An adventure in Rome, Italy

[WillTravelForFood]

(because STEbbq wanted a story...)

We were staying in Rome, Italy for a week and were exploring all over the city.

There was the local, family-owned restaurant that was so good, we ate there twice. We would have eaten there a third time, but we saw the waitstaff "recycle" the remaining bread from one table's bread basket back into the serving bin for a future guest.

Yes, this very very likely was where our own bread basket came from, but we didn't need to see/know this. It may be more commonplace in Europe vs the US, and it could be something Europeans are more accustomed to. Just wasn't our jam.

Dishes were tasty, though.

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Another favorite meal we had was going to the local market, picking up an unmarked bottle of wine with a plastic pop-top for 2 euros (OMG, WE FORGOT OUR ID! WILL WE BE CARDED FOR THE WINE PURCHASE????? NO? YAY!), and a small tray of salami and cheese. Sat on the hotel balcony and enjoyed the evening. We were a cheap date that night.

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One afternoon, we decided to go track down a porchetta restaurant that Anthony Bourdain suggested was worthwhile. Found it without an issue and walked in.

The place was empty, no customers.

Someone who may or may not have been an employee approached us, and we explained as best we could that we were there for porchetta.

"Ah, we aren't open for a few more hours. Here, come with me."

He walked us down the street a block or two to a food counter sticking out of a window. "This is my cousin. Make them a porchetta sandwich, please..."

She made us some sandwiches, which we paid for and ate at the tiny counter, balancing on the one stool that was there. Our host seemed to have gotten his sandwich for free, as we didn't see any money change hands... but he also went behind the counter and made himself some lunch too.

He sat with us and chatted about the US and his last visit, things he saw for about 20m. Was a pleasant way to interact with the locals and spread some cheer over a sandwich. Certainly would not have been the same experience had we eaten at the restaurant at our own table.

The porchetta? Oh, it was good too.

[Jerod Broussard]

I once walked into an empty food establishment downtown Dallas. Didn't realize they were only open for lunch. Greek guy served me up an awesome pepperoni calzone.

I've seen recycled kale or whatever the crap they use to dress up a plate. They kept it in a bucket which I'm sure was microbe free.

[smokenoob]

WillTravelForFood I don’t think I’ve had it done right. How do you do it?

[Jerod Broussard]

smokenoob it was a decoration. ALL day people would just throw Kale from a used plate into the bucket, if it was left, I can only hope it was left.

[WillTravelForFood]

Pizza Hut used to be the largest user of kale in the country, when they had their old-school all-you-should-eat Pizza Bar

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

If you go to Rome, get your own drinks from the bar, don't let them sit you at a table. There's a tourist tax that only applies if you sit at the table (unless this has changed). We were super awesome to our amazing hostess at our hotel and she felt bad and let us know the second day. Our bar tab was significantly reduced the following nights sitting at a table and walking up to the bar. Not sure the specifics, if it applies to hotels or bars or what... Also DO NOT pay the people FORCING you to hold things or take pictures. Rome is a wonderful place, but also the scummiest tourist places I've ever been to other than Paris. Also if you can see the Vatican, the food probably sucks. Go into an alley off the beaten path, lower prices, friendlier people, better food.

One of my favorite memories from Rome was the people selling flowers and whatever to tourists, about 10 minutes before it started raining a parade of mopeds came flying down the street swapping flowers for umbrellas. Not only are they persistent, they are efficient.

The other was asking a local for directions, he saw us looking lostish, spoke perfect English... when we told him we were looking for the Hard Rock he gave us directions then suddenly didn't speak English anymore (but I learned lots of Italian cusswords). We didn't go there for the food, just needed local glasses for our European Hard Rock collection.

[WillTravelForFood]

More from Rome:

Thwarted a pickpocket at the Colosseum by suddenly making sure the target and thief were being "posed" for an impromptu photo opportunity (the trio(?) left our group alone after they saw folks were paying attention)

Successfully avoided a "is this your wallet on the ground" scam by pointing it out to those around us

Ate a lot of gelato. Enjoyed ourselves immensely.

[Bkhuna]

Good score on the wine. I didn't know that had Trader Giuseppe's in Italy.

[smokenoob]

Went to Rome in ‘72. Sort of remember the Vatican, Sistine chapel, and the Catacombs. I think CRS has morphed into CRR…..🙄

[Uncle Bob]

Good commentary. Your bread comments brought a smile to my face. The night I proposed to my bride we went to an Italian restaurant in Seattle. Within sight line of our table was a wait station that had a warming drawer under the counter that held the mini baguette like dinner rolls that were to be placed on each table. A young lad walked up, opened the warming drawer, and dumped a box of rolls in.........well, mostly in as a couple bounced off the rim to the floor. Without even looking around he "automatically" picked them off the floor and tossed them in the drawer before walking off to whatever other task awaited. Guessing that wasn't the first....or last...time that had happened.

[Clark]

Years ago I was at a noontime Lions Club meeting held at a fancy steakhouse. Back then, the steakhouse served tennis ball sized butter in small bowls on each table. I always was leery of the butter, for sanitation reasons, since it sat uncovered for an hour or two.

One of the men at our table put his knife into the butter bowl and yelled out an obscenity. His knife had gotten butter with a cigarette but in it! It was obvious that someone the night before had put their cigarette out in their unused butter and the waiters were putting leftover butter into a tub for re-use.

I never ate there again.

[Jfrosty27]

Oh man. That’s gross. Are they still in business? I bet not.

[Oak Smoke]

I and some friends stopped at a truck stop in southern Oklahoma one night for a late dinner. As we neared the end of the meal the guy next to me gagged. There was a huge roach cooked well done between the foil and his baked potato. Naturally it was on the bottom and he had consumed most of the potato before he found it. His meal was on the house.

[ssennott]

My wife were in Rome in 2005, she wanted some Gelato from a street vendor he saw how excited she was to get
it that he gave it to her for free. I was our first day in Italy and the rest of the trip the people were just a nice.