goods, you might want to rethink where you placed that apostrophe!) but I never bothered to follow up... until recently. A dear friend of mine went to the farmers' market in Testaccio and raved about the great prices and excellent quality of the produce. So we went together last week. The market is located indoors and has a decent sized selection of only LOCAL goods.

You can get incredibly delicious in-season fruits and vegetables, cheese, bread, homemade pasta, honey, jam, sweets, etc. and the prices are lower than "mercato" or supermarket prices because there's no middle man, it's just a farmer selling goods directly to the consumer.

I couldn't help but chuckle about the newly adopted "farmers' market" term because traditionally, all mercati used to be like this: they were filled with local farmers selling their goods directly to consumers at reasonable prices. But then things went awry and these stands were selling all produce at any time of the year. At my mercato in Trastevere, for example, I managed to find only one real farmer: he and his daughter have a limited selection and quantity of in-season produce. They don't have cases and cases of apples with "Melinda" stickers on them, they only sell fava beans when they're in season, if you go do your shopping late in the morning you'll often find that all the goods have already been snatched by the neighborhood's old women who flock to that stand as if it were Mecca.

It's amusing but sad that Italians had to borrow our term "famers' market" to make the age-old mercato tradition seem like something new and trendy. Italians need to realize that some things are better left unchanged.

slowly but surely

I realize that Rome is an ancient city but it does need to start getting with the times. Today, while running some errands in Prati, I finally had the chance to test out a new eatery that popped up in June. It's called VERO- FOOD TO MOVE and it kicks ass. It reminds me of Pret a Manger or Eat: a nice variety of quick, healthy food. Of course we'd all like to have the time and luxury to sit around and eat a leisurely one-hour lunch but that's not always an option, so being able to grab soup (I love me some soup) and a sandwich or salad TO GO, is a real necessity nowadays in Rome. Their desserts are pretty tasty as well.

I'm liking this place and hoping they open up a few more shops around town!

"We delivery"

The other day I was feeling immensely lazy and had no desire to cook, nor did I have any desire to eat any of the limited delivery options (pizza, pizza, and more pizza) available in Rome, so I started thinking: Why hasn't delivery become common in Rome? To be honest, even take-out isn't that easy since many restaurants don't have the proper containers for transporting food. I vividly recall a disastrous experience with Chinese take-out: I learned soy sauce stains do not wash out easily.
I can understand if we were in the 1960s, when most people ate home-cooked meals with their families so the idea of take-out or delivery was outrageous, but nowadays Italians (and non-Italians who live here) eat all kinds of things, including pre-prepared foods, frozen meals, etc. So why hasn't delivery caught on? I mean, we even have scooters here so it's not about the actual transportation (those poor NYC delivery guys have to use bicycles). Why is it that they only deliver pizza (and shitty pizza, to boot)? Why haven't restaurants realized the fortune they could make by delivering? I cannot, for the life of me, understand why!

Rewild: "Cruelty-Free club"

The first of its kind in Rome, a "cruelty-free" club/pub that serves fair trade beverages and vegan-only food.  Tested it out the other night and the food certainly did NOT disappoint, they make a kick-ass tofu burger and there was even a great acoustic punk concert to boot!

It's worth the trip to Garbatella:

http://rewildclub.wordpress.com

Oh no they didn't!

Flier for a pizza place in San Lorenzo which roughly reads: Other people may have Briatore as their manservant, but we have... (photo of Obama).

Brunch

I'm forever in search of good brunch places in Rome. Problem is, brunch in this city is pretttty pricey so in order to make it worth the money, the food needs to be good! Some recent finds:

The Perfect Bun- Very good! Authentic American brunch plus lots of other options. They even had an omelet bar and lots of desserts (the cupcakes were disappointing though). All you can eat buffet + unlimited American coffee for 25 euro.

Sweety Rome- Via Milano #48. This place isn't as authentic but was still very nice. All sorts of food (pancakes were the only American fare), including a kick-ass carrot cake, tasty cupcakes, key lime pie, and cream cheese brownies. All you can eat buffet + one coffee + dessert for 15 euro.

Highly digestible?

An Italian friend of mine recently opened a pizza a taglio joint in NYC so while I was stateside, I went to check it out with some Americans. One of the first things these non-Italians commented on was the description of the pizza: "highly digestible".
Since I know Italian and more than anything, I know my Italians, I understood it was a literal translation of alta digeribilità- which is a HUGE selling point for any food product here in Italy. As most expats know, Italians seem to have delicate digestive systems so it's important for food to be easily or highly digestible...but this "benefit" has no pertinence in American culture. Americans can relate to something that's defined "light" but "highly digestible" makes no sense to them even if the translation is technically correct. Digestibility is a concept that's lost on an American audience, don't you think?

New favorite pizza place

I know "favorite pizza places" is a very delicate topic but I recently discovered a place that kicks some serious butt! It's called La Pratolina. Their pizza is not as thin as typical Roman pizza but it is very light and doesn't sit in your stomach like a brick. They also have delicious homemade fritti that are rather creative (lots of veggie-friendly options too). AND they have the nicest, most efficient staff ever! Those of you who live in Rome know how hard it is to find decent service at restaurants, especially busy restaurants... so this place is a keeper. I highly suggest reserving because it's usually packed.
La Pratolina
Via degli Scipioni 248 (Prati)
06-36004409

I heart NaturaSì

I am back in the Città Eterna, which is eternally chaotic... but I won't let that distract me from today's topic: NaturaSì. It's a fantastic health food supermarket with lots of vegetarian/vegan/organic products that are reasonably priced. There are other stores in my neighborhood that sell the same kinds of goods like Canestro on Via San Francesco a Ripa and Innocenzi on Via Natale del Grande, but they're more expensive and have less of a selection, so it's worth the bus ride to Via Oderisi da Gubbio (more on my first bus ride in Rome in 3+ months in the next post) to stock up on rice milk, tofu, and whatnot. They are also unbelievably friendly and helpful- LOVE them!

Carrot quandary

Why do American carrots taste like mothballs? Ick.

Silver lining

My washing machine died the other day... after almost 10 years of trusty service, its motor went kaput. I was hoping it could be repaired easily and cheaply, but this morning the repairman told me otherwise. Even if it would've been more business for him to repair the machine, he highly suggested I just buy a new one. Uffa!

I don't have much spare time or energy to scour the city looking for the best bargain right now, so I went to a nearby appliance shop I've used in the past- Cucciollo (if they had a website I'd link it). It's located in the Jewish ghetto and is probably one of the best appliance/electronic shops in the center. I used to do lots business with these guys when I worked for an American university ages ago, so they know me and treat me well, but in general they are very pleasant and helpful to all their clients. I got me a new washer and I'll be able to do laundry again by Thursday- yay!

As I was walking back home through the ghetto I was overwhelmed by how much that neighborhood has changed in the past 10 years. When I was looking for a home 10 years ago, I considered the ghetto but most of the places I saw there were run-down railroad apartments and the buildings were in total disrepair (which meant eventually I, and the other residents, would have to pay for repairs). At the time, prices there were pretty low compared to other central neighborhoods. As much as I adored the area, it wasn't worth the extra hassle of having to gut and redo an entire apartment.

But now, the neighborhood has undergone a major renovation, they've cleaned it up, made most of the streets pedestrian-only, so there are lots of benches and café tables outside. AND to top it all off, they finally repaired the charming Tempietto del Carmelo in Piazza Costaguti. The area's got a great vibe to it and it's a lovely place to sit and chill out... A few steps away you'll also find a hidden gem called Rialto Sant'Ambrogio. It's a "cultural center" that hosts some cool events and shows. One more ghetto tip: if you haven't eaten at Sora Margherita yet, I highly suggest you check it out. It's an old-school, no frills trattoria with good food and decent prices. Forget about da Giggetto and their pricey artichokes, you can get the same treats at Sora Margherita for less and without the annoying touristy scene.

Anyway- I mentioned a silver lining, didn't I? Well, good thing my washing machine broke now because if it had happened next week or so, I would've been royally screwed since everyone and their mom is closing shop soon. So in some ways, I'm actually glad this happened now.

Cucciollo Elettrodomestici
Via del Tempio 6
00186 Roma
Tel: (06)6865102

Sora Margherita
Piazza delle Cinque Scole 30
00186 Roma
Tel: (06)687 4216

Hotdogs?

Whenever I see these "Wudy" hotdogs in grocery stores or on TV, I can't help but chuckle. Maybe it's the Beavis & Butt-head in me...

My man Roberto

(Image courtesy of Field to Feast)

There is one shop in Rome that I truly love, with a shopkeeper who is so incredibly nice, polite, friendly, helpful, cheerful, and efficient (I could go on and on, but I'll spare you). His name is Roberto Polica, the smiling face behind the counter at the one and only Antica Caciara Trasteverina. This place kicks ass, as does Roberto. I've been going there for years to stock up on Parmigiano for the family in USA (Yes, you can buy Parmigiano in USA but the kind sold here tastes MUCH better). Since D-day is nearing, I went to get my cheesy booty and he rocked my world with his niceness, as always.

Roberto's the kind of guy who always says hello, who thanks you just for stepping foot inside of the shop and then will continue to thank you every few minutes until you leave- even if you end up buying nothing.

I would suggest going there even if you hate cheese, just for the experience of meeting the nicest shopkeeper in Italy! I have to admit that I'm not a big fan of mom & pop shops here in Rome because they can be rather rude, the service can be iffy, they don't always have clearly-marked prices hence can jack you if you're not a regular, and their products sit on the shelves a lot longer (bugs in pasta boxes- ick!). Obviously there are a few exceptions and this place is one of them, it's a hardcore mom & pop shop without the sketchiness.

Roberto is the man!

I spy

YESSSS!
The GS supermarket in Trastevere (on Via Tavolacci #1) now sells Oreo cookies, or as they say in Italian: biscotti snack al cacao! They're even reasonably priced compared to Castroni. Now I know where to go when I get my Oreo cravings... yum!