Our Best Meal in Rome

We saved the best for last.  Friday was our last day in Rome before an early departure on Saturday morning.  I had read about a pizzeria not far from our hotel and it was on my top 10 list of things to do in Rome.  That is saying a lot, since there is so much to see and do in Rome.  I was a bit apprehensive, since I had read such rave reviews about this place that I was afraid it was like the movie that everyone says is a must see and you get your expectations up, only to be disappointed.  Surely, I was setting myself up to be let down.

I am happy to report that I was wrong.  It was even better than anticipated.  The pizzeria is Pinsere, and it lives up to its great online reviews.  My mother, who is not a pizza fan,

Standing is your only option at Pinsere.

loved it and like me, claims it is the best pizza she has ever ate.  (My previous nomination for this title is Lombardi's in New York).  The toppings are very unusual and the pizzas are slightly oval, not round.  We selected two and shared, which was more than we could eat.  The price was great at 5.00 for one selection and 5.50 for the other (euros of course, not dollars) and for 10.50 euros it was the very best meal we ate in Rome.

Don't expect fancy dining.  After getting your hot pizza you eat standing up either inside or out, and even then there are only a few places to stand with little shelves.

Mom and I split our two selections.

  The guys running the place are very nice and will help you decide what to eat and speak English well enough to cater to tourist, though I think this is more of a "local" place.  Given the great reviews, I am sure it gets its fair share of us tourist though.

We went early, and got there right around noon and it was not crowded.  However, by 1 pm this place had a line out the door and down the street.  Do yourself a favor, and go early. 

After eating this slice of heaven on a plate (seriously, it was delicious) we went to the restaurant across the street called La Grande Belleazza Ristorante.   We wanted to sit and people watch.  This is how we saw the lines start forming at Pinsere.  We ordered a cherry pie, which was more like a tart, and house red wine.  I know little about wines, except the tiny bit I gleaned from our wine tasting vineyard tour the week before, but the wine with the pie paired very well in my opinion and was the perfect end to the best pizza we'd ever ate across the street. 

There is a hotel a couple doors down from Pinsere.  Mom and I stepped in and checked it out thinking that on our next trip we might want to book at this hotel to be that close to the best pizza ever.  We are half serious about this...I

I highly recommend Pinsere for your trip to Rome.  Even if it is slightly out of the way from your hotel, be sure to take the time to look this up.  Top it off with dessert and wine across the street.  It may just be your best meal in Rome! 

The restaurant we stopped for dessert after the perfect pizza for cherry pie and perfectly paired house red wine.  We sat outside and watched the crowds form around Pinsere.

The selection of pizza on the day we visited.  We selected a two different pizzas.  One had pumpkin on it.  Both were delicious.

Rome Dining

For our 8 day stay in Rome, we only had one waitress.  From a casual tourist perspective, it appears that waiters are much more prevalent than waitresses.  We very much enjoyed our dining experiences while in Rome and they were different than what you experience in the United States (after all, isn't the reason you travel to experience new things?)

One of the biggest differences is in all 8 days, we never once had a waiter bring us our check until we asked.  You always had to find your waiter and usually using a hand gesture combined with verbiage ask for your check.  One of our tour guides gave us a great demonstration on how to get your check and I was then able to do it with confidence.  You don't even need to call them to your table.  Just grab their attention from across the room, make the gesture and your check will come. If you don't ask, I wonder just how long a person has to wait if they don't ask.

My daughter works for a local café here in the U.S.  Her manager/owner has a policy.  If a table has to ask for a check, then the waitress (yes, it is all women at her café) has waited too long to give them their bill and (in theory) the waitress has to pay for the food (I'm not sure it is really enforced, and is more like a threat to keep the waitresses from not giving the bills quick enough).  This is the exact opposite of the mind-set of dining in Rome.  You are not rushed out and dinner can be a nice, relaxing, and long process. 

One of our favorite places we ate was an outdoor table at a restaurant right next the to the Pantheon.  It was evening and the sun was about to set.  We sat at a table and ordered a drink.  Forty-five minutes later we ordered our dinner.  There was absolutely no feeling of rushing through dinner.  It was a two hour dinner as the sun set and the lights came on the Pantheon, and it was as Roman feeling as you can get.  Dinner was excellent and our waiter, like we'd experienced at other restaurants, gave Mom lots of attention, including a few pecks on the cheek.  Nothing like making you feel beautiful while you sip wine and enjoy the view.  Now this is a Roman holiday at its finest!

Waiters in Rome seem to be both super attentive, and also out of sight at the same time.  If you need something, don't expect to look up and your waiter be hovering over you anticipating your every need.  Patience is the key, but once you slip into that mode, it really becomes a vacation - relax, people watch and talk.  If you're looking to eat quickly, grab a sandwich to go (take away as I saw it called) somewhere.  Dining is a huge part of your experience there, and while there is so much to see, don't underestimate this essential part of your holiday in Rome by trying to rush through it.

My picture taking skills are very lacking here, but this is Mom and our waiter at the restaurant in front of Pantheon.  He showered Mom with attention and our meal there was delicious, relaxing and fun.  The perfect Roman meal.

Wine is inexpensive, good and always part our meals in Rome.

Our last evening in Rome.  We found this place just down the street from our hotel and the food was incredibly inexpensive and good. 

Breakfast in Rome

Everything you may want to know before a trip to Rome....
      Sure, it is fun to wing it and go on your own, but if you can pick up a bit of information before you go, your trip will be smoother.   I have many topics to explore having just come from my Rome trip and I hope you can glean a bit of knowledge before your trip.  So be sure to check out my other blogs for more information.

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I had read, and found it quite true that breakfast in Rome is very different then what we experience in the United States.  Rome breakfast generally consists of a pastry (very tasty) and espresso or other type of coffee drink.  Since we were on vacation, sleeping in was our normal mode and we easily slipped into the Roman way of doing breakfast.

About six days in, we thought an "American style" breakfast sounded good.  Despite warnings that these are hard to find, we saw them quite often advertised in our walks around the city.  They all appeared to offer the same things. We went around the corner from our hotel, picked a place and went in (the only time we didn't eat outdoors).  There were two choices and we picked one.  Choice A.

Eggs - no choice in how they are cooked.  It ended up being scrambled.

Bacon - Italian style, something similar to ours but not so delicious

Toast - no choice in type of bread and no butter

Salad - yep, you read that correctly.  Lettuce and tomato.  No dressing (typical in Rome)

No salt or pepper for your eggs - again, typical in Rome

A much more typical breakfast in Rome. 

It  is difficult sometimes to go many days without the feeling of home, so if you're tempted to get the American style breakfast, don't - Or do so with caution.  There is really very little like home about it.  We never did walk into a McDonalds, but perhaps they have Egg McMuffins, but I wouldn't count on it.  Enjoy the pastry and espresso on a sidewalk restaurant and savor being in Rome.