More than a guide to restaurants in Rome, it is a real manual for gourmets: "Rome 2017" by Gambero Rosso, guided with an expert and wise hand by Giancarlo Perrotta, celebrates its 30 years of activity by giving its loyal readers an articulated itinerary through the streets of Rome and Lazio in search of the sanctuaries of good food, good drink, well-known places and secrets for most where to indulge in pauses for the satisfaction of the palate, in practice of living well: 1620 addresses to keep in mind.
As for the restaurants that represent the central body of this volume of about 300 pages, "Roma 2017" consecrates in first place, but this is not new, the absolute number one, the Michelin-starred German-Italian Heinz Beck with his Pergola of the Rome Cavalieri hotel, assigning it 95 points out of 100. We then have to move to Lazio, to Rivodutri in the province of Rieti, to find the runner-up, "La trota" (91 points) by Maurizio and Sandro Serva considered "the best restaurant of freshwater fish from Italy”, and we still remain in the region to find in third place “Le colline ciociare” of Acuto in the province of Frosinone by Sandro Tassa, another certainty, “a cuisine of the senses, of all the senses”, with 90 points, equal merit, and here we return to the Capital, with “Pascucci at the small port” in Fiumicino where a “volcanic personality” like Gianfranco Pascucci proposes “an obsessive selection of wild fish”.
But the guide, in addition to celebrating the great "three forks" restaurants he also turns his attention to the best taverns in the area. And here it dominates unchallenged with the "three prawns" "Sora Maria e Arcangelo" from Olevano Romano, a real temple of local gastronomy that is worth a trip from Rome, where "each item on the menu features a traditional dish enhanced in flavors by a spasmodic search for the best ingredients”. The guide then takes us on a journey through the taste shops. Addresses not to be missed for gourmet-proof shopping that is undoubtedly very useful for those who prefer to prepare a meal at home instead of a restaurant.
Gambero Rosso's purchasing advice is an interesting one selection throughout the region: we start from "Biosalvati" in Cerreto Laziale, a temple of organic bread-making and pasta, continue with "Bompiani" in Rome and, still in the capital, you can indulge yourself in "The third party shop", "Ice cream", "La bottega liberati", "The warehouse 23.9", "Men At Work - social cooperative", "Pergamino coffee", "Jerry Thomas Emporium", "Santi Sebastiano e Valentino", "Tutto ghiotto". In short, you just have to indulge yourself with the choice of ingredients, but you can also choose organized catering, you can reward the work done by a non-profit organization for the social inclusion of disadvantaged people, and then lunch or dinner is guaranteed in the name of quality from the first to the dessert, to the coffee.
Being a guide to Rome – an indication of the best interpretations of the Roman tradition could not be missing. And even here there are names that have now entered the collective imagination of Romans and tourists who appreciate our traditional cuisine. Where to eat the best amatriciana? At the Osteria Bonelli, at the Convivio Troiani, and at Da Teo. Where to go without fail for the best carbonara? From Enzo to 29, from Roscioli and from Secondo Tradizione. Where can you taste a offal with delicate and refined flavours? From Checchino since 1887, from Primo and from Sora Lella. And for the artichoke alla giudia the guide refers us to Agata and Romeo, the Matricianella and the Taverna Mari. And if we want to satisfy the whim of a supplì we are directed without hesitation to the Gatta Mangiona, to the Laltroballerino Osteria, to the Supplizio.
Since we are talking about a special edition, it was obvious to expect special awards for the 30 years of Gambero's history, i.e. awards intended for those restaurants, shops and wine bars that have accompanied the food and wine growth of the city and represent an example of quality over time. Among the restaurants and trattorias we find some names of the Roman gastronomic elite Agata and Romeo, Il convivio troiani, Al ceppo, Checchino dal 1887, Alfredo in via Gabi, La trattoria Monti, Antonello Colonna Resort in Labico, La Rosetta. And for food specialities, we go on the safe side of stops that have been mandatory in recent years for the search for quality products: Annibale, Angelo Feroci, La Bottega del Cioccolato, Antica Pescheria Galluzzi 1894, Cavalletti, Gatti, De Angelis, Magini, Giovanni De Sanctis, Marinari, La Dolce Roma, Panella, Faggiani, Petrini since 1926.
We talk about food and wine growth historic wineries which have contributed to forming and growing the taste for high-level food and wine and which today represent precious treasure chests of the national wine heritage. And here we have Enoteca Altobelli, Il Goccetto, Arcioni, Lucantoni, La Bottega del Vino, Marchetti, Buccone, Enoteca al Parlamento, Bulzoni, Peluso, Cavour 313, Rocchi, Cul de sac, Cinti, Del Frate, Trimani, Valentini.
In the "Rome 2017" Guide, a section is dedicated to prizes Taste Group of the Foreign Press Association in Italy as if to say the signaling of those restaurants that have been appreciated by foreign palates, a restaurant seen through the eyes of an international public. And among these Il Pagliaccio is in first place followed by the Osteria del tempo perso, Spizzala, the Antico Forno del Ghetto and the Gelateria dei Gracchi.
To conclude, this guide offers a careful and thoughtful selection of Roman good taste enriched by novelties with depth, stories to tell, whose protagonists are chefs and restaurateurs who ride the wave of the times without letting yourself be overwhelmed by fashions always proposing a cuisine of love and meditation for the genuineness of the product, as well as the many shops that have been able to resist the devastating assault of large-scale retail trade while always remaining faithful to the creed of a constant and strict search for quality.
