Roma: Repast & Ramble

After our visit to the Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica in 2018, we happened upon a hostaria off on a side street. It was packed. We didn’t have a reservation. But they managed to find us two seats in what we referred to as the ‘dungeon room’ … only because it was at the back of the building and down a couple of stairs. The food was delicious; the ambiance was local. In other words, it was the kind of place we always look for when searching for a place to eat.

And that’s how Hostaria Romana came to be one of our favorite restaurants in Roma. We’ve since had lunch there every time we’ve been in Roma … except the one time we were in the city on the day the restaurant was closed.

Though we’ve managed to get in without reservations on previous occasions, this time we decided to be safe rather than sorry. Mui made a reservation for 1:00p, and when we arrived, we were seated at a two-top in the glass-enclosed front room. It didn’t take long for every table to be filled … most with locals.

We skipped the wine because of the hot temps and ordered water — “frizzante, per favore” — and homemade lemonade.

Although I knew what I would be ordering, I still perused the menu. That’s how I found a house specialty that I knew Mui would enjoy … ossobucco with mushrooms and peas … a different preparation of the braised veal shank dish. He raved about it throughout the meal and even shared bits with me.

My choice, as always was, another house specialty that happens to be one of the four pasta dishes that are synonymous with Roma … cacio e pepe … prepared with a type of pasta called tonnarelli. Delicious ... though you have to like black pepper as it is a prominent part of the dish. Yes, I did share with Mui.

Comfortably sated with our meal — we had a light breakfast this morning just so we would be hungry by lunchtime — we ordered what was described as a ricotta cheesecake … really a ricotta crostata with a layer of wild cherry jam. Yummy … and very light.

Following our excellent-as-usual lunch, we thanked Ivano — who married into the family that runs Hostaria Romana, and was our host today — and began the second jiggle of our day … which took us across the Tevere (Tiber River) to the neighborhood of Trastevere.Læs mere