Rome, The Eternal City
Cappuccino
Google “best coffee Rome” and this is what shows up.
Il Caffé Sant’Eustacchio, 82 Piazza Sant-Eustacchio
Italy is the birthplace of espresso. With that kind of invention and legacy, you’d think there’d be a mind-blowing espresso bar on every corner in the city. Nope. Espresso is better than average for most cities and countries, but we have to say it: it’s no Seattle, it’s no San Francisco when it comes to high-quality coffee. This makes us homesick, but it challenges us to find something at least decent (we’re so bourgie).
We found Il Caffé Sant’Eustacchio on a “best of list,” published on cnn.com and authored by Katie Parla (more on Katie Parla, later). It had outdoor seating and an indoor bar, which we were instructed is where you have your coffee standing up to avoid a table charge. But, it was hot - and at 10AM, so we were in the mood to take a rest and enjoy our morning fix in the shade. We ordered what the Italians sitting next to us were having: “Due cappuccino, due spremuta, due croissant.”
The cafe is named for the minor basilica next door to it. And the emblem of the cafe is borrowed from St. Eustace, a Roman general named Placidus, who served the emperor Trajan. The legend goes that while he was hunting in Tivoli, he saw a vision of a crucifix lodged between a stag’s antlers. He converted to Christianity and then, centuries later, we had a coffee at a cafe in his namesake.
Just before we left, we saw that the Italians sitting next to us were causing quite a giggle with our server. Our server exclaimed, “That’s Monopoly money!” in response to the 500€ bill he was asked to make change for. We were quite curious about it, since we learned that the 500€ bill will be discontinued soon because its denomination invites money laundering. It sort of got us thinking, “Who is this Italian man, paying for espresso with a 500€ bill…”
After breakfast, we walked in the direction of the Palazzo Cipolla, passing the famous Piazza Navona. The Piazza Navona is breathtaking. And to think: Bernini was commissioned to sculpt such a piece for a public square! The sun was beating down on us and everyone else, except for the well-umbrella-ed Chinese women, taking pictures with the most massive selfie sticks you’ve ever seen.
We went to the Palazzo Cipolla to see “War, Capitalism, and Liberty,” a terrible exhibition of Banky’s work. In theory, it would’ve been quite cool, except that something seemed amiss: Banksy on framed canvasses, instead of real places, in context. The entrance fee was a complete rip-off and somehow, we think that’s the only way a Banksy exhibit should be: “Exit Through the Giftshop.”.
For lunch, we went to Nonna Betta, a Kosher restaurant in the Old Jewish Neighborhood. As we wandered through the neighborhood, we came across Stolperstein, “stumbling stones” that commemorate Jews who were forced into concentration camps during WWII. It was a sobering experience to read the names of Roman Jews who died during the Holocaust.
Nonna Betta is also on another “best of list”, authored by Katie Parla. It specializes in Jewish-Italian food, which uses artichokes in abundance. We feasted on hot-weather food: marinated anchovies, artichoke carpaccio, and a salad of fennel, orange, and chicories. Lunch was so good, we had to have more, but our stomach occupancy was full. We promptly made a reservation for dinner the next night to our servers’ disbelief. We don’t mess around.
The heat was so overwhelming, we made an executive decision to go back to the apartment for a catnap. We figured we could take a nice walk in the evening and see some of the sights when the weather was much more tolerable. Because we couldn’t dine there the night before, it was important we ate at Da Augusto, the recommendation made to us by our Airbnb host’s teenage son. Claudio was right: the food was like your Mom would make it and it wasn’t very touristic. We dined on pasta, beef rolls, and sautéed chicories. 👌
After dinner, we took a long walk to the Colosseum. With lines as long as they are, we weren’t excited about visiting it during the day, so this was the perfect solution.
A Note on Katie Parla: In our research, we’ve discovered that our recommendations have been culled and curated by one person: Katie Parla. Katie Parla has Rome covered: her own iOS app, her own cookbook, and she rolls deep with the likes of Mario Batali and Aziz Ansari. Thanks to her, we had most of our meals planned out for our visit!
0.5L House Wine
We’ll be honest: it’s the easiest thing to order.
Da Augusto, Piazza Dè Renzi 15, Trastevere
