661199 Wed Oct 21 10:58:00 -0700 2009 0 58 Italy 0 5120094 With thanks to everyone for their recommendations for our first visit to Rome, Florence and Tuscany (around Siena), I wanted to report on our experience. It’s a little long so I’ll post separately for each of the three areas. This was our first visit to Italy and Rome is now our absolute favorite city on the planet (sorry, Paris). The first thing we discovered is that our own personal preference is clearly for innovative kitchens, rather than the most traditional fare. So with that as the criteria, these were our favorites and our “never-agains.” We stayed in Trastevere and our first lunch upon arrival was at Ripa 12 that specializes in fish. We shared a caprese salad, spaghetti with clams and grilled grouper with grilled radiccio and a nice, dry heral white wine (sorry, don’t think we found out what it was). All perfectly prepared. Simple and delicious. Mr. CG doesn’t remember this meal as fondly as I do, but I’m writing that off to jet lag. Also in Trastevere, ai Fienaroli, a family-run hole-in-the-wall where everything we ordered was, again, simple and wonderful. The highlight for me was a ravioli stuffed with veal ragu in a beautifully subtle truffle crème sauce. It was clearly a neighborhood place and a very pleasant surprise. The staff was gracious and helpful. We took Ms. Chow up on her recommendation for Dittirambo in the Campo de Fiori area. We especially enjoyed the stuffed zucchini blossoms, the apple, pear, gorgonzola soufflé and the whole wheat fettuccini with rabbit ragout. Probably the most remarkable meal was our splurge at Michelin-starred Il Pagliaccio. I can’t even begin to remember everything in the tasting menu with wine pairings (and didn’t take notes), but service was friendly and impeccable. The sommelier was eager to please and when he thought we didn’t like one selection, quickly replaced it with another. I was a little put off by what occurred for me as the pretension of being presented with a water menu, but what the heck. Best pizza was at Serafini, about a block from Piazza Novana. What we would avoid in future trips to Rome: Piperno – in the Jewish Ghetto: traditional Roman cuisine, including tripe and other offal. Didn’t smell great in there and mostly, from our perspective awful. Again, maybe it’s our predilection to more innovative cuisine. Dar Poeta – highly recommended by many for pizza in Trastevere, we thought it was ok, but not as good as we expected. Spirito de Vino – I know. Everyone raves about it and Rachel Ray goes there. The owner grabbed Mr. CG when we came and said, "Wait! Don't I know you?" Then he insisted that Mr. CG looked just like Rachel’s husband. Probably not authentic, but a great schtick. Overall, we thought it felt very American (could have been in NYC) and the food just wasn’t that interesting. I had an artichoke bread pudding that I could easily reproduce at home. Mr. CG's fusilli was overcooked -- not quite Chef-Boy-R-D, but not great either. Our shared secundi was a forgettable grilled steak with a sweet pumpkin ginger sauce. The wine cellar was impressive (our '03 Masi Amarone was very nice), and dessert was great: a ricotta pastry cup. More on Florence and the rest of Tuscany later.. Wed Oct 21 10:58:00 -0700 2009 24468 chicgail