The Full Monti

As some of you may know, Pizza wife #1 and I just recently moved to Monti which is the central district in Rome just north of the Colosseum (literally two blocks north) a couple of weeks ago.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monti_(rione_of_Rome)  This means that I walk past the Colosseum, Forum and Circus Maximus on my way to work and back every day.  And that I have a whole new area to explore for pizzas.  Basically you can picture me listening to this song while walking through the streets of Monti and eating pizza at every opportunity.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFFlEyzlJKE  Haven't seen Batman yet however.

Pizza wife #1 unfortunately was pretty sick this week which was pretty bad, but on the upside it meant that while she wasn't eating anything, I was allowed to eat anything as long as it was portable and I could bring it home.  In the wise words of Pizza Wife #1, "besides super elite, nothing is very good on Via Cavour".  Basically it's just way too touristy and close to the Colosseum and Vittorio Emanuele monument to be very authentic.  The food so far hasn't been too amazing in Monti but I think we just need to pick and choose and basically everything gets bonus points for being in Monti because it's awesome.

Via Leonina ~32 - Can't figure out the name of the place.

Price 7.5   9/10

Service 7/10

Taste 6/10

Overall: 6.5/10

Not terrible but very uninspired and pretty plain.  Not filling at all.

I went to Ciardi Bar Pasticceria on Via Cavour 6140 which has people outside insessantly trying to get people to come in and try their terrible food.  As I was pretty confident that they would do take-away I went there to try it out.  It was unsurprisingly pretty poor but not terrible and still pretty cheap.  Worth trying once but there are far better places to try.  The toppings were very sparse and as with all take-away pizza it was a bit small and not filling.  The bread didn't taste very fresh either.

Ciardi Bar Pasticceria

Price 7.5     9/10

Service 8/10

Taste 6/10

Overall: 6.5/10

Le Nuamachi, Via Celimontana

This restaurant isn't technically in Monti and instead is in Celio which at one point was actually part of Monti but is now its own Rhione, but is right beside Monti and the Colosseum so was worth going slumming to check out.  It was definitely worth it.  The name is derived from ships that were used in Roman times when they would flood to Colosseum and have reenactments of naval battles which is pretty cool. It is a fairly fancy place with lots of people waiting.  Definitely worth checking out and had a varied menu. I had a fairly simple buffalo mozzarella cheese and basil pizza.  It wasn't bad, just not very interesting or different from other places.

Price 9   7/10

Service 7/10

Taste 8/10

Overall: 8/10

Here was another pizzeria that doesn't seem to actually have an official name on Via Capocci 5

It has an interesting atmosphere and was playing oldies music and was sorta gimmicky but was also slightly charming.  There is nice seating outside but has always been full when I've walked past.  The service is surprisingly good with friendly and helpful staff.  Nothing too crazy but is very refreshing when often that is not the case.  I had a 4 cheese pizza which was pretty good although very dry and a bit sparse with the cheese.  The menu wasn't very diverse so there are limited interesting options.  It came out almost like dried pita bread with parmesan as opposed to a typically cheesy pizza.

Price 9   8/10

Service 9.5/10

Taste 7/10

Overall 7.5 

This is one of the last meals we had at our old apartment on Via Gregorio VII, at a Trattoria Perdincibacco Pizzeria on Via delle Fornaci.  It has been a favourite of ours for a while and will be missed. It was a pizza I have had before which has mushrooms, mozzarella, walnuts and radicchio.  Very interesting combination and a nice change from four cheese pizzas.  Still very happy with this choice and recommend it to anyone who is near St. Peters, especially if south of St. Peters.  

Price $9 (8/10)

Service 7

Taste 8

Overall 8

Pizza wife trainee introduced us to this pizzeria as our first official dinner in Monti since moving.  It was in Piazza Della Madonna di Monti just a couple hundred metres from our new apartment.  The place has a wonderful atmosphere with many people hanging out by the public fountain all night eating and drinking.  Definitely a great first impression of Monti.  The pizza was very good and very thick with a lot of cheese, probably the most I've had in Rome so was nice and filling.  The cheese wasn't very varied though and afterwards we were all very thirsty so the pizza must have been quite salty.  I'm still planning on going back though as the menu has many options and it was very good.

Chicco di Grano Pizzeria on Via Del Boschetto 115

Price 9   8/10

Service 8/10

Taste 8

Overall: 8/10

Coming up soon are two guest posts from pizza wife 1 and pizza wife trainee and I will be posting them as soon as possible!  Off to go explore more of Monti

Catching up

So I think after this post I will be caught up (minus the pizzas from before this blog started, but I'll try to slowly address them eventually).

This post includes Venice, Trastevere, takeaway, old favourites and a guest post from Steve. 

First up is Marlin, Ristorante - Pizzeria on Fond. Dei Vetrani on Murano island in Venice.  Basically everything is overpriced and of not good quality in Venice.  Although I loved the city and island, I can understand why so many residents are moving away and the city is turning into a living museum.  The prices and quality are certainly reminiscent of museums

Cost ~10  - 6/10

Service 6.5/10

Taste 6/10

Overall 6/10

Next up is Pizzeria Popi Popi in Trastevere in Rome on Via della Fratee di Trastevere.  This was in celebration of Steve's final night in Rome after two weeks and fortunately enough we decided on going for pizza.  It was unsurprisingly very much worth it. This place has its own area in the middle of a piazza that is sectioned off which gives lots of room and great views for watching all the people walk by.  

Pizzeria Popi Popi

Cost ~9 - 8/10

Service 6/10  - it was impossible to get the bill

Taste 8.5/10

Overall 8/10

Below is a guest entry from Steve in honour of his visit as he graciously accompanied me on all my pizza outings during his two weeks, always suggested getting pizza and was great about asking whether anything was vegetarian for me.  We got to taste some amazing and bad pizzas and to see some amazing cities and locations.

Smoked Salmon pizza

8/10

 Here we are back to my tried and tested pizzas at Hosteria Pizzeria Forno a Legna on Via della Cava Aurelia across the street from our house.  As we will be moving tomorrow and over the weekend I will really miss this place.  I have checked however and there is a direct bus between my new and old place so it will be easy to go back when I need to.

Four cheese pizza split with a bruschetta type pizza thanks to pizza wife #1 who may not be the most enthusiastic but does stick with me and put up with all my pizzaing.

Cost ~ 8 - 9/10

Service 8.5/10  Not much service but quick and easy

Taste 9/10

Overall 9/10

Surprise surprise I'm back at Pizzeria L'Archetto again.  But as it is close to pizza wife's work and it is amazing, I'm never going to complain.  And this time was arguably the best pizza they've produced.  Often it can be a bit thin and sometimes burned, but this time it seemed thicker and none of the crust was burnt.  I was tempted to order another for dessert.  Very tempted.

#1 four cheese pizza in Rome so far

Cost ~9  - 8/10

Service 9/10 

Pretty quick and came over to add an extra table to our group which was already at 12 or so people

Taste 9.5

Overall 9.5

Getting closer to perfecting or finding the best pizza out there.  This week I move to Monti and have a whole new neighbourhood to explore.  

I'm always up for suggestions for the blog and new places to eat so feel free to contact me.

Pizza in HD

This week our friend from Halifax was visiting so there was a lot more nights out and thus pizza was necessary.  Steve was also kind enough to pick up a DSLR camera for us and bring it from Canada so most of the pictures going forward will be of much higher quality.

Monday night involved a visit to our new neighbourhood in Monti - just a couple hundred metres north of the Colosseum and then exploring the Pantheon and Piazza Navona before going to a small piazza near the Church Santa Maria Della Pace on Via Della Pace.  There was live music and street entertainers and a really good ambiance.   

Not in HD

Pretty amazing church and reminds me of Gringots from HP

La Focaccia

Via Della Pace,

Mozzarella, Gorgonzola, pear and walnuts, thick crust.  Fantastic

Cost ~ 9 - 8/10

Service 7.5/10

Taste 9/10

Overall 9/10

Definitely worth going back for the pizza, ambiance, location, music and basically everything

There are fries on this pizza....  Very tempting.

The periodic table of pizza.  Collect them all

Pizzeria in Venice (they are all the same - and not very good)

Overall 6.5/10

Gusta pizza in Florence.  Not much better than this.  Very fresh, very quick, very fast.

Price ~8 - 8.5/10

Service (none but no hassle and quick) 8/10

Taste 9

8.5/10

Worth a trip to Florence just for the pizza

Bar Pizzeria Spaghetteria in Pisa on via Roma right beside the leaning tower.

Price ~9 - 7/10

Service 7/10

Taste 6/10

7/10

Not great but it was cool inside and I can never say no to pizza

So I have a few more pizza places to review to catch up with.  It's been a very busy few weeks going to Florence, Venice, Pisa, Castiglione, Ostia Antica and Talamone.  I hope to keep up better in the future and provide a little more background to each pizza but this is really far behind so I just want to get it out for now.  

Thanks for staying with me fellow pizza lovers.