Pizzarium, Via della Meloria, Rome

The Guardian once headlined the owner of this renown shop (via della Meloria 43, Rome, tel : +39 06 3974 5416), Gabriele Bonci, as the 'Michelangelo of pizza' for the "experimental artistry" of local artisanal produce that is creatively used for the toppings of their pizza al taglio. That was in a follow up after US Vogue had done the same. In an episode of The Layover for Rome, he made a ham and pineapple topping with spicy sautéed onions and peppers for Anthony Bourdain.

Media and celebrity brushes aside, Pizzarium makes delicious pizza with interesting toppings. From what I had understood, the toppings choices change depending on the time of the year and sometimes, the hour of the day. So one is likely to get different options depending on when the visit was made. I read that Bonci has done over 1500 different types of pizza in a year.

prosciutto and wilted spinach, sliced beef and broccoli

The essence for the pizzas beside the variety of toppings was of course, the crust. The thicker than usual crust of rested dough from Pizzarium were crispy on the edges, airy and chewy at the same time. Greasy as well from the generous use of olive oil and perhaps some melted fat from the toppings that were used. Cut out with scissors from the main pie according to your preference of portions.

airy pockets of the crust

Of the toppings that we managed to try in this first visit, the best tasting one was the one with sliced beef and chopped broccoli. Boiled and chopped up bits of tender broccoli blanketed by thinly sliced beef on a bianca base.

anchovy and some wilted green, margherita with gobs of thick chewy mozza

I like their margherita for the quantity and arrangement of the mozzarella. The chewy gobs of cheese was satisfying in both the milky flavours and texture. No where else had I seen such thick twists of the cheese on pizza.

Place was pretty small. One eats in whichever small corner that can be found in the establishment or at the counter just outside the shop.

Pizzarium was a little bit pricey for a pizza lunch. If you're wondering if I felt it was worth it...well, I suppose I would love to re-visit if I ever get to come back to Rome.

Pasticceria Dagnino, Via Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, Rome

Here's to grabbing a bite in the morning, pretending to be Romans with a cornetto and a cappucino down at Pasticceria Dagnino (Via Vittorio Emanuele Orlando 75 (Galleria Esedra), Rome, tel : + 39 06 4818660 ) which was fortunately located very close to our hotel. This pasticceria emitted an old school charm that attracted me to it.

A cornetto as I have learnt recently was basically a sweet pastry or confectionery that many people here grab in the morning as breakfast. It is usually a something filled with cream/custard/chocolate and often had over the counter with a caffeine of choice or also sometimes on the go. Rushing through a non leisurely breakfast on the way to work is a universal thing in all cities. But not for me today.

Aside from the nice custard cream filled croissant, we also balanced the sweet of our leisurely breakfast with some savoury arancini. Our deep fried rice balls of choice today were filled with diced ham and cheese. I liked the strength in the flavor of ham in this.

Ristorante Colline Emiliane, Via degli Avignonesi 22, Rome

Colline Emiliane (Via degli Avignonesi 22, Rome, tel : +39 06 481 7538) is a small and cosy family run restaurant just parallel to the main street where Piazza Barberini is. The location of this atmospherically warm trattoria was seemingly very near a popular spot, yet off the beaten road. Reservations are highly recommended if one does not wish to be turned away from this small capacity venue that seems to be known and appreciated by both locals and foreigners alike.

We had a shared Culatello di Zibello which was a prosciutto cured in red wine. Zibello as I've discovered is a province of Parma. The curing was apparently done in house for 14 days and is supposed to impart the flavour of the wine into the meat. I said 'supposed' because I couldn't really taste any of that red wine flavor (not a universal opinion on that apparently) in the meat, but instead had gotten a fragrant and almost char like aroma around the edges of the thinly sliced prosciutto. Very tasty ham there.

One of the recommended items from Colline Emiliane was their tortellini di zucca. These dumplings looked and tasted home made. For for some strange reasons, there was a certain sweetness which I couldn't associate with pumpkins in the filling. It reminded me strongly of lemon cakes which totally threw me off the flavour train.

Their tagliatelle alla bolognese was hands down the most memorable bolognese pasta I've had. Ever. What I liked about the ragu was the minimal amount of tomatoes that were used. The robustness of the flavour were bolstered mostly by red wine and meat. There's more. Those home made tagliatelle were done al dente and were so springy that the only word I could think of to describe their amazing textures was 'lively'. This item as simple as it was is definitely good for returns.

There was also a fegato alla veneta which was both robust and rich in flavour of the liver, balanced off by the sweetness of the onions and the tart of vinegar. Great stuff.

We ordered a baked dish of fresh ceps with Taleggio cheese because the mushrooms were in season. The mushrooms were very good.

Dessert was a lemon meringue tart which we had ordered because almost every other table was having one. I'm normally more than wary of meringues because the local renditions are more often than not, excessively sugared. This one had a pleasant moderated sweetness which paired off nicely with their lemon curd.

Am marking this place for returns. Service was excellent, prices very reasonable and the food was delicious in a down to earth manner without frills.

Pastificio, Via Della Croce, Rome

sitting on a bench in Piazza di Spagna

The catch that was Pastificio (Via Della Croce, 8, Rome) was that it was actually located a minute walk away from the Spanish Steps right in the midst of a touristy and pricey shopping district. What was the the big deal about that?  Lunch for €4 and that landed one a heaping plate of freshly made and cooked pasta with a packet of plastic cutlery & napkin and a plastic cup for self serviced water or wine!

The place, generically named....or unnamed makes and sells fresh pasta. At lunch, they serve an hour's worth of their freshly cooked goods on trays with two flavors of the day from 1 p.m. We reached the shop 10 minutes before 1 and a short queue was already forming up to the road on the outside. Early birds got to slot themselves into a corner of the shop with a stool while others have to eat outside or move elsewhere.

What we got today were tender and substantial gnocchi al pomodoro and what I understood to be their pasta alla Grica. Springy thick noodles with olive oil, black pepper, Percorino Romano and something awesomely flavorful of lard which I had assume to be fried bacon or guanciale.

No questions as to whether I'll attempt this again if I'm ever in the vicinity during lunchtime.

Our first pizza al taglio in Rome

Pizza al taglio simply means pizza by slices and a large number of pizzerias in Rome sell them this way rather than having the entire pizza purchased. One can generally indicate the portions of the solid crusty slices and/or topping varieties before they are cut out and weighed to be sold in that manner. I do not remember the name of this particular shop, but it was located somewhere within a minute or two of walking from Via Modena. A bianca styled sausage, cheese and potatoes made for comfort eating while the other was a little zesty with the bite of rockets and the spice of salami. 

The scenario was that we were hungry, looking for a quick bite and these pies tasted pretty damned good.