Rome, Italy:  The World's Smallest City that's Big on Food

Rome is the ultimate destination if you are looking for a happy mix of the history, classic art, and pizza.  But food lovers confess they cannot have enough of Rome's great food in just two days.  There is so much to see and so many dishes to try before one can claim that "he came, he saw, and he conquered" this little city.

Rome's Food Offerings

 It is only in Rome that Mussolini and pizza mix and for food lovers there's life beyond Rome's infamous Mussolini and famous pizzas.  Just get into one of the many trattorias or Italian-style informal restaurants; these have no celebrity chefs to turn out the best home-styled cooked meals.

These places serve the same comfort foods every day and these are prepared in the traditional way.  For those on a budget, the trattorias are the top places to go and they get a good dose of warm hospitality.  These joints are not your classy Rome restaurants with expensive interiors; some have no menus but announce their specials such as antipasto or tomato served with peasant bread, warm beans on a platter, and a bowl filled to the brim with spicy mashed potatoes.

Restaurants are aplenty in Rome and these are usually situated along areas that offer better views of the plaza where pigeons flock for bread crumbs.  For that touristy feel, restaurants in these areas are the best bets for those endless digital snapping.  These places also offer the best of Rome's cuisine.  You can order a bowl of pasta topped with shaved Pecorino Romano cheese, spiced up with black pepper, and drizzled with olive oil or a pizza if you wish.

To organize your gastronomic holiday, start with the antipasti or appetizers.  In the bunch, you choose from bruschetta, deep fried cod fillets, mozzarella cheese stuffed fried rice croquettes, courgette flowers also stuffed with anchovies and mozzarella cheese, seafood, cured meats, olives, or preserved vegetables the likes of peppers, tomatoes, and artichokes.

For a pasta feast, venture out of the spaghetti staple and try the cannelloni or egg pasta stuffed with cheese and spinach or meat.  This dish is topped with fresh tomato sauce before baking. Another pasta dish to try is the Bucatini alla Amatriciana; this dish originated from Amatrice, a small village near Rieti.  The pasta used looks like spaghetti but this is served with tomato sauce, bacon, and hog jowls, white wine and lots of spicy peppers. 

Do you dare try something daring?  Try the delicious Rigatoni con la Pajata - a square pasta tube dish with a sauce made from milk-fed calf's intestines cooked with salt pork, tomatoes, garlic and a host of spices. Before serving, the dish is topped with shaved Pecorino cheese.  This cheese is made from sheep's milk and is hard and salty.       

Get Rome Tour Online

If the food of Rome can seduce you, then book a tour to Rome.   If this is your first tour to Rome, settle for the top tourist drawers where the best restaurants are situated.  Later on, try the less travelled by-ways in Rome.  

Booking online is faster and economical and you can choose a tour that would define your Rome experience - places to good and the great food to enjoy.   Bon Appetit!      

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