Brunello de Montalcino

The first I met Brunello was almost 10 years ago. Me and my friends were staying near San Gimigniano for a week, bathing in Tuscan culture (Florence, Siena, Lucca, Pisa…). We had reserved a couple of days to car tour along some small vineyards and villages, to taste a few Chianti and ham and cheese, to feel the flavour of the country side. Montalcino was a surprise – and it’s wine a wonder. We decided to buy out a few cases from the old cellar – getting them through customs and the plane was a funny challenge.

But, now, every time I see it in the menu of a nice Italian restaurant, I think of those days, under a shy February Sun, enjoying this wine in a rock, old, cellar. And when I taste it, though in such a different place, I marvel myself at the tender, sensitive fumes of this great wine, how it is sweet and delicate but still able to leave a strong imprint and signature in my mount. This is my first choice for a fine and delicate pasta entrée. Will you agree with me?

La Taverna dei Fori Imperiale

I was lucky! A friend of mine introduced me to this restaurant - a small, almost hidden in a back street restaurant, with a warmth feel and great food! A definitive and easy choice if you are in Rome and want to taste the real deal. 

La Taverna dei Fori Imperiale is exactly where it's name points out - right next to the Imperial Forum in the center of Rome. It is in a small, cobblestone, windy street that runs kind of parallel to Via Cavour. You have to look and find a small wooden door, and then to get inside, to a small, cramped dining room, that clearly has too many tables and seats. But the warmth and the nice waiters make up for that. 

Ah! And the food! The food is authentically Roman and, let me tell you, delicious! Even someone (me) who doesn't like pate cheered for the "crostini di fegattini alla Toscana" (it involves liver paté...) . Another good anti-pasto is the "guarciale amatriciano con brsuchetta" (combining a typical roman bacon with a bruschetta) or the simple and typical Parma ham with mozzarella or melon. For the "primo" (your first entrée), I would suggest that you ask the waiter for what's not in the menu - many times, you'll have great surprises, believe me! Still, you will find the raviolli with pesto of the canello with truffes to be amazing choices - and, if they are not available, I can easily endorse any pasta entrée in the menu. Ah! And don't forget a nice wine to go along your meal - it will make you feel even better, believe me!

This is a great place to get a real taste of Rome and Roman food! It is not too touristical, but the waiters speak very good English and are extremely nice. And the food my friends, the food is amazing!

Where: Roma - Italy
Address: Via Madonna dei Monti, 9
Phone: +39 06 6798643
Website: http://www.latavernadeiforiimperiali.com/english.htm
Expensive: Around €35 per person
Last visit: April 2012

Felice a Testaccio

I was in Rome for 2 weeks of work – and you know how Italian food is, absolutely incredible! The only problem is to actually pick the right places, which, being a foreign, are not necessarily the ones that will come across you on a high street. But I was luck – and this second week I was introduced to a couple of great Italian cuisine restaurants by two local friends. Felice is one of those marvellous restaurants that will make you crave for more.

It is a nice and quiet area of Rome, next to Piazza Testaccio – hence the name. It is has two small dining rooms, including the hall and bar. Sober decoration, but cosy, nothing that actually will make you ready for the full flavour of its food. It really let me yumming for more.

Claudio picked the wine and guided us through our choices. Prosciutto with mozzarella, a salad as anti-pasti / starters. Then, it was time to actually move on to the main courses – I must forewarn you that nobody picked a secondi / second entrée, a second dish, though the roasted lamb actually looked and sounded amazing (we were saving our stomachs for dessert…). But, the primi / first entrees were amazing. I went on to spaghetti with clams that was absolutely delicious. Claudio went for a gricia (a delicious traditional Roman entrée that I have no idea what was made off, but was great). The carbonara a friend of mine ordered also tasted divinely. Food was delicious! And specially with a great Brunello de Montalcino! Marvellous!

Dessert was simply amazing. I already told you I judge Italian restaurants for their tiramisu – and, under that definition, this would probably be the best I ever tasted!

Felice is a nice, cosy and friendly place, perfect for a good dinner that flavours Italian tastes! It has that authentic Roman ambience that only good food is able to bring – and, did I already told you, Roberto Benigni was there next to us? How could it be more authentic and enjoyable?

Where: Roma - Italy

Address: Via Mastro Giorgio, 29

Phone: +39 06 5746800

Website: http://www.feliceatestaccio.it/

Expensive: Around €30 per person, for the menu .described above

Last visit: April 2012

Caxemira

It is in a small apartment. This is the only way to describe that place. A small apartment right in the centre of Lisbon. That is actually one of the best and most genuine Indian restaurants in Lisbon.

Caxemira is located on the first floor of a building near "Praça da Figueira" in the very heart of the town. You pass the building door (there is no indication a restaurant operates there), go up a flight of narrow stairs, move through the regular and small door and then suddenly you are in a small living room, packed with tables and chairs for 45 very squeezed in people... The ambience is typically indian - the place is crapped, the kitchen is right there in a side of the room, there is lots of noise and strong smells. But it turns out to be cozy and authentic... and then, the food makes it up for anything you don't like.

Because the truth is, the smells and the tastes around you are incredibly rich. The food is spicy (and you can fine tune to your preference, just tell the waiter what you want) and rich. Nans, lambs, rice, shrimps, goat, vegetables, cooked in all the greatness of Indian cuisine. Just don't forget to wash it down with Mastani wine for a Cobra beer, and to wrap your meal up with a bebinka.

This isn't the place to take your in-laws. But if you want an Indian food experience in Portugal, Caxemira is probably as real as it gets!

Where: Lisbon - Portugal

Address: Rua Condes de Monsanto, 4, 1º direito - Praça da Figueira

Phone: +351 21 886 54 86

Expensive: Around €15

Last visit: January 2012