Rome of small things

Agata, Andrea, Angelo, Anthony, Antonello, Francesco, Gianfranco, Giulio, Heinz, Oliver, Riccardo. I think I have mentioned all of you, guys, but for once I won’t speak about you. When Paolo Marchi asked me to write a 6 thousand characters piece on “my” Rome, I remember I thought «wow, how wonderful!». Then, just after that, «where should I start from», «6 thousand characters are a lot», «what if I forget to mention someone?», «what excuse can I make up, to decline this invitation?», «I could simulate a journey I couldn’t refuse, like, I don’t know... to Patagonia!», «is it in Patagonia that the make a jam with Calafate berries? Who knows how it would go with lamb». This is how us chefs are: give us any theme, and in less than 10 steps we will end up speaking of work, once again.

Back to business, I am a lucky person, I don’t love large cities but I have the possibility of living in Trastevere, a few steps away from where I work, and of moving around on foot. Following the irregular design of the sanpietrini stones, one can run up to Gianicolo, enjoy the view from one of the most beautiful terraces overlooking Rome, and then run breathlessly down to the Tiber. The aim is to arrive as hungry as possible to the pastry-cum-chocolate shop run by Mrs Valzani: it would need a few renovations, the pastry-shop that is to say, but after all the owner, towering the register, is soon to be 90 and you can’t expect too much. Ask her to tell you how her husband opened this pastry-shop, ask her how her oven works perfectly and meanwhile let the son prepare some of the most delicious meringues with whipped cream you might have in your life. Go out saying your goodbyes to the sprightly lady but only after you have filled your bag with all the chocolate that your hopefully dirty conscience will allow.

From there, you can visit another great lady of traditional Roman cuisine for lunch. Mrs Jole, a master in preparing carciofi alla giudia (not to mention her vignarola!), is the soul behind restaurant Paris. The artichokes are crispy but not burnt and the vignarola is fresh, prepared daily and only when in season. Following the theme of ladies who have contributed in writing a piece of the gastronomic culture of this city, you could make your dinner reservations at Antico Arco. In the kitchen there’s Patrizia Mattei, her food is elegant, the restaurant is very welcoming. I was invited here for dinner when I was to meet my mother-in-law. Who cares, I know, but I wanted to say this. The only problem is that the restaurant is in the highest point of Gianicolo. Unless you have already enjoyed all your Valzani chocolates and want to start over from the start (run/meringue/chocolate), I suggest you phone to reserve a table.

If on the other hand you’d like a nice pizza, you’d be spoilt for choice. Before that, let’s consider one thing: what pizza do you prefer? I mean, if you like a thin and crispy pizza you can jump this paragraph altogether, but if you like a thicker pizza, with a long leavening, with rich condiments that can undermine the structure of the slice of pizza you raise with your hands, threatening to make it collapse under the weight of such goodness, then follow me. The road in Rome has been probably opened by Gatta Mangiona, soon followed by Sforno. Today, with their respective spin-offs, they are still among the best pizzerias of the entire universe. Unfortunately I visit them rarely because they’re closing day is the same as ours, and because of the distance.

(1. to be continued)