Our first day's luncheon
Date: 10/18/2001
On our first full day out and about in Rome (19 October), we found ourselves near the Piazza del Popolo and had lunch in, of all places, a small, German Birreria, located in what seemed like an alley. Jeff is having a plate of salmon and toast, while Isaac is having some sort of pasta dish.
Dinner at La Tana Sarda
Date: 10/18/2001
That evening of our first day, we went with our hosts Jim & Renzo to what we knew as "that Sardinian Restaurant", a short walk from their place to the University Quarter. This restaurant was described as a favorite of our friends Jim & Charlie, who had visited earlier in the year. We could see why too: ample, fresh and tasty food, and for a reasonable price. These are a couple of the antipasto platters.
Mixed grill of seafood at La Tana Sarda
Date: 10/18/2001
Still at dinner, still at the Sardinian Restaurant (La Tana Sarda), this was the seafood mixed-grill that Jeff had. It was so yummy that I was well into eating before I remembered to take the picture.
Lunch at l'Insalata Ricca
Date: 10/19/2001
On Friday (19 October) we met Jim near his office (not far the The Gesú, the famous Jesuit church), and ended up having l'Insalata Ricca, which specializes in all sorts of fanciful and satisfying salads, of which these are only two examples.
Lunch in Tivoli
Date: 10/20/2001
We took our first day trip with Jim on Saturday (20 October), going to Tivoli to see the Villa d'Este and Hadrian's Villa. In between the two, we had lunch outside in Tivoli at about the only place that seemed open. The food was fine, if a bit overpriced, but the tablecloth was very nice, and it was a pretty day for dining outside.
Renzo's Cannelloni
Date: 10/20/2001
When we returned from our trip to Tivoli, tired and very hungry, Renzo made dinner for all of us. For Primo, Renzo made these lovely cannelloni.
Since we frequently ate "at home", this table cloth will become very familiar looking.
Renzo's Chicken Stew
Date: 10/20/2001
Later in the same meal: Secondo was a hearty chicken stew, along with a salad of whatever was fresh and available. Renzo was firmly of the opinion that Bears are always in need of food; he'd generally eat like a bird and watch us consume the product of his labors. So, we'll be seeing large portions set against this tablecloth.
Lunch in the Cafeteria of the Vatican Museum
Date: 10/22/2001
We made a very early start on Monday (22 October) so that we could tour the Vatican Museums. After that major dose of culture, we enjoyed our lunch in the Vatican Cafeteria. The food was quite tasty and the staff was friendly and efficient. Isaac reports that both of these are quite the improvement since the last time he was there several years ago.
A Fishmonger at the Market
Date: 10/23/2001
We started out one morning with a quick visit to the market that was near Jim & Renzo's apartment, which served as our base in Rome. It was the largest market in the city. This was only one of the stalls selling fresh seafood.
Dinner at Alessandro's Apartment
Date: 10/23/2001
On the evening of Tuesday (23 October), after another extensive day of sightseeing, we were treated to a home-cooked meal at the apartment of Jim and Renzo's friend, composer Alessandro. Half of our meal was a lasagna that Renzo made, the rest was prepared by Alessandro, including a lovely Ensalata Caprese (tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil with olive oil), one of our Italian favorites. Note the nearly ubiquitous red-checked tablecloth.
Renzo serves Lasagna
Date: 10/23/2001
Still at the dinner table at Alessandro's, Renzo serves some of the lasagne that he made to Jim.
Pizza & Pantheon
Date: 10/24/2001
Wednesday (24 October) was another day of beautiful weather and more sightseeing. Our feet were tired so we stopped for a light pizza luncheon outdoors in sight of the Pantheon, which made a nice backdrop for Jeff's Pizza Capriccioso. Admittedly, the other patrons seemed to think it slightly odd that we should be taking a picture of a pizza.
Primo at Il Bucatino
Date: 10/24/2001
Wednesday evening we went to the Aventine, Isaac's old haunt when he lived in Rome at Sant'Anselmo. There we met up with his long-time friend Ephrem, and we all went to the nearby restaurant, Il Bucatino, for a 2-hour dinner. Here we are enjoying our Primo: pasta dishes for Isaac and Ephrem, vegetable soup for Jeff.
Secondo at Il Bucatino
Date: 10/24/2001
Still enjoying our dinner at Il Bucatine, this is the Secondo, various (and enormous) meat dishes for all of us. Nearby diners mistook the goal of my photo-documentary efforts and kindly offered to take the picture so that all three of us could be in it. I didn't have the heart (or the vocabulary) to tell them that it was really the food that I taking pictures of.
Left-over Lasagna at Home
Date: 10/25/2001
The next evening (25 October), we were having one of our cultural evening outings (after a day touring with Renzo: the Villa and Galleria Borghese, the Catacombs of Priscilla, the Mausoleum of Santa Constanza, and the Church of Sant'Agnese), so we had a quick supper at home, which included some of Renzo's left-over lasagna.
Lunch -- again! -- at L'Ensalata Ricca
Date: 10/26/2001
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).
Pizza in Mamorata I
Date: 10/26/2001
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.
Pizza in Mamorata II
Date: 10/26/2001
Roman style pizzas have very thin, cracker-like crusts and a wide variety of things one can have put on top.
Zuppa at Osteria alle 2 Colonne
Date: 10/27/2001
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, and they were all tasty.)
Vitello al Limone at Osteria alle 2 Colonne
Date: 10/27/2001
At the same establishment (as you can tell from the tablecloth!), this is Jeff's Secondo: Veal Scallopini al Limone, eating already in progress. (This was a higher-class joint, and people pretended not to notice the picture taking.)
Renzo's Tortellini
Date: 10/27/2001
That evening, back at home, we have dinner again prepared by Renzo. We began with some nice little Tortellini.
Mozzarella Taste Test
Date: 10/27/2001
Then, later in the meal, we decided to do a comparison of various types of Mozzarelli. 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.
Sermoneta Luncheon I
Date: 10/28/2001
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. CW from lower left is Isaac, Lucio, Jim, and Renzo, getting the food out of his backpack.
Lunch with Bob
Date: 10/29/2001
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?)
Renzo's Pasta Carbonara
Date: 10/29/2001
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.
Renzo Fries Steaks!
Date: 10/29/2001
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.
Luncheon at L'Ensalata Ricca III
Date: 10/30/2001
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".)
Renzo's Pasta al Formo
Date: 10/30/2001
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...
