Flavio Al Velavevodetto

We took a cab to Via Di Testaccio 9 in Rome last night.  Even our Italian cab driver had a hard time pronouncing the name of the restaurant; Flavio Al Velavevodetto.  It was a charming little restaurant.

We decided to have just an antipasti (appetizer) and a primi, a pasta  dish and skip the secondi (entree) as we had breakfast, paninis for lunch and riso (rice) and chocolate gelato for snack. They placed a basket of crusty bread on our table. We asked for olive oil and balsamic vinegar to go with it. We had to pace ourselves since we were having pasta. We all wanted to try the Carciofo alla Giudia; fried artichokes.
We were surprised to see the whole artichoke fried; not just the heart but the entire artichoke. The taste was unbelievable. It was like eating potato chips, very crisp and salty. We were going to ask how they prepared and cooked it (not that they would share their secret), but we forgot to ask.

Our main dish was going to be pasta. Sandi ordered the Rigatoni alla Matriciana; pomodoro quanciale. Translated is rigatoni with tomatoes and pork cheeks. Gary and I had the Cacio e Pepe. We loved our cacio e pepe though it didn't come in a cheese bowl, it was very good indeed. Sandi's dish was delicious as well. She couldn't finish the rigatoni, in fact it looked like like she hardly touched her plate. The reason for this was she ate too much bread. Gary and I scolded her for doing this.

The couple next to us also ordered the cacio e pepe for their primi and the gentleman ordered huge meatballs. I made a comment that it had more color and looked better than Gary's balls (meatballs) the night before. Sandi commented that these balls were big. Gary agreed and said: 'My balls were smaller", in which time we all could not stop laughing.

Gary cleaned his plate, I almost did and Sandi had lots of left over but we still  could not pass on dessert. We ordered the Tiramisu and Ricotta with cherry filling and a nice crust. We all enjoyed that one. The tiramisu was a major disappointment. It had no coffee flavor at all. In fact you couldn't tell it was tiramisu that Sandi liked and ate the rest of it.

This restaurant will definitely be back on our list the next time we visit Rome.

Palatium

Around the corner from the Grand Plaza Hotel on Via del Corso is a restaurant called Palatium on Via Frattina. My brother and I ate there years ago for lunch and loved it so much that we went back for dinner on the same day. That was roughly 4-5 years ago.

We were anxious to see if it was still as good as we remembered. I wrote down the dishes we had from primi to secondi and the 2 desserts we loved. I even wrote down the waiter's name who spoke very little English but managed to communicate everything to us. Our waiter this time looked familiar but I was not sure if he was the same one. I asked him his name and sure enough it was Dado. The menu has changed totally, probably a different chef by now. He was tickled pink when I told him we remembered him from years ago as I also showed him a copy of the list of dishes we ordered.

Since we had a buffet breakfast at the hotel and panini for lunch plus gelato before dinner we decided we would share a primi between the 3 of us. We ordered the Spaghetti with just fresh tomatoes and bacon. All of a sudden our appetites emerged. It was more aldente than any pasta we have had and was very light. We were amazed on how this simple dish could be so good. It's probably the pasta they use and the fresh tomatoes. It was just magical. We also thought we should have ordered a bowl each. For secondi, Gary had meatballs that didn't look too exciting, in fact they looked pale. Sandi had a chicken dish with red peppers. It was just ordinary chicken...end of story. My fillet of trout was very good but nothing out of the ordinary.  Even if our main entrees failed to impress any of us, we all decided it was worth going back just for the spaghetti.

For dessert we ordered a chocolate cake with a cherry filling to share and a tiramisu.
The cake was very moist and had a bit of tartness from the cherry filling. It was delicious though I preferred the tiramisu which was soft unlike most tiramisu that is served in the U.S. This had a strong coffee flavor, light and wowed me and Gary. Sandi didn't even try it since she hates coffee; besides, she was so happy with her cake.

It is too bad that we ran out of time so we will not be able to to go back to Palatium at least on this trip. The spaghetti will have to wait. I just hope they don't take it away from their menu.

Pierre Herme

One of the best if not the best bakeries in Paris. You will not get a better Kouign Amann  anywhere else. That is a croissant type dough that is baked with just butter and sugar.  I'm not really sure. What I am sure about is the fantastic taste from your first bite to the last.

I planned to to get sick of this product while I was in Paris. It never happened. It is so good that I think it is not possible to ever get tired of it.  You just taste butter crust and sugar. I had forgotten what it looked like since I was used to the ones I would buy at Bouchon Bakery in Beverly Hills which is very good; the best in Los Angeles. When I finally went in Pierre Herme, I was surprised to see it looked very much like L'Amande Bakery's Papillote.  I guess you can say their papillote is a cousin of kouign amann as the papillote has a bit of custard inside.

When we got to Paris, Milena and Ramon bought several pastries from there to welcome us.

We felt very welcome!

Roma Sparita

The last time my brother and I were in Rome, we kept asking people if they knew of the restaurant that served cacio e pepe in a Parmesan bowl.  Nobody knew. This was a secret of Anthony Bourdain at the time which I thought was so unfair to mention it on his show only to say he would not give the name because he didn't want everyone to discover it.

The secret is no longer a secret.  We read about the restaurant in a local magazine. Our concierge at the Grand Plaza Hotel was nice enough to make a reservation for the 3 of us.  The restaurant is located in the center of Trastevere overlooking Piazza di Santa Cecilia away from traffic and shoppers.

Our waiter Roberto was the nicest guy and was helpful in explaining the menu. Of course, the Cacio e Pepe didn't need explaining other than it was made with thin noodles with cheese and pepper. The question was whether to order 2 to share or order one for each of us.  Sandi suggested we order one each and so we did. This was to be our primi. It arrived and we all thought it tasted much better than it looked. Totally fabuloso! The bowl made with maybe Romano cheese (not sure) as we were all too excited and engrossed in eating that we forgot to ask Roberto.

For secondi Gary ordered the Straccetti Ai Funghi Porcini. It was translated as little piece of beef with porcini mushrooms. The bowl came with not little but lots of pieces of beef. Sandi had the Scaloppine al Limone; veal with a lemon sauce. I had the Filetto al Pepe, filet steak with green ground pepper sauce. All 3 dishes were delicious. We were so stuffed.

Gary ordered a bottle of wine. We were surprised on how inexpensive the bottles were. They served the wine in little tiny glasses.  I later noticed that some people got large glasses. I guessed that maybe those were the expensive bottles of wine. 

Roberto came back and asked how we liked our meal. We told him how very happy we were and stuffed. He asked if we wanted dessert and we answered: Yes.

He suggested the Tiramisu. It didn't look too exciting but it was delicious.

The next time you visit Rome, you will have to visit Roma Sparita but make sure you make reservations.

Tre Scalini Ristorante

Situated in Piazza Navona in Rome since 1815, founded as an inn. It is a cafe-restaurant and ice cream parlor that overlooks Bernini's Fountain of the the Four Rivers.  I have been at this restaurant several times in the past which was recommended by Tommy Z.

We thought it would be good to visit it one more time.  It was cold and wet outside but we sat outside where we were protected by the awning and a heater. We ordered 3 different dishes to share.

We ordered a Pizza Margherita. We were not impressed with it. It was not crispy and was a bit tasteless. We were happy with the Bolognese and even happier with the house specialty, the Tortelloni Radicchio e Ricotta con salsa di noci, translated is pasta with radicchio, ricotta cheese and walnut sauce.

It was a pleasant lunch overlooking the people passing by and taking "selfies".

Frenchie

This is a restaurant that was highly recommended by my gourmet friends and Anthony Bourdain so how can I go wrong?

The place is small and I understand that they've expanded. There are locations next to each other: one is more like small restaurant which you can make a reservation (not easy to get), the other is more for Americans serving hot dogs and sandwiches and the other a wine bar with small plates which does not take reservations. We fell in line 20 minutes before it opened. By the time they opened, the line was long.

We had good seats, a window that had a full view of the the chefs at work. Gary, Ramon and Milena have been at this restaurant numerous times so I left the ordering to them. We were entertained by the way the chefs worked. It was unbelievable on how they worked in unison. One of the chefs  knew I was taking pictures so he occasionally would look up a pose for a smile. He had Brad Pitt's eyes.

We ordered the Country Style Terrine which was very good with the country bread.
I saw them prepare the Beef Tartare with anchovies and shaved broccoli. It was the most delicious beef tartare I have had. It was Sandi's first beef tartare and she loved it. She was not even aware it had anchovies which she normally does not like. Hooray for Sandi.

The Pappardelle with rabbit ragu was delicious and so was the Cod Fish served with roasted cauliflower. The cauliflower was so good we had to fight for it.
I saw them prepare the Sole Meuniere; cooked it on the stove on parchment paper. It was wonderful. We also ordered the Roasted Lamb Rump with chick peas which had a great flavor. Our last dish was the Colver Duck with beet, roots, vegetables and kumquat.

We had to have a serious discussion on what to order for dessert. I saw them prepare the Panna Cotta and the Tangerine Sherbet with almond crumble. We ordered both and had to have a slice of the Tarte Tatin with creme fraiche. All 3 desserts were very good, but the panna cotta took first prize!

Comtesse du Barry

The other night, we were invited for dinner by Ramon's dear friend Joelle. She has been living in Paris for some time now. We all went crazy when she served us Foie Gras. It was unlike any other I have had. It was Foie Gras Mi-Cuit which is half cooked foie gras. It does not sound enticing but when we had it with a fig marmalade, we unanimously just closed our eyes and made all kinds of symphonic sounds. Joelle told us the name of the store so the next day we found ourselves on another mission.

The name of the store was Contesse du Barry located at 1 Rue de Serves in Paris. We located it after asking couple of people. As soon as we got in, they gave us some samples. There was a foie gras with an orange gelee which we all loved but it was the type just like the Mi-Cuit that can't be taken to the U.S. unfortunately.  We could only buy the canned foie gras. I wonder how much they charge for shipping?
They had all sorts of foie gras: duck, goose, combination of foie gras with chicken or pork. They also had lots of marmalades to go with the foie gras.

I have to mention the staff at that time, Salome and Christophe were so nice, friendly and very helpful. They even gave us all a sample of Sauterne to go with our foie gras.
As Gen. McArthur once said: " I shall return" and I will for sure.