I *heart* Rome part 1

This past weekend the American Vegetarian and I went to Rome. What an amazing city. The history that surrounds Rome is mind blowing, and the food...aahhh, the food is delicioso.

So where to begin my food journey with Roma. Well on the first night, after we walked to the Trevi Fountain, and sat amongst the throng of other tourists who had the same idea as we did, we then walked towards the Spanish Steps and along Via Mario dei Fiori (a very nice area of Rome, swanky shops, little boutiques and most importantly nice restaurants) where we found, recommended to us by our guide book , Al 34. The reviews were good, and so we sat outside and ordered a carafe of wine. I don't know why, but pouring yourself wine from a carafe than a bottle seems so much more sophisticated. To eat, the American Vegetarian had a Mozzarella salad, with sun dried tomatoes, sweetcorn, rocket, and other delights that you can see from the picture. I had seafood risotto, which I have to say did not take me to another level. It was ok, but I've had better risotto from an Italian man in Notting Hill!

The following day, we ventured to the Roman Forum and the Colosseum. OMG WOW!!! The history contained here just blew me away. I seriously recommend seeing these historic sights before you die. Back to the food, for lunch we found a wonderful local pizza place called Il Forna (the oven). The pizza was lined up and sold by weight. They had a really good selection of vegetariano pizza, so we had one with courgette flowers, cherry tomatoes, and mozzarella, a sliced potato and rosemary, and a classic pomodoro mozzarella (margaritas). You just sit by the counter and eat, while you watch them make more pizza in front of your very eyes. I'm so glad we found this local eatery, as there's nothing better then good pizza. As well as pizza, it had a vast selection of other vegetarian dishes. This place was so good that we returned there on our last day in Rome.

That same evening we lucked out again with food, and found a very good, family run restaurant just off Piazza Novano called Terra di Siena. The menu had a simple yet inviting options, we both opted for Linguine Pesto and a lettuce, gorgonzola and apple salad. It was mouthwatering. Freshly made and just so heavenly. The salad, pictured, was particularly tasty. The creaminess of the gorgonzola and the crunchiness of the apple contrasted well against each other.

I have to say every meal we had in Rome was fabuloso. Our next meal consisted of flavours I would not normally put together, but most probably will now. The salad we had was; goats cheese covered in sesame seeds, with grapefruit and beansprouts. I thought this was magical, it came with a slightly spicy tomato salsa as well. You really did have a taste sensation in your mouth; the creamy goats cheese, with the bitterness of the grapefruit, combined with crunch of the beansprouts, and the slightly spicy salsa. Wow, my mouth was literally going crazy. So many flavours, and they all worked well together. For the main I had ricotta filled tortellini with a yoghurt and mint sauce. Never had this mix before and it was very appetizing. It was a warm dish, and the yoghurt and mint came as a sauce on top of the tortellini. The mint gave the dish a lovely freshness, which was tasteful against the creamy ricotta.

The vegetarian options were not difficult to find in Rome, and each restaurant we went to did have a nice selection of dishes. Unlike some other places we've visited, Rome had fantatstic food, wherever we ate, and no difficulty in finding good vegetarian options. Buon appetito.