In New Jersey, alcohol comes in a brown bag - in Rome, it's bread

I will pick the bread always (Plus, where to get the best bread bags in Rome)

Some prefer money bags - I prefer bread bags.

Bags seem to be a popular theme in this newsletter.

In all seriousness, one of my favorite little joys about living in Rome - or Italy - is receiving a paper bag full of fresh warm bread at the table. I don’t know what’s better - the smell when you open the bag like a present on Christmas - a toasty whiff that makes you jollier than an elf snorting candy cane dust. Or, the heavenly crunchy-fluffy contrast of freshly baked pane casareccio (details on this bread a couple scrolls down.)

There’s no need for olive oil or balsamic (it’s not much of a thing in Italy) - just bread, your good ole friend, your 4th utensil.

my ideal dining partners - a glass of crisp Passerina and a bag of bread at Romanè

Yes, in Italy - particularly southern Italy - bread is essentially the 4th utensil. I touched on this in my newsletter ‘What fare la scarpetta means to me.’ Bread serves as a vehicle not just to mop up the leftover sauce from pasta but to also help scoop things into your fork or spoon. Most of my friends and family here naturally keep a piece of bread right by their plate. It rests there, like a utensil, until it’s needed. That could be to help clean up the rest of an appetizer, scoop up extra pasta sauce, or blissfully push a sexy piece of parmigiana onto your fork.

So, what’s with the bread bags?