Osteria da Fortunata

After a less-than-stellar Chinese dinner in Rome, we learned our lesson and went back to the well.  We did have Osteria da Fortunata on our list of places to eat, but it was nowhere near the Colosseum.  Our tour was in the morning and ended around lunch time.  We were pretty famished and tired, but nothing in that area interested us, especially with the restaurants displaying big pictures of their food and staff trying to lure us in.  So we made the decision to make the 20+ minute walk over to Osteria da Fortunata.  Luckily for us, the line moved fast and we were seated in less than 10 minutes.

Looking over the menu, we decided to get 2 appies including the Suppli with aborio rice, beef and fior di latte mozzarella.  These were fairly large and fried up until firmly crispy on the outside.  It had been fried long enough so that the cheese had completely melted in the middle.  We found the rice filling to be well-seasoned with a tomatoey sweetness and quite a bit of saltiness.  Rice was perfeclty al dente.  The other appie was the classic Prosciutto with Melon.  Nothing complex about this dish but the prosciutto was decent with its classic saltiness.  Not the best prosciutto but still good nonetheless.  The canteloupe underneath was supremely ripe, sweet and juicy.

Onto the mains, we went for a couple of pastas including the Strozzapreti Carbonara.  This was made with the pasta that was being hand-made behind the front window.  Well, that was completely legit as the pasta had an excellent chewiness to them.  Good rebound and bite while not being hard.  This was one tasty carbonara with the saltiness and fattiness of the guanciale as well as the nutty saltiness of the pecorino and parmesan.  To top it off, we had perfectly blended egg yolk to create a creamy sauce with a good amount of pepper.

Our second pasta was also very good in the Gnocchi Ragu.  Unlike the meal on our first night in Rome, the gnocchi here was served hot and also had a soft, yet chewy texture.  Ultimately, they were soft enough that they weren't stiff, but also had a nice rebound to them.  As for the ragu, it was plenty meaty and rich with lots of acidity from the tomatoes balanced off with sweetness.  This was a touch salty, but it couldn't be accused of being bland either.

We decided on 2 meat dishes including the Roman Saltimbocca similar to the one we had the first night.  Comparatively, the veal here was seared more aggressively, hence there was some nice browning on the edges.  It added a crisp texture to the rest of the tender meat.  It wasn't as floury as the previous one either.  It was topped with prosciutto and that provided the necessary saltiness.  The fried sage and butter added a luxurious flavour.

Our last dish was the Coda alla Vaccinara which as essentially stewed Oxtail in a tomato red wine sauce.  This was a fabulous value at $17.00 Euros as oxtail is pretty expensive.  Portion-wise, it was huge with large pieces of oxtail that had been cooked to the point of being melt-in-our-mouths tender (which is difficult to do with the larger pieces as they are leaner).  Flavours were strong being a bit salty, but it meant there was on longing for any more seasoning.  We also found some richness to go with the slight spice.  In general, the food at Osteria da Forunata is quite good and well-portioned.  They do use quite a bit of salt which may turn some people off.  We enjoyed it and thought it was one of the better meals so far.

The Good:

- Large portions

- Reasonably-priced

- Tasty

The Bad:

- Salty

- Hurried service (still nice, but hurried)

Neapolis Caffè

I considered not blogging about Neapolis Cafe because it was just a quick top for an American-style breaky on our way to our Colosseum tour.  So nothing sexy or interesting about the cafe other than the fact it was close to our hotel and conveniently along the route to our destination.  However, it was serviceable and really, would be handy for anyone to drop by for the same purpose.  So I finally decided to include this as a blog post.

So it was a relief to my son that he was going to have an actual breakfast rather than some pastry this time around.  He went ahead and got the Cheese Omelette with Prosciutto Cotto.  It came with a small smattering of rocket salad as well as panini-pressed white crustless bread.  Yep, this was pretty much a basic omelette that was not as overcooked as its appearance.  The inside was actually fluffy and filled with cheese and ham.  It did the job.

Viv decided to get the Salmon Omelette also served with a rocket salad and toast.  This was folded into a quarter circle and was also more fluffy inside than its outward appearance.  There was a decent amount of cold smoked salmon that was still buttery and soft.  That provided all of the flavour needed for the omelette.  We felt the rocket salad could've used more dressing (or was there even any?) because it was plain.

My daughter only wanted Pancakes and they looked a bit too uniform in terms of appearance and level of doneness on the outside.  So as a result, they weren't exactly fluffy, but they weren't chewy either.  They really put the cake in the pancakes in terms of texture as they were not airy.  Not a bad attempt and the addition of fresh whipped cream and strawberry made things look nice.

For myself, I had a Cheese and Prosciutto Panini that also had some arugula in it.  As you can see, this was super thin and really didn't amount to much.  But I wasn't super hungry and just wanted something simple and fast.  The bread was crustless and put in the press just enough that it was crispy but not crunchy.  Since it was so thin, the slice of cheese surrounded by 2 thin pieces of prosciutto was enough.

We also got some pastries to go including a Cornetti and a Chocolate Cornetti. For those who are unfamiliar, the "croissants" in Italy are sweet and made with eggs.  This one was no exception and in fact, had a sugary glaze on the outside (not all Cornetto have a glaze though).  I tend to find Cornetto to have a texture similar to brioche and this was exactly that.  Pretty decent, but the outside could've been a bit crispier.  As you can tell, nothing about Neapolis is super interesting.  However, it did the job and wasn't very expensive.  An option for those need to grab something early morning before whatever they need to do.

The Good:

- Inexpensive

- Serviceable

- Nice people

The Bad:

- Basic

Hua Wei Ju

I know what you are going to say... "Nooooooo!!!!!"  Yes, we did it and knew we were going to regret the decision.  But after consecutive meals with pizza and/or pasta, we had to do something different.  Yah I know, we are from Vancouver, where we find some of the best, if not the best, Chinese food on the planet.  Why the bleep were we eating this in Rome?  Well, maybe we could've been more creative, yet this is what we ate and we had to live with it.  There are a few attractive things about Hua Wei Ju, including its location (since it was close to us) and its pricing.  However, most dishes were rather small.

We began with the Beef with Broccoli that really lived up to its namesake because it was more beef than broccoli.  However, the beef was not very good as it had not been tenderized and marinated enough.  This resulted in spongy and chewy slices of thick beef.  Flavour wasn't half bad though.  As for the broccoli, it was still crunchy while cooked through.  Not enough wok hei (a really hot wok) as there was quite a bit of moisture at the bottom of the plate.

Next dish was the Aroma Duck which was a marinated duck that had been deep fried and served with a vinegar sauce.  Was it aromatic?  Yes it was as the deep fry did afford aroma as well as the 5-spice.  Yet, it was fried a bit too long as the outside got rather hard and dry.  The benefit of that was crispy well-rendered skin.  The meat underneath this dry layer was decently moist and tender though.

We also got the Tofu with chicken, shrimp, pork, carrots, bamboo and mushrooms served in a hot pot.  We found this portion to be rather small, but it was one of the better dishes.  Although broken, the tofu was tender while completely soaking up the oyster sauce.  The shredded chicken and pork were tender and well-seasoned.  Veggies were cooked properly and not mushy.  Shrimp was on point too with a meaty snap.

The Deep Fried Chicken Wings were not what we expected as they were coated in far too much batter.  Furthermore, the batter was too light in colour as it looked like it as undercooked.  It was cooked through though while there was a light crunch.  The chicken wings were fairly juicy but a bit bland.  The skin was not rendered due to the amount of batter and possibly not an aggressive enough deep fry.

One of the worst dishes was the Sweet & Sour Pork as there was very little flavour to the dish.  It was neither sweet nor sour, which was a really bad thing since that would be the selling point of this dish.  Also, the pieces of pork had a strange aftertaste.  Not sure what it was...  Texturally, the pork was fine though being tender with some meatiness.  Also, there wasn't an overload of sauce either.

We got 2 starches including the Special Rice with shrimp, chicken, pork and egg.  Again, this was rather small, but to be fair, cost only 5 Euros.  I found the rice to be dry enough, but again, didn't exhibit any true wok hei.  Hence it was a bit lifeless and lacking in caramelization.  With that being said, it wasn't bad though as it had enough ingredients and the seasoning was sufficient.

I thought the Rice Noodles with chicken was far better as the noodles were al dente and had good seasoning.  The veggies were crisp and provided great texture while the chicken was tender and also seasoned.  The only thing I didn't like was the greasiness at the bottom of the plate.  So as you can tell, the food at Hua Wei Ju is rather mediocre at best.  However, it was fairly cheap.  I wouldn't recommend the place to those picky about their Chinese food (particularly Cantonese in this case), but for people wanting something inexpensive, this is your restaurant.

The Good:

- Cheap

- Wide variety of dishes

The Bad:

- Food is meh (if you know Chinese food)

Come Il Latte

On my search for better gelato than the day before at Venchi, we made the 15-minute walk to Come Il Latte.  A little off from the most touristy areas of Rome, we figured this might be worth the time.  Their mission statement is that they only produce enough gelato for the day and everything is fresh.  Looking at the amount of people milling around on a weekday night, it sure seemed like they are doing something right.  Unfortunately, my phone camera didn't want to focus properly and I ended up with blurry pics...

We all ended up with a cup of gelato and my medio consisted of Stracciatella "Salvaderi" and Melone Sorbetto.  I could've had 3 flavours with the medio, but I stuck with these ones.  I thought the stracciatella was smooth and creamy with only a purposeful amount of sweetness.  The amount of chocolate shavings was adequate to provide some texture and extra flavour.  As for the melone, it had a good fruit flavour that was also only mildly sweet.

Viv had the piccolo and also had 2 flavours of sorbetto including the Limone and Guava.  These sorbettos were smooth and not icy (despite being comprised of ice) with enough sweetness to compliment the fruit flavours.  The limone was definitely tangy and had plenty of lemon kick while the guava was really the star of the show.  Lots of natural guava aroma and sweetness.

Naturally, my son went for the Chocolato Fondente as well as the Caramello Salato.  Compared to the 75% chocolate at Venchi, the chocolate here was dark but wasn't as intense.  However, that didn't mean it wasn't good though.  It still had an appealing bitterness balanced off by enough sweetness.  The salted caramel was pretty good too with rich smoky sweetness enhanced by salt.

My daughter went fruity as expected with the Fragola and Mango Sorbettos.  The strawberry was not bad but probably the weakest of the choices we had.  Not that it wasn't tasty, it just was the least impactful.  The mango was good with the usual tangy sweetness complimented by the unmistakable aroma.  Overall, the gelato and sorbetto was better than Venchi, but we had many more places to try in the week or so!

The Good:
- Natural flavours were apparent
- Smooth and creamy

The Bad:
- A bit out of the way of the touristy areas, a trek for some

Il Cuore di Napoli Ribelle

Trying to avoid the usual tourist traps near the most popular sights in Rome, we decided to do a short walk from our hotel to a non-descript place called Il Cuore di Napoli Ribelle.  It was recommended by someone from Vancouver who is Italian.  Yep, once we got to the place, the outside was nothing special and the inside wasn't either.  However, looking over the menu, it featured some pretty good prices.  We ended up dining here for 63 Euros!  That already included a water charge and coperto.  Yes, we were aware that this is a Neapolitan restaurant in Rome.  But hey, why not try some other regions of Italian food?

We started with the Neapolitan Fried Specialties for 2 that featured Panzerotti, Palle di Riso, Potato Crocché, Montanare, Pasta Cresciuta and Mozzarella in Carrozza.  Yes, this was quite the cone of traditional Neapolitan street snacks and it was rather filling, even for 4 people!  I thought the best thing was the fried cheese as the breading was crunchy and there was enough cheese in the centre.  The same could be said about the potato croquettes as it had the same crunchy breading where the mashed potato filling was soft.  I do believe that the montanare could've used more sauce as it ate rather plain.

We wanted some meat with this meal, but not necessarily a steak since we already had one the night before.  We settled on the Grilled Pork Sausage with grilled veggies (zucchini, eggplant and marinated red peppers).  The sausage was meaty with chunks of meat and fat.  It was rather salty though and definitely was better eaten with bread.  As for the veggies, they were nicely charred but the eggplant was rather dry.  Loved the peppers as the tanginess was bright.

We also decided to share some pastas including the Linguine Gamberaccio that featured prawns, shrimp, garlic, cherry tomatoes and parsley.  I quite enjoyed this one as it was mild-flavoured but still had some shrimpiness accented by the garlic and olive oil.  The tomatoes helped bring acidity and some sweetness to the dish.  I found the shrimp to be firm but still had some rebound texture to them.  The prawns were a little overdone, but were still meaty.  Of course the pasta was done to al dente.

Our other pasta was the Orecchiette with sausage and Neapolitan broccoli.  We loved the firm texture of the orecchiette where there was some real bite to it.  There was plenty of crumbled sausage throughout.  It was the same from our grilled sausage dish and due to its saltiness, it provided plenty of flavour for the pasta.  Since Neapolitan broccoli wasn't in season, they probably used a jar/canned version and it was predictably softer in texture.  It did have the classic bitterness though.

Finally, we had one of their Neapolitan pizzas in the Capodimonte with tomatoes, mozzarella, smoked provolone, sausage, porcini mushrooms and rucola.  This featured a pretty decent crust with appealing chewiness and crispy edges.  The rest of the pizza was a bit soft but that could've been due to the amount of toppings.  After it was said and done, we were pretty full and we didn't spend a lot of Euros.  Was the food amazing?  Well no, but it was serviceable and we didn't mind it.

The Good:

- Inexpensive

- Serviceable eats

- Decent service

The Bad:

- You don't come here for the ambiance

Venchi Cioccolato e Gelato

Okay, here is the situation.  We've been walking for over 3 hours and although there was a lot to see, we were thirsty and tired.  Luckily we missed the heat wave in July, but that didn't mean the Summer ended in August.  We had just checked out the Pantheon and suddenly had a craving for gelato.  Naturally, anything located near touristy areas are hit and miss; mostly miss.  But we decided to give Venchi a shot since the gelato appeared to be good.  Famous last words right?  We waited in a short line and ended up with the following...

For myself, I had the Mango Sorbetto and the Crema Venchi.  With a small cup, we were able to pick 2 flavours.  I liked how the sorbetto was smooth and almost creamy (despite having not milk products).  It was purposefully sweet with a natural mango taste.  However, it was a touch bitter for some reason.  Despite this, I still enjoyed it.  The gelato had a creamy texture and it melted pretty easily (which is a good thing, no added stabilizers).  I thought the crema was pretty sweet with an aromatic finish.  Probably not my favourite flavour though.

Viv also went for 2 flavours including the Limone and Fruitti Bosco Sorbetto.  The limone was more melty than my mango sorbetto and it was very tart.  We love tart, so it worked for us but for others, it just might be too tangy.  Due to this, it wasn't very sweet because it hid behind the tang.  As for the mixed berries, it was on the sweeter side, but did taste good with a melody of fruitiness.  It was a rather refreshing combination with the limone.

My daughter went only for one flavour in the Strawberry Sorbetto and it was similar to the mixed berries except being less tangy.  It was predictably more one-note due to only having strawberries.  It was sweet but not overly so.  We found it to have a natural taste though.  With that being said, I thought the mango had more impact than the strawberry. Like all of the cups, it came with a Venchi's dark chocolate coin. 

My son had the 75% Chocolate Gelato and it was very dark.  However, he loves his dark chocolate and it was right up his alley.  This was not very sweet at all and in fact, was fairly bitter.  Perfect for dark chocolate lovers.  In terms of texture, this was a bit thicker and richer than my crema.  This was expected due to the addition of dark chocolate.  We also picked up some chocolates too as that is what Venchi is known for.  Pretty solid stuff.  Overall, the gelato and sorbetto were solid too and this was a good first experience in Rome.

The Good:

- Flavours were impactful

- Textures were good

- Their chocolates are even better

The Bad:

- There is usually a lineup

- Good but not great

Mercato Centrale Roma

I initially booked out hotel close to Roma Termini for a couple of reasons.  First, I would be arriving into the station from the airport by train, so a quick walk to our hotel with luggage would be preferable.  Secondly, we would be leaving by train at the same station en route to Florence.  So that part of the plan worked out flawlessly and our hotel turned out to be pretty good as well.  However, a byproduct of staying so close to the termini would be access to Mercato Centrale with all of its selection of quick eats.  We ended up grabbing lunch here twice during our stay in Rome.

Upon entering the market, we spotted some pretty stacked pizzas at Il Forno di Raffaele D'Errico.  Yes, the display probably persuaded us to try their pizzas by the weight but really we shouldn't have.  This is not to say that there weren't enough toppings and also the crust wasn't heavy.  After a quick reheat in the oven, the crust was actually crunchy.  However, the pricing was rather pricey (32 Euros for 3 large slices of pizza), even though there was quite a bit of food.  We also found each slice to be too oily.

On the other hand at II Trapizzino, their sandwiches with ingredients stuffed in a triangular pizza-like shell were money.  Only 5 Euros each, they were filling and delicious.   My favourite was the Stracciatella with Anchovies.  They were not shy about cramming as much as they could in and it was overflowing with cheese.  The anchovies were briny and salty, which went well with the mild fresh cheese.  We also had the Polpette and it was a giant meatball that was tender but without much filler.  The sauce was tangy with lots of tomato flavour.  Surprisingly, the Pollo was probably the best tasting with fresh herbs.  The chicken itself was both plentiful and tender.  The bread itself was light and almost fluffy with a crispy exterior.

On another visit, I had to get some pasta at Las Pasta Fresca in the Linguine with Meat Sauce.  This was not a very good rendition of pasta, especially in Rome.  I found the linguine to be too al dente and hard.  As for the sauce, it was rather one-note being salty and not very tomatoey.  In fact, I didn't even get a good tanginess out of it.  No other distinguishing herbs or seasoning.

Viv and my son were craving burgers and went to Lo Smashburger.  She had the Single Smash Cheeseburger and he had the Double Smashburger.  Those came with pickles, onion, Joe's secret sauce and cheddar.  Believe it or not, these were actually quite decent.  The patties could've been thinner, but there was a good char and slight crispiness on the edges.  Good flavour with the meat too with natural taste accented by enough salt.  The bun was soft and conformed to the rest of the ingredients.

My daughter didn't go very complex and had the Caprese Sandwich from La Mozzarella e i Formaggi.  Pretty basic and nothing amazing but did the job nonetheless.  She found the bread a bit chewy but okay otherwise.  The ingredients were fresh and there was enough cheese, tomatoes and basil to make things interesting and not all bread.  As you can see, the food at the Mercato was not gourmet by any stretch of the imagination.  However, it isn't meant to be.  It served its purpose where we got some quick eats with II Trapizzino being my favourite and a must visit in my opinion.

The Good:

- A variety of eats for reasonable prices

- II Trapizzino is the star of the show

- Won't take long to get your food

The Bad:

- Not everything is good there.  Do your research