Roman Food II

Again on Friday (26 October) we were touring with Renzo, and our morning schedule of art exhibitions (including a wonderful retrospective of the paintings of Oratio and Artemesia Gentileschi) brought us back to the neighborhood of L'Insalata Ricca, where we enjoyed our second day of sampling their extensive menu of salads (some thirty or forty compositions).

That same evening (perhaps as part of a bribe to convince Jim and Renzo's friend Lucio to drive us to the country during the weekend), we went to their favorite pizza establishment in Mamorata. These are examples of the popular offerings. After dinner, we went to a nearby theatre for an unusual evening's entertainment by Les DéSaxé, a comedy saxophone quartet.

Saturday (27 October) we did some more-leisurely touring around town with Jim, starting with a visit to the very interesting Galleria Doria Pamphilij. As we were casting about for a place to eat, we passed a small restaurant where the proprietor promised us a nice lunch if we'd come in. It was a good lunch, and the tablecloths were lavender for a change. This is Jeff's Primo: vegetable soup. (Every restaurant seems to serve this as their only soup; however, each one is different from the last.)

At the same establishment (as you can tell from the tablecloth!), this is Jeff's Secondo: Veal Scallopini a Limone, eating already in progress. (This was a higher-class joint, and people pretended not to notice the picture taking.)

That evening, back at home, we have dinner again prepared by Renzo. We began with some nice little Tortellini.

Then, later in the meal, we decided to do a comparison of various types of Mozarelli. All were fresh, with three different styles represented. The somewhat more familiar big blob style is in the bowl. In the jar to the right (and impaled on the tines of the fork) is a delightful, bite-sized form know as "Milk Flowers". Although they tasted much the same, the latter had an entertaining poetic quality.

On Sunday (28 October) we had a major day-trip to the Nature Preserve and Gardens at Ninfa, followed by a visit to the medieval town Sermoneta and its castle. Imagine, five pretty big guys tucked into Lucio's little Fiat! But it was worth it to see what we saw. Renzo packed a very nice picnic lunch, which we stopped to enoy on the hillside leading to Sermoneta. Here, Lucio is offering Jeff a sandwich, as Renzo prepares more in the background.

Our trip was nearing its end on Monday (29 October), when we had a planned luncheon date with another long-time friend of Isaac's, Bob. He took us to a place run by a friend, who fed us well for some 3 hours. As it had been nearly everyday, the weather was quite nice and we're dining here outside, seemingly in the middle of the road sometimes, with motorcycles and small cars zooming by. (Need we point out the tablecloth?)

That evening, back at the apartment, Renzo decided to treat us to a festive dinner since we would be leaving in little more than a day, and the next day would be crowded with last-minute errands and preparations. We began with his version of Pasta Carbonara.

For the Secondo, perhaps as a gesture to our Americanism, Renzo prepared these positively enormous steaks! We're not sure when was the last time we saw hunks of meat this large. But, there's no denying that they were tasty, due in large part no doubt, to the conviviality and generosity of our Roman hosts.

Among the many things we scurried around doing on our last full day in Rome (Tuesday, 30 October), it seemed by now an appropriate familiarity to have lunch at L'Insalata Ricca. Even now, we still have over 30 salads left unsampled. (The dressing on the seafood salad was listed on the menu as "Pink Sauce".)

Our last evening at Jim and Renzo's was a bit hectic, since we'd done some late shopping for gifts, and needed to get to our packing and try to get some sleep (since we would leave for the airport the next morning at 5am). So we had a casual dinner, made up of the rest of the home-made lasagna and...

...a refreshing salad for a light finish. We also said goodby to this lovely tablecloth, equally refreshing for its daring not to be red and white checked.

Revisit the first page of our Roman-Food Tour.