Weekend Things 🍝 Chapter 9
fried pizza, cinnamon rolls, and fresh pressed juices - because, balance? Duh.
Welcome to Weekend Things - a little round-up of slutti dishes, places, tunes, and surprises from the weekend to help get you through your Monday slump. It’s an easy read, with bits to bookmark, inspire, or just make you giggle.
I think you will appreciate how gluttonous this weekend was.
What’s better than fried pizza? Maritozzi? Cinnamon rolls? (yes in Rome). Italy is overflowing with good things to eat, as we know, but that goes beyond cacio e pepe and pizza. Italy is full of fun things to eat, including sexy trendy foods (like the hipster Romans’ current craze - the Japanese sando.)
The rants will stop short today so that you can enjoy all the best food and drinks of the weekend, plus some simply hilarious things lost in translation (I am still laughing.)
Things eaten
A PRETTY LITTLE CINNAMON ROLL [CROISSANT] | LOVE
This place may be becoming a bit of an influencer spot, but let me tell you - Love’s croissants are divine. They also make excellent coffee (with a selection of specialty roasts for filter and espresso). Above all, the staff is so sweet and attentive. It’s truly full of love, from first order to first bite.
A little note - visit Love during the weekdays. Gone are the days I could sneak in there on a lazy Sunday morning. It’s a mad house on the weekends now.
UOVO MARINATO SANDO! | BECCO
So, Romans are obsessed with Japanese sandos now. No wonder given their undying love for the tramezzino. Regardless, BECCO just opened steps away Fischio (the crew behind the new spot) so that you can get funky homemade sandos (even with shokupan - Japanese milk bread) while you drink all the natty wine your pretty little heart desires.
MONTANARA alla VIGNAROLA | SBANCO
Every time I go out for Neapolitan pizza in Rome, it hails.
Yes, hail - in May. Don’t worry, by Saturday the sun was blazing and I was eating a seafood lunch outside (more below). But, that’s Spring in Rome for you.
During the hail storm, I wasn’t uncomfortable. I was inside Sbanco eating a montanara alla vignarola - in other words, fried pizza dough topped with the ever-so-seasonal Roman dish vignarola, a mix of sauteed fava beans, artichokes, asparagus, peas, lettuce, spring onion, and guanciale. Plus, a little pecorino cream. What makes it a montanara and not a pizza fritta is that the montanara is fried pizza dough with toppings (pizza fritta us often stuffed).
SAUTÈ DI COZZE (SAUTEED MUSSELS) | OSTERIA DER BELLI
Sun shining and shoulders are out kinda weather means I want spaghetti alle vongole or a good saute di cozze. Thankfully, Osteria der Belli has both, and an excellent location for friends to meet (who live on the opposite sides of the world in Rome).
MARITOZZI | CASTRONI (BOCCEA)
I am a sucker for baristas in crisp white jackets. It sends you back to another time, one you probably never lived in but dreamed of after watching many la dolce vita era movies. Castroni ( in Boccea - there are a few Castroni) is the teleportation device you need to get there. Plus, their maritozzi and veneziane are absolutely fantastic (and do not require a wait).
and for an unintentional (but sexy) detox…
an INCREDIBLE BEAN SOUP WITH ARTICHOKES | SICCHÈ
That’s art to me. This little Tuscan stall in the Testaccio market is the ultimate secret. Owner Leo concocts magical Tuscan potions that make your belly happy and are so just naturally healthy…aka I didn’t go in search of health but perhaps after fried pizza it came in search of me.
Things sipped
CENTRIFUGE - ITALY’S MAJOR BAR SECRET
Many bars in Rome (and Italy) offer centrifuge aka fresh pressed juice, at a competitive price. $3.50 juices is looking really hot after I endured the $15-$20 NYC green juice scam.
ALCOHOL WISE…Except for the white wine in my saute di cozze, nothing much. Is it horrible if I admit that I am not drinking that much these days? I am sorry if I am letting you down… But, if you know how annoying rosacea, eczema, and GERD is, you will understand that a girl needs a pause for her body.
Things repurposed
Still buffering. News from my crazy repurposing ways coming soon!
Things lost in translation
Rome was…cooked in a day…?
One cent? Or ten euro?
“On Sunday Leo rests”
Things I listened to
Besides incessantly listening to the Black Eyed Peas circa 2005, this tune is all I wanna hear when Spring (and hints of summer) are in the air.
So, how was your weekend?
Until the next slutti newsletter,
Xx,
Victoria