So this would be the last food post for our honeymoon…Rome. After taking a little puddle-jumper flight from Barcelona we arrived in Rome and had to take the train to the center of the city and then a taxi to our hotel, which was on the outskirts of the city.
By the time we got checked in and settled, it was later in the afternoon and so we decided to head down to the Lounge for a quick bit and save our stomachs for dinner. But after getting into the city we went on the hunt for Gelato!
I read about this place in my Lonely Planet book and it was rated as one of the best in Rome, made with organic ingredients and nothing added. It wasn’t a question of whether I would continue looking for it until I found it, because I would, but I was thrilled by Beau’s dexterity to find that place no matter what! And we did!
Beau ordered the special for the day, which I think was named for the street. I couldn’t tell you the flavor, but it was good. I, naturally, got two different kinds because I can’t seem to commit to just one: Ginger/Cinnamon and Basil. They were wonderful! I wish I had gotten more. The interesting thing was that every flavor was the same color.
Meal #1: The Golden Corral of Rome. Yes, we ate there, much to our chagrin. I should have known when we sat down and the bread they gave us was stale. I should have walked out right then, but we didn’t. We didn’t order an antipasto because we both wanted a primi.
Beau’s Primi: Carbonara-it tasted good, but it had pieces of egg in it (which is a no no)
Kathryn’s Primi: Mushroom Risotto. I had been dying to have risotto. Sadness came over me. The rice wasn’t cooked all the way and it was thick like it’s supposed to be. It was like they just added cream to some rice and wham! Risotto! Not so. It was tasteless and I couldn’t finish it. Beau was so sweet to let me eat his Carbonara with him.
Secondi: I convinced Beau to let me order Veal Marsala to share. He normally doesn’t eat veal, but he obliged. Wish he hadn’t though… It came out and it was slimy and gross looking and in no way resembled marsala. It looked like it was cooked in fatty chicken broth. Yuck. We didn’t eat it.
Meal #2: Breakfast at the hotel has to be mentioned, only because it was one of the biggest spreads I’ve ever seen. It was in two different rooms! Let me list the selections for you:
Cereal/Granola bar with 9 different kinds of milk, 5 different choices of yogurt and multiple options for toppings.
Japanese breakfast bar with your choice of dumplings, rice or noodles and their fixin’s.
Fruit bar with fruit from all over the world, no matter the season we were in.
Toast/Bread bar with four different loaves, multiples types of pastries and regular old sandwich bread.
Jam/Jelly bar with at least 15 different flavors of jams/jellies and there were six or so different kinds of honey.
Cookie bar
Juice bar with juices from any fruit that could be squeezed to make juice.
And then the regulars: eggs cooked three different ways, sausage, bacon, prosciutto, French toast made from French bread, etc.
We ate like kings and queens that morning!
Meal #3: Lunch at Lo Zozzoro. Another Lonely Planet recommendation that we searched high and low for. This one was a little easier to find. Going into the meal, Beau and I thought everything would be a pizza, but when the food was delivered we found out it wasn’t. Beau ordered a turkey and cheese Panini with mayo on focaccia. I thought it was okay, but he seemed to really like it. I ordered eggplant, mozzarella and tomato on flatbread. It came out piping hot and nice and crispy. We both devoured this one. Two lunches, two COKE Zeros and a beer and we were out of there.
Meal #4: Per the concierge’s recommendation we at a place called Condido’s. Beau and I had no idea what to expect. Our reservation was for 8:00 and believe it or not, we were the first people in the restaurant. We thought this to be a bad sign at first, but around 8:30 that place was swarming with people and it was still completely packed when we left at 10:30. This place was family run, with mom cooking, dad running the place and the sons acting as the waiters. Yes, three waiters for the entire restaurant that probably had 50 or so tables. Mayhem at times.
They sat us down and asked “red or white?” Wine that is. And we chose red. Wine, bread and a plate of olives, salami and sun dried tomatoes were brought to us. We munched on that stuff for a while. I was wondering when a menu was going to be brought to us, but that never came. Instead a bowl of potato noodle soup came for each of us. That was pretty good. We were then asked for our pasta choice and the waiter listed four different options. Beau tried the Oxtail over Rigatoni and I had Rigatoni with butter, parmesan and black pepper. We loved them both.
For our entrees, we were given three “specialties” and four other options. We chose from the other options. Beau ordered meatballs, which he said were some of his favorite. They had a citrus flavor to them. I ordered the lamb chop with pureed potatoes. Yes, that was delicious.
And for dessert they brought us an opened bottle of dessert wine, two glasses and a plate of Italian cookies that we were instructed to dip into the wine. One of them was a hazelnut cookie that we really liked and could have eaten more of, but if you can imagine, we were very full by this point.
This was the most food and some of the best, with definitely the best overall experience and it was the cheapest! We loved it!
Well, that sums up the eating portion of our honeymoon. I hope ya’ll enjoyed it at least a fraction of what we did! Next will come trying to recreate these things! Cheers to happy trying!
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