Thursday, October 17, 2013

"Italian Holiday" Part 1

So I'm back home in Toronto and back to my "real" life!  Processing all my photos is causing me to suffer Italy withdrawal big time! Everyday of the trip was just so fabulous that I really don't know where to start so I guess I'll just start where it all began.... Rome!


 After a long, stressful flight (long story), we arrived late at night.  Just enough time to grab a quick bite to eat at a unremarkable restaurant close to our hotel and then off to bed.  The next morning we woke refreshed and eager to start our "Italian Holiday".  We had lunch reservations at Aroma near the Colosseum so spent the morning walking around the Monti area. After building up our appetites we headed over to the restaurant.  We had read numerous online reviews of the restaurant and were anxious to see if it lived up to its reputation. We were not disappointed! The staff did everything they could to make sure that we had an extraordinary experience. We had asked for a table on the terrace to make sure we could experience one of the most incredible features of the restaurant... the unobstructed view of the Colosseum!  We were delighted when we were led to a table right at the front of the terrace.  Check out this view!

 

It really was spectacular and so was the food!  We ordered the "Menu Degustazione" or tasting menu with wine.  If you are planning on being in Rome and want to treat yourself, I highly recommend it. It is 7 delicious courses with the appropriate wine pairings but you can also order without the wines if you prefer.  Unfortunately we were too busy ooohing and aaahing over every delicious morsel, not to mention the yummy wines, so I forgot to take photos of all the courses but the pic above is the homemade "Filine" pasta with pork and wild fennel.  Here is the complete tasting menu from their website;

 Tasting menu

Capesante arrosto profumate alla menta con fonduta di finocchi e porri fritti
Mint flavored roasted scallops on a fennel fondue with fried leeks

Magatello di vitello al punto rosa con insalatina olio e limone,
duetto di bignè e cannolo alla mela verde
Lightly cooked veal “Magatello” with baby lettuces and a duo of bignè
and green apple filled cannolo

Torciglioni con aliciotti, pinoli tostati,
filetti di pomodoro e panure di pane profumato all’aneto
Homemade “Torciglioni” pasta with anchovies, toasted pine nuts,
fresh tomato and dill flavored bread crumbs

Filini fatti da noi con costarelle di maiale e finocchiella selvatica
Homemade “Filini” pasta with pork and wild fennel

Medaglione di branzino con olive, pachino, origano
e fagottino di scarola
Medallion of sea bass with olives, “Pachino” tomato, oregano
and lettuce parcel

Sella di coniglio profumato alle erbe delle nostre terrazze
con tortino di patate al latte
Saddle of rabbit perfumed with herbs from our terraces
and potato flan

Mousse al mascarpone con gelato al pan speziato e gocce di caffè
Mascarpone mousse with “Pan speziato” ice cream and coffee drops


It was all excellent and I discovered a couple of fav new wines.  First the Weingut Niklas Sudtiroler Sauvignon 2012 which was served with the Mint flavored roasted scallops on a fennel fondue with fried leeks. It had a strong, clean mineral taste with a lovely fruity finish. 


I also discovered my fav new desert wine.  Ben Rye by Donnafugata from Scicily.  I was hooked at the first tasted.  It has lovely syrupy layers of apricots, dates, and candied citrus fruits with a tobacco tinged finish. Yum!


All in all we spent a leisurely 3 hours at Aroma thoroughly enjoying the wonderful food and wine, not to mention that wonderful view! It was the perfect indulgence to start off the perfect "Italian Holiday"!  Have you been to Aroma Restaurant in Rome?  I'd love to hear what you thought. To leave a comment please click on the individual post heading at the top of this post.

Tomorrow I'll tell you all about our next day and our trip to the Piazza Navona.

Ciao for now!
Karen


Monday, October 7, 2013

Hi from Positano!

Just a quick hello from beautiful Positano. We are enjoying the view from the terrace of our room and hope you will too!  We arrive back home in a couple of days and I will have plenty more stunning pics and stories to share with you then.


Ciao for now!

Karen