How to Eat in Rome 2012 - Part Seven - Checchino dal 1887

Checchino is located in the Testaccio neighbourhood which is the historical home to Rome's central slaughterhouse and, in turn, home to a lot of restaurants specialising in offal. Given that this restaurant is known as the best of its kind, and my interest in offal, I was keen to try it. With its pricey menu and my high hopes, I booked us in for the last night of our holiday in the hope that it would be a good way to round off our time in Rome...

I was surprised to find that this restaurant (one that charges 63 euros a head for the tasting menu) was located opposite a open air car park. Hardly glamorous, but, we weren't in the most glamorous part of town. We were a little early so we were shooed away by the waiter... always a little hurtful and embarrassing  but something I have witnessed before in Rome. However, this waiter didn't crack a smile and welcome us with open arms once the clock struck 8 (our reservation time). Instead he continued to ignore us, busying himself with laying tables, making us wait around like a pair of dicks for a good ten minutes. Hmmmm not a great start!

Despite the awkward start to proceedings we were determined to enjoy ourselves and make the most of our experience at Checchino, so we ordered the Historical Tasting Menu, a glass of prosecco each and a bottle of frascati to share. The prosecco was lovely; packed with apple flavours, just how I like it. 

Very shortly after we placed our orders our first course, trotter salad, arrived. Its appearance at our table was worryingly quick, especially as it was served at room temperature (where had it been standing since it had been prepared?), but I reminded myself of the good reviews this place has received and tucked in (and thinking back, I don't think chilled trotters would have worked). The fatty chunks of trotter 'meat' were served with a salad of very simple ingredients (as is the Italian way). To be fair the salad worked well with the fatty trotters and the salsa verde cut through some of the fattiness... but I don't think I want to eat trotters prepared this way again.

Our next dishes were pasta dishes and I was surprised (and disappointed) to find that they were served together. A taster menu needs to be a relaxed affair of small dishes; receiving two carbohydrate packed dishes at once did not suit me.

Rigatoni with pajata was something I had been looking forward to. It's lamb's intestines, still filled with the milk from its mother which results in an almost ricotta filling. Sounds vile yeah? Well, you know me, the weirder a dish is, the harder I will work at making sure I get to try it. The dish wasn't particularly attractive, thanks to the pieces of intestine that looked like rubber tubing, but it was good. The pajata had a strong, offaly taste which added depth to the tomato sauce, but it is something I wouldn't want to eat without a sauce due to the intense flavour.

Bucatini alla gricia was the second serving of pasta. If you've read Part Six of my Rome blogs you'll already know that bucatini is one of my favourite pastas. You'll also know what cacio e pepe is and this was similar but with the addition of guanciale (which is essentially pancetta made from the jowl). The pasta was well cooked and the pieces of guanciale were quite chunky which is always a bonus. I was, however, starting to fill up!

But there was no respite, and as soon as Gav had finished his last mouthful and before I had taken mine, the waiter was there ready to take our plates. I surrendered mine on the basis that I probably didn't need to clear my plate, but this was just another example of being rushed through our meal.

Next up was Coda alla Vaccinara (oxtail). Having cooked this dish before I knew exactly what to expect and was actually a little disappointed that there were no surprises; it was no better than the version I had made at home. A side of chicory was, however, a welcome addition, especially as it was cooked with chilli.

We then moved onto the first dessert of the meal. Being in Europe the cheese was served before the dessert (something I despise, but when in Rome and all that). Pecorino Romano was served with honey; a new one for me, and one that I will repeat. 

I didn't finish all the cheese and we decided to share the dessert which was a chocolate, ricotta and almond cake. It was delicious; really moist and chocolatey and given how rich it was, I was glad we'd shared a piece.

So how was it? Well, all in all my time at Checchio dal 1887 was the most disappointing restaurant experience I have had in years.  The food was average to good, the atmosphere was dire (people don't eat dinner until 9.30pm in Testaccio) and the service was rushed. In fact, it wasn't just the speed of the service that annoyed. Neither of our waiters offered to talk us through the history of the dishes (we were eating from the historical tasting menu!) or even bothered to crack a smile... until it came to paying the bill that is... when one sprung into life with tales of his time in Edinburgh (which just made me think he was after a tip). The service wasn't helped by the fact that one of the owners was swanning around. He was overseeing the service, no doubt, but added no benefit to my experience and just pushed me that bit further into total discomfort.

But it wasn't just the snooty attitude that annoyed; our waiters would rarely take our cutlery between courses and on one of the odd occasions that my fork was taken, I had to ask for a replacement when the next course was delivered (I remind you that this was 63 euros a head, before wine - fresh cutlery should not be too hard a task)! The actual restaurant wasn't up to much either. The outside tables were adorned with plastic pot plants in bright yellow plant pots (yes, seriously!) and the bathrooms were dirty, musty and covered in mould.

It's not often I feel ripped off when eating out; I will happily pay good money for good food and service, but this wasn't on. The bill must have been in the region of 170 euros and we had been ripped off.

How to Eat in Rome 2012 - Part 6 - Il Goccetto and Ditirambo

Well, our last trip to Rome must have been about 6 months ago and although I was initially doing quite well at blogging the meals we had out there, the Olympic Food Challenge got in the way. With three dishes to cook and blog each week, Rome soon slipped down the list of priorities and with only the last day to cover, I soon forgot all about it. Then I read David Downie's article about Il Goccetto and it brought back memories of stumbling across it on our last day... and these memories have forced me into action!

 

Il Goccetto wasn't new to us, as we'd hunted it down on our first trip to Rome in 2009 (thanks to David's 'Food, Wine, Rome'; my favourite guide/bible to Rome), but we stumbled across it again, totally unexpectedly, on our last trip. Remembering the evening we had spent here nearly three years previously, there was no question as to whether we would pop in for a drink. We would have stayed for lunch too, as we'd had a mighty fine selection of cheeses the last time we were here, but we had already booked ourselves into Ditirambo for lunch.

Il Goccetto is a small bar but it is a real find for wine lovers. The walls are lined with shelving stocked to the brim with bottles of wine and the food is of the nibble variety, perfect for sharing over a glass (or bottle). The staff are friendly; the clientèle are a mixed bag from office workers to retired gentlemen and the very odd tourist or two (in this case, just us).

We made our selection from the small chalkboard of the day's offerings by the glass and, although I can't remember what we had, I do know that we could have had more...

Ditirambo was recommended in Elizabeth Minchilli's Eat Rome app and it was the praise for the pasta dishes that had sold it to me as a lunch destination. The restaurant was small and crowded with tables set quite close to each other and with both locals and tourists eating here the atmosphere was buzzing with chat of a variety of languages.

I am now fully reliant on my notes as my memory has worn very thin... but I do recall enjoying our time here. We enjoyed the food, the atmosphere, the friendly service and the wine. My notes tell me that we'd ordered some antipasto but this had been served alongside our pasta and salad dishes; annoying, but not a deal breaker for a casual lunch.

And it had been good antipasto with slices of potatoes and truffles being the highlight. Cacio e peppe (cheese and pepper) with bucatini (the most amazing pasta; it's like spaghetti but it has a hole running through the centre of each strand) was as good as any I've ever had (or made). For me, bucatini is a real (and rare) treat as the structure of the pasta adds good texture to the dish, especially when it is cooked al dente.

Gav had some hand made pasta with a rabbit and tomato ragu. My notes say it was amazing, so I guess I'll just have to go with that! In an attempt to be healthy we also shared a salad of fennel, orange and pomegranate. Bizarrely I do remember this dish, for its simplicity and freshness... in fact I'm sure it's one I was going to replicate at home...

Sadly I have no idea what the bill was, but I would guess it would have been about 45 euros.

How to Eat in Rome 2012 - Part 5 - Le Mani in Pasta

Woah... it's been a while since my last Rome blog. Apologies guys, but the small matter of an Olympic Food Challenge got in the way of normal blogging activities...

So, where had I left you? Ah, that's right, we'd had a miserable morning in the sun, a glorious indoor picnic and a well needed snooze to Family Guy on the telly. You'll be glad to know that once we awoke from our guilty slumber (and it was guilty; we were in Rome for God's sake), we felt 100% better, which was a good job as we were booked into Le Mani in Pasta for dinner.

And, by 'eck it was a good job we'd booked ahead (or rather asked our hotel to book) as the place was heaving and although I could hear a fair few American accents, there were plenty of locals being greeted with European kisses by the waiters.

We were sat on a table by the door (something the guy at our hotel reception had warned us about, and apologised for), but that was fine by us as we were closer to the air con unit! It was also ideal for watching all the coming and goings in and out of the restaurant; although bagging a view directly into the kitchen would have been ideal.

We were welcomed with a glass of prosecco (as was everyone) which was a nice touch, although it wasn't the best quality prosecco I'd ever had. Saying that the Frascatti we had (it's from the Lazio region, so we drank it whenever we could) was gorgeous (especially at ten euros a bottle).

Spotting a few pasta classics on the menu, we knew we'd just have to go the whole hog and have a primi course. Saying that, we were restrained with our shared antipasti of carpaccio of sea bass with truffles. Unfortunately my memory of the meal on a whole is wearing thin and I am reliant on some rather crap notes, but I do remember that this was a truly stunning dish.

Onto the primi and I had old favourite Spaghetti alla carbonara. Sadly, although the dish was pretty much spot on in terms of ingredients, I had two issues with it. A) I had asked the waiter whether I could have rigatoni (excellent for scooping up the eggy sauce and chunks of guinciale) and he had refused, determined that I should have spaghetti (which, let's face it, is a pain in the arse to eat) and B) some of the egg at the bottom of the dish was scrambled (not even I scramble my carbonara eggs!).

Gav went for rigatoni alla matriciana (yes, he was allowed rigatoni), and he wasn't totally blown away as his pasta had been cooked a little past the al dente stage. Anyhoo, it was tasty enough and there were some decent chunks of guinciale in there.

For secondi, despite the fact that we were in Rome rather than Venice, I could not resist the carpaccio di manzo (beef carpaccio), which, like the antipasti, was brilliant.

Gav went for Roman saltimbocca which is veal and prosciutto cooked in a wine sauce. Lovely, but again, something I can do as well at home (with ethical British veal too).

By the time it came round to dolce, I was stuffed, well and truly stuffed. Gav struggled through a tiramisu, and I only say struggle coz of the sheer size of his helping of this rich dessert as it was good.

I, on the other went for the lighter option of a limoncello....

The bill came in at 90 euros, which I didn't think was bad. We'd enjoyed the food, despite a couple of picky niggles, the service had been spot on and there was a great bustling atmosphere to the place. We would go back.

P.s. Apologies for the pics...

How to Eat in Rome - Part Four - Anitca Caciara Trasteverina

Day three of our holiday in Rome was not the best. It was hot and I had been deprived of a decent lie in. After a quick breakfast of coffee and cornetti (think croisants stuffed with a sweet custard) at the place that was previously known as Frontoni (another Downie recommendation, which has since changed hands, and names, and no I didn't catch the new name) for the excellent price of €2.20, we kind of wandered around aimlessly.

Well, not entirely aimlessly as we were heading to Testaccio, although I'm not sure what we were hoping to find there. In the end we gave in to the heat and stopped for a drink at the first cafe/bar we stumbled on. It was a friendly little place; full of locals of all ages, including a wealthy granny sipping from a can of red bull!

But the sticky plastic chairs, lack of a seat on the loo (a lot of the loos are unisex in Rome and you're extremely lucky to find one with a seat - especially in the bars) and the beggar trying to sell me a pair of socks (seriously it was 35°C, I did not want to even look at a pair of socks)  all began to grate on me.

We decided to take a trip to a deli, buy some goodies for lunch and go back to the hotel to eat.

We'd been to Antica Caciara Trasteverina before (again, a Downie recommendation) and we were glad to find that little had changed. The shop was packed full of gorgeous smelling produce including cheese and meats and the owner, who, thanks to Downie, I know is called Anna, was as sweet and helpful as ever.

We bought some ripe and smelly cheese (I don't know what), some mozzarella, some bresola, some artichokes and some little bottles of campari and soda. We forgot to get some bread so we stopped off at a supermarket where we also picked up some tomatoes to go with the mozzarella.

The bresola was gorgeous; wafer thin and tasty. The mozzarella was probably the tastiest I've ever had, certainly better than any I've had in Britain anyway! Cheese was good and smelly and we also had some amazing mascarpone with Gorgonzola which we'd picked up earlier in the week. I wasn't too bothered about the Campari and soda as it was too bitter for me, but overall it was a good lunch.

Suitably satisfied we put the telly on and dozed off to Family Guy....

How to Eat in Rome - Part Three - Pizzeria Ai Marmi

Pizza ain't my favourite meal, but that's mainly because I remember those horrible deep pan things we used to have as kids. They had thick stodgy dough, bland toppings and never, ever enough cheese. And, although pizzas have improved in Britain, they are nothing like the pizza in Italy!

We'd been to Ai Marmi (otherwise known as L'Obitorio, or the morgue, due to the marble tables) on our last trip to Rome as it's listed in David Downie's 'Food Wine Rome'. However Gav had ordered a pizza on the basis that he didn't know what the topping was going to be as he couldn't translate the description fully. It ended up being lettuce, and although the base was good, the topping was not and Gav has never lived his mistake down.

As I felt we hadn't had the true Ai Marmi experience, thanks to that lettuce, I was keen to go back (we'd also had an amazing bean & pork shank dish which I wanted to try again).

I knew that this place got busy so we headed there for about 8pm as we couldn't book and I didn't want to queue. The seating outside had all been taken, but this was fine by us. Inside was deliciously cool thanks to those marble tables and the powerful air-con units.

We start with a couple of snacks including suppli al telefono; balls of risotto stuffed with mozzarella and then deep fried. They take their name from the fact that once you've bitten into these tasty balls the mozzarella spirals out of the centre resembling a telephone cord. We shared one and immediately regretted not ordering more as it was delicious, as was the stuffed and deep fried courgette flower. Again, why didn't we order more? Especially as they were only about €1.50 each!

However, it was probably for the best as the pizza was pretty big as was the bean and sausage casserole we'd ordered (they were out of the pork shank). Pizza was speck, Gorgonzola and mozzarella and although the Gorgonzola was a bit overpowering, it was delicious and a far cry from that lettuce we'd had 3 years before! The base was perfectly thin and crispy; just how I like my pizza. However, despite the lack of a stodgy base, it was still filling.

The bean casserole was really tasty, not as good as I remembered it (we did have it with pork shank not sausages last time, and there is the possibility that I had my rose tinted glasses on too...), but still good. The huge dish was a real challenge though and I struggled to get through a quarter of it, leaving the rest for Gav to finish (he wasn't complaining).

It isn't just the food that's good here, the atmosphere too; relaxed and loud with chatter. Waiters are busy but courteous and they bloody work for their money, as do the chefs who are constantly on the go rolling that pizza dough to perfection (watch them at work here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6o8Ze_BP4k). 

How to Eat in Rome - Part Two - Enoteca Corsi

My next restaurant of choice was a recommendation from Mrs Petticoat via Twitter. She had visited on her last trip to Rome and as I like her blog and what she has to say about food I took her recommendation of Enoteca Corsi seriously. Finding it received praise in David Downie’s ‘Food,Wine, Rome’ sealed the deal for me and I booked us in for lunch (not that I needed to bother as no one gave two hoots about our reservation on entering the restaurant – I say restaurant – more wine shop with oodles of tables for the hungry).

Anyway… after our meal at L’Osteria di Monteverde (and the vinos and spritz that followed after) we had a long lie safe in the knowledge that our holiday was all about the food and chilling out. The lie in did mean that we missed breakfast at our hotel (no loss as it was pretty poor), so we grabbed a coffee (I had a cappuccino, the ‘breakfast’ coffee and Gav had a café, or espresso to you & me) on our way to the Pantheon area of the city.

It was very hot and, on fancying a nice cold beer, we stopped at a bar/restaurant for a couple of Peronis. The plastic tablecloths and plastic picture menus should have set alarm bells ringing, but I was hot and bothered and in need of beer. So we sat and drank our beer, ate our peanuts and got stung for €8 a beer, plus 20% service charge for sitting outside. Balls. That doesn’t normally happen. We’re normally a lot savvier than that… 

And, as if to prove that point precisely, we then stumbled across a café bar which served wine at €1 a glass. Yeah baby! ONE EURO a glass. The cheapest we’d found it previously was €1.50 a glass (at the fabulous Bar San Calisto), so this was an amazing find for us. And ok, the wine wasn’t great, but it was wet, cold and didn’t taste of vinegar. Bargain.

Thirst quenched, and wallets only partly fleeced, we headed off to Enoteca Corsi. It doesn’t look much from the outside, and to be honest the inside ain’t the most glamorous of places, but that’s what makes these kinds of places so special. The focus isn’t on the décor or any high tech music system but on the food and the wine.

The daily changing menu is split according to prices with some pasta dishes at €8, salads at €10 and some larger meals for €13. There were also some sides and desserts for €5 each.  We decide to keep it relatively light and order one dish each, no sides.

I went for the octopus salad (€13) and was ever so glad that I did. It was like no other octopus I have ever had as it was amazingly well cooked. Seriously! It was cooked through, but so tender that it melted in the mouth. Served with tomatoes, olives, parsley, olive oil and a chunk of lemon it was fresh and tasty and the perfect option given the heat.

 Gav went for seafood pasta (€8). It wasn’t quite what he expected, as he had expected chunks of seafood and no tomato sauce, but on looking at the menu again I can’t believe we missed the words ‘pesce’ & ‘ragu’ in the Italian name of the dish. No matter. He loved it. Tortiglioni was very well cooked and the ragu sauce had minced up fish cooked into it. It was simply served; without any Parmesan, just a sprinkling of parsley and was all the better for it (cheese and fish is always a funny one anyway).

We hadn’t intended on having dessert, but we were comfortable and enjoying ourselves so went for it. I had a chocolate cake, which was actually a bit of a mistake as I should have had something lighter, such as the huge chunks of pineapple I saw being dished out. Ho hum. It was good, just not what I fancied in that heat.

Gav made a better choice with a lemon tart, but that’s only fair as I certainly won the best of the main dishes!

All in, along with half a litre of house white, it was around €40 which was a bargain considering the food (especially that octopus salad), the location (bang central in tourist land), and the friendly, efficient service. 

How to Eat in Rome – Part One – L’Osteria di Monteverde

Before travelling to Rome I tracked down a few local food bloggers for some tips of where to eat. After all, where better to look for some good old honest reviews? Some guide books can’t be trusted for their honesty and the only one I do trust (David Downie’s ‘Food, Wine, Rome’) was written a few years ago, and although it can still be relied upon for those classic die-hard Roman restaurants, I fancied somewhere new.

After studying  a few blogs, including Elizabeth Minchilli’s Eat Rome,  My Life in Two Parts and GT Food & Travel I booked a table at L’Osteria di Monteverde for our first night on the basis that service was going to be friendly, food was going to be good (and a bit innovative) and it was going to be reasonably priced. I’m pleased to say that my research paid off and we had an excellent evening.

Trudging up from Trastevere to Monteverde was a bit of an effort in 30°C heat, especially as it was up a bit of a hill (didn’t I leave those behind in Sheffield?) and by the time we entered the restaurant we were both a tad hot and bothered. Thankfully the place was air conditioned and we soon cooled down.

Far from being intimidated by the all Italian menu, we were pleased to find that we had hit on a local restaurant not some tourist attraction (I know, I know, a tourist wanting to get away from tourists – it makes no sense – but that’s just how it is). Having said that, although we knew what the pasta dishes were (the menu included all the Roman classics) and we could work out some of the ingredients, we did need a bit of assistance from the waiter. Thankfully his English was pretty damn good and he was pleased to take us through the main dishes in a helpful, but non-patronising manner.

Dishes ordered we chose our wine; a Frascati (hailing from the Lazio region, Frascati was the drink of choice all week), and this was a particularly delicious bottle. Priced at around €16 it was expensive for Rome, but more than reasonable for those of us who are used to British prices.

Proceedings kicked off with an amuse bouche of sea bream. Served on spoons, it was the perfect mouthful and although it was sea bream, it tasted of mackerel (of the tinned variety!). I missed how it had been cooked, but there was some tomato in there, which explains the tinned fish taste.

Wanting to experience the whole Italian dining experience without stuffing ourselves to the brim we decided to share an antipasto of steak tartare with truffle oil and mushrooms. The waiter insisted that he arrange for the dish to be split onto two plates rather than have us struggle over the one. This was a good idea, especially as on first mouthful, I know there was no way I could have shared my plate with anyone!

Fat, juicy chunks of raw steak were served in a tidy pile topped off with raw white mushrooms and sprinkles of Parmesan. Truffle oil wasn’t overly strong letting the beef do most of the talking and it was delicious. Simple and delicious. It was refreshing to see a beef tartare without the usual chopped onion, capers and the like… and the meat fared better for the chopping rather than passing it through the mincer.

We had also ordered a contorni, which I had thought would be served as a side with the secondi, but it arrived with our antipasto. It was a bit bizarre and it confused us no end, but strips of courgette with truffles and Parmesan would be good at any stage of any meal at any part of the day. The truffle was stronger in this dish and there was plenty of Parmesan making a simple dish of courgette truly luxurious!

On spotting those traditional Roman pasta dishes on the menu, I couldn’t resist a primi course. I hadn’t had an all’amatriciana before and as it’s a real classic, I was keen to give it a go. Rigatoni was cooked perfectly; al dente so that there was still a slight white ring inside the pasta on biting. The tomato sauce was delicious and rich and guinciale (think pancetta made from the pork cheek) was fatty, but crispy adding further texture. It was brilliant! After falling in love with carbonara on my last trip to Rome it’s fair to say that the all’amatriciana is my new passion and I will be curing my own pork cheek so that I can master this one at home.

Gav didn’t fare so well as his ravioli stuffed with aubergine was a little under seasoned and although the tomatoes and their juices served with those fat pouches of pasta were good, he could have done with a bit more as the flavour worked well with the creaminess of the aubergine.

Onto secondi and I went for the squid special. I liked the simplicity of the grilled squid served with chicory, but the squid was a bit overcooked for my liking. It wasn’t impossible, but was disappointing given the quality of the food I’d had so far.

Now it was Gav’s turn to win the best dish competition (doesn’t everyone want to win this competition?). His sea bream had been grilled on one side only, leaving the underside very barely cooked. It was served on a bed of pearl barely; something we rarely see being used, and why? It has such a great texture and we should use it more. It was good, by the way. Cooking the fish on one side is something I’d only previously seen in a sushi restaurant, but the technique makes perfect sense and allows for the best of both worlds in one mouthful.

By this point I was stuffed, full of both wine and food. Gav did manage to squeeze in a dolci. Strawberry sorbetto was a bit more elaborate than we imagined from the menu as it was served with some sugar work and apple. It looked beautiful, but I stuck to the alcohol and had some of the distilled white spirit flavoured with lemon on offer.

What a start to our holiday?! Apart from a couple of glitches in the squid and the ravioli, the food had been excellent and well worth the trek from Trastevere. Service had been absolutely spot on; friendly, smiley and chatty and we left the restaurant on a high.

Lovely.

(And for those concerned about Roman pricing… for the shared antipasto and contorni, a primi and secondi each, a dolci, 2 bottles of wine and 2 spirits we paid €114; again not cheap, but comparable to Sheffield prices).