The Roman Empire had a long history of food and wine. Modern Rome is no exception! Rome is a city filled with epicurean delights. In planning our three days in Rome we wanted to see all the great tourist attractions but it was also important to us to experience Rome’s great cuisine. Fortunately Eating Italy was the perfect solution to kick off our Roman holiday with great food and wine.
Eating Italy Rome offers the perfect tour for those who want to step away from tourist attractions and explore a different side of Rome. A friend recommended we try The Food Lover’s Guide to Rome Twilight Trastevere Food Tour. We had already planned the Rick Steve’s Trastavere walking tour and discovered in his Rome book he actually recommends the Eating Italy tour as well. Sold we emailed them and signed up immediately! In the spirit of full disclosure the wonderful people at Eating Italy offered me a complimentary tour and my husband a discount; however, writing an article about our experience was not required. I am writing about our experience because it was outstanding and I highly recommend this tour! When we met our group and guide we were surprised to discover 6 other fellow food and wine lovers were from Texas and 4 from the Dallas Ft. Worth metroplex! Small world! Additionally, one fellow food and wine lover was from Philly and two were from London, visiting Rome for the weekend. Jealous! Our tour guide, Eric Senn, was a native of Rome, he was knowledgeable, entertaining and delightful.
“Eating Italy Twilight Travstevere Food Tour transports tourists into a real Roman neighborhood filled with history and tradition along with great food and wine; a true multi-sensory experience!”
Our first tour stop was at Da Enzo Al 29. According to Eating Italy it is “one of Trastevere’s most adored trattorias. I can understand why because the prosciutto, homemade burrata and melon with a glass of Prosecco was fantastic! It was all so fresh and a great food/wine pairing. A couple of days later we ran into the four fellow tourers from DFW at the Forum (yes, small world!) and they said they all returned to Da Enzo Al 29 the next night and had a truly outstanding dinner. Next trip I definitely want to eat here again.
Our second stop was possibly my favorite: Spirito Di Vino. This award winning local favorite houses a wine cellar that is 150 years OLDER than the Colosseum. The cellar was awesome! We took some time to enjoy a few delicious small bites along with an equally delicious glass of Tenute Orestiadi’s Molina a Vento Nerello Mascalese Terre Siciliane IGT. It was an outstanding wine and only 10 Euros! I am constantly amazed at how delicious and inexpensive wine is in Italy!
Our third stop was a crowd favorite: Biscottificio Artigiano Innocenti. This fantastic cookie factory was started in 1920 with several of the recipes used today dating back to that time. The assortment of cookies we were served were AMAZING! Yes, we bought more cookies for our trip AND we bought two epic breakfast pastries that we enjoyed for breakfast the next morning. I miss those cookies!
Our fourth stop featured delicious pork. Antica Norcineria is the “best place to find porchetta in Trastevere.” Porchetta is a “savoury, fatty, and moist boneless pork roast of Italian culinary tradition.” It may not sound like much to be served pork on a napkin but I tell you my friends the pork was outstanding! Juicy, succulent, flavorful and delicious. Yes, you want this pork.
Our fifth stop featured one of Rome’s most popular street food from what is considered by many to be the best in the city: I Supplì. Supplì is a delicious fried rice ball stuffed with mozzarella and tomato sauce. Words don’t do justice to this fried ball of deliciousness! You simply must taste it to experience the “eye roll back in your head omg this is amazing” experience.
Our sixth dining delight was a slice of a pizza type delight with a touch of tomato sauce with fresh herbs and no cheese. However, as I was quickly approaching a food coma and I do not recall where we enjoyed this delicious delight! It was really good!
We took a quick break from our foodapoloza to enjoy the beautiful Church of Santa Maria along our journey. It was amazing how churches that look so simple and common from the outside were so gloriously beautiful inside!
Our next food stop was over the top! We visited Enoteca Ferrara to enjoy their homemade pastas and wine. Enoteca Ferrara specializes in homemade pastas and we were blessed to enjoy their hand-made gnocchi, spinach and ricotta ravioli and tonarelli cacio e pepe (a traditional Roman pasta dish of cheese and black pepper). These pastas dishes were paired with Le Poggere 2014 Rosso Lazio IGP (60% Cabernet Sauvingon, 40% Sangiovese). The pastas and wine were delicious and a great pairing! Oh boy am I full!
Our last stop was the sweetest of all: Gelato! Fatamorgana was the “gelateria that brought gourmet and organic gelato to Rome!” It was fantastic. We learned a few important rules regarding quality gelato, if it gelato is bright colors and overflowing the bins it is NOT good quality gelato. We tested this theory in Italy and found it to be true. The best gelato, including Fatamorgana, was softly muted colors with natural flavors. At Fatamorgana I had pistachio and dark chocolate with wasabi. Both flavors were amazing!
You can see Eating Italy Rome Twilight Trastevere Food Tour was an amazing tour! Furthermore, Eric was so knowledgeable of the neighborhood he provided interesting historical information and pointed out places of interest along our tour. It really had something for everyone. I suggest you wear comfortable shoes and bring a water bottle or you can drink out of one of the fountains of fresh water from the Roman aqueduct along the way. The great thing about this tour is though it involves a lot of great food and wine since it a 4 hour walking stroll you walk off the calories while you are eating them. The tour costs only 88 Euros per person, which is a great deal for the quality of the tour as well as the quantity and quality of the food and wine. Eating Italy also offers a Daylight Trastevere Tour, a Taste of Testaccio Tour, an Italian food and wine pairing journey with a Sommelier and a cooking class with Nonna! Furthermore, they are not just in Rome; check out Eating London, Eating Amsterdam and Eating Prague. Can we add an Eating Paris please?! We will definitely participate in Eating Europe Tours on our future vacations!
