Alternative title: Pizza trophies, what happens when Pizza Wife leaves for a week (the other 2 nights involved eating out for pizza) or Better than Shark Week
Basically the pizza wife has been abandoning me for work and going to Poland and Zambia, which seems like an unreasonable excuse to not eat pizza with me. So I've had to make due and investigate as many take out pizza's as possible.
I would say that this was a successful week.
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| Trattoria il Tettarello Via dei Capocci 4/5, 00184 Rome, Italy 4 Cheese pizza. |
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d1727978-Reviews-Trattoria_il_Tettarello-Rome_Lazio.html
2 Euros less if you get take out. Slightly burned but a good doughy crust with lots of gorgonzola. Best way to my heart is pizza and any type of firm sharp blue cheese.
Always get take out here. Inside is ok but it's very difficult to actually pay and leave. You can always order the bill but can never leave.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0G1Ucw5HDg
Cost 9.5/10 (6 Euros)
Service 6/10
Ambiance NA
Taste 9
Overall 9
Chicco di Grano
Quattro formaggi and primavera pizza
Via degli Zingari 5-8, Rome, Italy
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d1239623-Reviews-Chicco_di_Grano-Rome_Lazio.html
Take out tired pizza. Chicco di Grano is our go-to pizza when tired and can't be bothered cooking. It's not amazing but it is consistent, quick, relatively cheap, good and most importantly, really close to our house.
Cost 8/10
Service 7.5/10
Ambiance NA
Taste 8
Overall 8
Chicco di Grano
Quattro formaggi
Via degli Zingari 5-8, Rome, Italy
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d1239623-Reviews-Chicco_di_Grano-Rome_Lazio.html
Post rugby game (Italy vs Argentina) and super rainstorm pizza.
Basically you can never go wrong with a 4 cheese pizza, especially when it's cold and rainy outside. Unfortunately this one was a bit burned - not terrible but noticeable.
Cost 8/10
Service 7/10
Ambiance 7.5/10
Taste 8/10
Overall 8/10
Alle Carrette
4 cheese and Asparagus
4 cheese and Asparagus
Via Madonna dei Monte 95, Rome, Italy
www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d1231075-Reviews-Alle_Carrette-Rome_Lazio.html
This was nice and quick and it doesn't hurt that it is also only about 300 metres from our apartment. The asparagus was an interesting touch but didn't really add much. It was basically just kinda weird despite both things (pizza and asparagus) independently tasting good. I will stick to the only 4 cheese from now on as I can't imagine that 5 pieces of asparagus really added much to the nutritional value of the work of delicious art.
This was nice and quick and it doesn't hurt that it is also only about 300 metres from our apartment. The asparagus was an interesting touch but didn't really add much. It was basically just kinda weird despite both things (pizza and asparagus) independently tasting good. I will stick to the only 4 cheese from now on as I can't imagine that 5 pieces of asparagus really added much to the nutritional value of the work of delicious art.
Cost 8/10
Service 7.5/10
Ambiance NA
Taste 8
Overall 8/10
Il Grottino
Pizza gigante with mushroomsand buffalo mozzarela.
Via Marmorata, 165, 00153 Rome, Italy (Testaccio)
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d796291-Reviews-Il_Grottino-Rome_Lazio.html
This was only 10 Euros but honestly it wasn't that big as the crust was very thin. They have a family pizza which I'm definitely trying next time I go back. It was a plain Margherita pizza but I added the extra cheese and mushrooms. Main drawback as that the edges of the pizza were very burnt. The place was mostly in the basement and very busy. It had the usual "Italian" line for waiting which is not based on when you got there but basically how well you know the owner and how much of a fuss you make - so we didn't do well.
Cost 9/10 (only 9 euros which considering what I got was very good)
Service 7/10
Ambiance 8
Taste 8 - good but very burnt
Overall 7.5
Pizzeria l'Archetto
Primavera - Mozzarella, pomodoro fresco a pezzi (cheese, tomatos and basil)
Via Germanico 105, 00153 Rome, Italy
http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d1536418-Reviews-Pizzeria_L_Archetto-Rome_Lazio.html
I love l'Archetto. I get excited I think I might get to go here. I decided however to branch out from my usual 4 cheese which I've always got and try something new. This was a mistake. While it wasn't bad by any means, it just was pretty average which was a surprise. It must mean that the main benefit of the 4 cheese is really the quality and quantity of cheese. Also means that there must be somewhere better that has both amazing cheese and even better crust. I shall investigate.
Cost 8/10
Service 7/10
Ambiance 7/10
Taste 8/10
Overall 7.5/10
Stick to four cheese. Can't go wrong with Mozzarella, fontina, gorgonzola and edam (especially with lots of gorgonzola)
Alle Carrette
Amnesty pizza
Amnesty pizza
Via Madonna dei Monte 95, Rome, Italy
www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d1231075-Reviews-Alle_Carrette-Rome_Lazio.html
This is the Amnesty International pizza. It has Ricotta cheese, tomatoes, mozzarella and eggplant. The eggplant was surprisingly not so bad as it was firm and in small chunks, so you got the flavour but not the terrible soggy texture that you get sometimes. It wasn't my favourite combination of ingredients but also wasn't too bad. 1 Euro from every Amnesty pizza goes to Amnesty International which seems like a good cause an excellent reason to eat more pizza here.
This is the Amnesty International pizza. It has Ricotta cheese, tomatoes, mozzarella and eggplant. The eggplant was surprisingly not so bad as it was firm and in small chunks, so you got the flavour but not the terrible soggy texture that you get sometimes. It wasn't my favourite combination of ingredients but also wasn't too bad. 1 Euro from every Amnesty pizza goes to Amnesty International which seems like a good cause an excellent reason to eat more pizza here.
Cost 8+1 for the donation
Service 7.5
Ambiance NA
Taste 8
Overall 7.5+1 for the Amnesty donation
Ristorante Pizzeria Imperiale
4 cheese... sorta
Largo Corrado Ricci, 37, Rome, Italy
www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d3192160-Reviews-Ristorante_Pizzeria_Imperiale-Rome_Lazio.html
So along this quest I have known that I will have to try some pretty average pizzas. It's part of the job and this was one of them. It's on the corner of Via Cavour and Fiori Imperiale which is beside the Colosseo and Forum. So you can't really expect much with such a touristy location. So although it wasn't terrible I am glad to have this one over with and can go back to much better pizzas.
Cost 7
Service 7
Ambiance NA
Taste 7
Overall 7
Grazie a Dio e Venerdi
"Camila" - Mozzarella, rucula and maize
Via dei Capocci, 1 | angolo Via Clementina 13/14, Rome, Italy
http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d2304368-Reviews-Grazie_a_Dio_e_Venerdi-Rome_Lazio.html
This was an interesting pizza and although it was good it wasn't for me. It was a nice change to have corn/maize on it. I'll stick to maize on my salads though. Slightly burnt crust and basically the toppings were just thrown on top. Still enjoyable but they don't scream amazing or "pizza".
Cost 8/10
Service 8/10
Ambiance NA
Taste 8/10
Overall 8
L'Archetto on via Cavour
Popeye pizza - Parmesan, spinach and mozzarella
Via Cavour, 195, 00184 Rome, Italy
http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d1967404-Reviews-L_Archetto_di_Cavour-Rome_Lazio.html
I'm not sure whether this restaurant is connected with l'Archetto on via Germanico but they are very very different. This is a more classy place (despite being on Via Cavour) but I doubt that the rest of the food is that good. It was sorta like eating dry pita filled with air. Not much substance or anything to bite into. The spinach and parmesan was quite good but the crust was like eating cardboard and very unsatisfying. Interesting name and idea though so I hope somewhere else does a better version.
Cost 8/10
Service 7/10
Ambiance NA
Taste 7/10
Overall 7/10
Chicco di Grano
Prealpina - takeout
Via degli Zingari 5-8, Rome, Italy
www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d1239623-Reviews-Chicco_di_Grano-Rome_Lazio.html
Great simple pizza. Gorgonzola, mozzarella and walnuts. Good moderately thick crust with good ingredients. They could use some practice spreading out the walnuts instead of dumping them in the middle though. Well cooked. Oh prealpina how I love you. Such a nice combination of good flavours. If only they knew how to spread ingredients around (and more gorgonzola never hurts).
Cost 8/10
Service 8.5/10
Ambiance NA
Taste 8.5/10
Overall 8.5/10
Grazie a Dio e Venerdi
Via dei Capocci, 1 Rome
4 cheese, Margherita and Marinara
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d2304368-Reviews-Grazie_a_Dio_e_Venerdi-Rome_Lazio.html
We had a few different pizzas at this appropriately themed Christmas/going-away/pizza party. The more pizza the better. I didn't know where to start but I loved them all (except marinara - dough and tomato sauce really shouldn't count as pizza as there is little flavour and no substance). But the cheeses were excellent as always. Great company and other good non-pizza food as well I heard.
Cost 8.5/10
Service 8/10
Ambiance NA
Taste 9/10
Overall 8.5/10
How not to do a pizza cleanse
http://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/the-pizza-cleanse-testing-the-benefits-of-eating-only-pizza-for-five-days-straight
Guest post by Mr. Tiramisu
The best pick-ups in town
My (work) life as of late has included attempts to assess the climate-resilience of agro-ecological systems through a tool (Self-evaluation and Holistic Assessment of climate Resilience of farmers and Pastoralists - SHARP) - essentially trying to understand lofty concepts and ploughing through academic literature. While this definitely has its merits and will hopefully help to build a better world ;) I am extremely happy to work on a less academic assessment today: pick-ups! Not the ones you are thinking about now, but rather the literal translation of “Pick me up” to Italian: Tiramisù!
While the origin of this delicious Italian desert is contested – it either was first created in Siena around 1600 or in the Veneto region in the 20th century – my favourite story about the name is that people considered it something that would lift up their spirits after a hard day of work. This mix of biscuits dipped in coffee, a crème of Mascarpone cheese and egg yolk and flavoured with liquor or cocoa certainly has that effect on me (as does a cold beer in summer).
Enough of nice – essentially useless – stories for now though. Let’s get right to the core of this: What are the top 3 Tiramisùs in Rome:
1: Osteria Nerone and novecento:
These two places both offer amazing Tiramisù – while the consistency and exact taste differ they both deserve to be in the first place! At Nerone the dish is served with more coffee and biscuit and has a slightly thicker consistency. Often Tiramisù ends up being too sweet, but not here – a perfect mix of coffee, biscuit and mascarpone in both places! These restaurants also get extra points for their good service – something very rare in Rome – and Nerone even has a special, traditional Roman feel to it!
Novecento
Copyright Natalia Acosta.
Via dei Conciatori n°10 (in Testaccio, close to the metro stop Piramide), reservations at:
+39 (0) 6 572 50 44 5
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d939672-Reviews-Novecento-Rome_Lazio.html
Osteria Nerone
Copyright Natalia Acosta
Via Terme di Tito 96, Rome (close to the metro stop Colosseo), closed on Sundays, call to reserve:
+39 (0)6 481 79 52
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d716328-Reviews-Nerone-Rome_Lazio.html
3. Angelina:
A very deserving runner-up, the nicely, shabby chic style Angelina also guarantees a great night out including the desert. It loses some points for its Tiramisù being slightly too sweet and not having enough biscuit in it. Just check your cheque before paying – they tried to charge us 8 (!) instead of 2 Tiramisùs.
Angelina
Via Galvani, 24/a (in Testaccio, closest metro stop Piramide).
Phone: +39 (0)6 572 83 84 0
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d1968652-Reviews-Angelina_a_Testaccio-Rome_Lazio.html
Next up are hopefully some Canadian and English pizza's and other guest posts.
Happy pizzaing over the holidays!
