Rome: Surprises and Disappointments

I am disappointed to report that Rome was not “all that.”  I spent a weekend in the city and left feeling tired, over-hassled, questioning how many times I was ripped off and scratching my head why the city’s reputation has not kept up with its current state: Dirty, touristy, run-down and crowded.  I expected in November, the crowds would temper from the summer.

This is one of the first trips that I can recall where I didn’t come back gushing over how much I enjoyed my time walking, eating and discovering the city.  I guess you can’t win them all.  Rome was still an experience and did find a handful of gems to share with you:

01- Lato G (gelato) where I tasted an incredibly intense and almost bitter dark chocolate gelato that was to die for.

Photo Source: Lato G

02 Casa & Bottega (two locations) a lovely cafe that serves a variety of food from yogurt and fruit, to charcuterie boards, salads, meatballs, pastas, hamburgers, and pastries!  The interior is cosy (tables are fairly close together) and rustic.  I visited both locations and loved their   chalkboard menus, all white on white furniture, weathered wood floors, black and white prints and displays of cookies and macarons.  What I LOVED- was the fact that when you order tea, it comes to the table with its own silver strainer (yes it is loose leaf) and they also give you two mini sugar heat cookies dusted with confectioners sugar.  Check and check in my books.

Photo Source: Romeing

03 Honourable mention goes to Restaurante Angelina in Testaccio which had great food and a funky, vintage, bistro decor (the service was so-so).  Its vaulted ceilings, white subway tiles, vintage furniture, industrial chairs and signs, and rustic Roman fare, gives the whole place a shabby chic and fun atmosphere. It was certainly lively on Saturday night.  We started at 9pm and didn’t leave until about 1am.  This restaurant was PACKED the entire night so it was a good thing we had a reservation.  There were large groups of locals continuously piling into both sides of the restaurant.

Photo Source: Restaurante Angelina

If you are planning a trip to Rome, below I’ve included the links to three bloggers who know their stuff when it comes to dining in Rome and were helpful to me in researching where to eat/dine in the city.

Even if you are not planning a trip, these blogs are worth a click as they contain beautiful, mouthwatering photography/Italian food ideas- and who doesn’t loooveeee Italian food?

1. Parla Food

2. Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome

3. Living Roma

What are your thoughts on Rome? Have you visited the city? Were you overwhelmed by how touristy it was or did you enjoy it?

To Rome

In just a few hours, I am boarding a plane to Rome to enjoy a weekend of pasta, pizza and 19 degree-sunny weather.  The weather will be a nice change from the dense fog that has been blanketing Prague most of the week.

Photo Source: 1

Photo Source: 2

Google Map of Trip

View Rome Eh Italian! in a larger map

Have a wonderful weekend, whatever your plans are.

I will see you next week with pictures/finds from Rome.

Negroni Bar

Somewhere in my whirlwind madness of the last two weeks, I made a quick 36 hours trip to Munich in search of a better blender, some decent pizza and this place: The Negroni Bar.

First the blender:  If my memory serves me correctly, in North America, it is possible to spend $100 to $150 on a decent blender from a company with a well known reputation and brand name.  When I moved to Prague, I was blenderless, and sought out a local alternative.  I purchased something cheap and stopped using it half a year later due to questionable engine noises, low power and odd smells.  I went to three stores in Prague as well as search on three online local stores only to find a handful of overpriced, low end blenders or a handful of overpriced high-end models.  I thought I would have better results in a city such as Munich, but after visiting MediaMarkt, and Kustermann, I decided that spending 229 Euro on a KitchenAid blender that costs $130 in Toronto was rediculous and not going to happen.  Operation Blender- Failure.

Next the pizza:  I’ve been to Munich before and found a great spot for pizza called Riva Bar.  I decided that if I was going to walk away blenderless, I might as well enjoy some good pizza in compensation. The pizza was decent on this trip, but I remember a better tasting pie on my first visit.  Quelle dommage.

What salvaged the quick jaunt to Munich was a bar called Negroni.  I wanted to check this place out on my previous trip to Munich but never got around to it.  Why I sought this place out is for the following reason:  My husband is Negroni obsessed.  I thought it would be cool to go to a bar that specializes in this beverage.

FYI-If you have never had a Negroni, it is an aperitif made with Campari, gin and vermouth with a squeeze of orange.

We head to Negroni after our pizza and thankfully find two seats at the bar (the last two seats) for an up-close look at this mixology heaven.  The atmosphere is low key and very relaxed. There were candles lining the bar and a big impressive wall of bottles.  There were three bartenders very focused and hard at work mixing, stirring, shaking, pinching, and designing some of the most beautiful looking drinks I’ve ever seen.  We sampled three drinks (between the two of us- not each) and each drink presented very layered and complex flavours.  The last one we tried was a negroni with other ingredients (sorry, blanking on the name) including slices of apple. It was served in a mint julep cup and must have revealed three or four different flavours in one sip.

They have a full restaurant menu in addition to something like 140 cocktails.  What I liked about this place was that they give you some background, history and interesting facts about their drinks right in the menu itself. I snapped two photos and posted them on my Instagram feed but the lighting was so dim (and romantique!!) that it is not even worth attempting to repost these images on the blog because they are fuzzy and hard to see.

Photo Source: 1, 2, 3

This is clearly a bar for savouring and enjoying mixology.  We had a great time and the food that was coming out of the kitchen looked wonderful.  While I didn’t get a blender and didn’t have knock-out pizza, I was pleased with the experience at Negroni.

Sedanstraße 9, Munich  +498948950154

zukr btq

What a whirlwind of a month and the month is not even over yet.  It is not like me to disappear from my blog but a mountain of challenges and changes were thrown my way that I had to address.  No sweat. I”m back!

The most exciting challenge of them all had to be prepping and finalizing the launch of Countlan Magazine Issue Two due out this week.  The other challenge/change is an impending move from Prague but more on that later.

Looking ahead, there are some exciting travel plans coming up which I look forward to sharing with you, my lovely readers.  The first stop is to Rome where I plan to eat a lot of pasta and gelato while checking out the sights and architecture of the city.  Next, I will be in Paris to visit family and make my second “pilgrimage” to Rose Bakery.  Finally, I will be spending New Years in London with two good friends, which I can’t wait for!  London is a city I can’t get enough of. There is so much to do, so much going on and of course, the dining is phenomenal.  The city won my heart over with Borough market, Ottolenghi and an Indian restaurant that is so spicy that I was coughing up a storm simply upon entering the restaurant and inhaling the spices in the air.

With the holidays coming up, I thought I would profile this neat online-only Edenburgh, Scotland based, sweet shop and bakery called Zukr BTQ (boutique).

Photo Source: 1

Zukr makes divine sweets such as handmade lollipops (their signature), artisan marshmallows (hibiscus, espresso, passion fruit, matcha tea), pate de fruit in raspberry and apricot (fruit jelly), dense royal brownies and macarons.  And get this- they ship internationally- You can order from Zukr and they will ship anywhere in the world!

Raspberry Marshmallows

Pate de Fruit

Salted Caramels

Violet Lollipops

Dark Chocolate and Bee Pollen Lollipop

Cherry Brownies

Baked Goods Product Photos Via Zukr Boutique Gallery

Zukr Boutique was started by a husband and wife team in 2010 who brought together the best of both worlds, pastry chef skills and design and photography skills.  (That is why their website looks so awesome!!).  If you are craving a behind the scenes look like I was, you can head on over to their YouTube feed and check out their four videos which show their macarons, lollipops, fruit pate and marshmallows.

If you prefer shopping on Etsy, Zukr also has an Etsy shop where you can browse and order their treats.

As one of my best friends suggested to me last week, I should compile a list of all the cool “order-online” bakeries where you can send people gifts.  I think she was just talking about in Toronto, but why not extend it to the whole world, if places like Zukr ship.  I will put it on my extensive and growing list of things to do.

Has anyone ordered from Zukr Boutique?  Does anyone have any recommendations of good “online-order friendly bakeries” that they would like to share in the comment section or on Facebook?  Send me your thoughts. I would love to hear your experiences.

West Elm Market

If you are a West Elm fan, here is some exciting news for you: This past week, West Elm launched a new concept store called West Elm Market in Dumbo (I used to live there!), New York.

The Market concept is focused on comfortable, affordable, well designed items for kitchen, garden and personal care.

More West Elm Market stores (in shop-in-shop) format will follow in Toronto, Nashville, Philadelphia, Dallas, Los Angeles and Seattle.  This looks pretty exciting for all you West Elm fans.  I hope to visit the Toronto store when I am back in March.

Photo Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5