Discovering Rome : February 2013

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Nova Caffe

Ciao! Every week, I try a new gelato shop in Rome, throughout all the different neighborhoods. Each shop is evaluated by flavor, service and price. Each shop can be rated up to 30 points: 10 possible for each category. This week I decided to do Nova Café. For those of you living under a rock, the pope is retiring and soon conclave will start. Along with the newly elected pope come massive crowds of people. If you are one of the observers in St. Peter’s Square, I’ve scoped out the nearby gelato shops and Nova Caffe would be my recommendation. Nova Caffe is located on Via Della Conciliazione, 4G, Rome, Italy

Flavor: The flavor and quality at Nova is top notch. It’s one of the better gelato shops I’ve eaten at. The after taste tells a lot about the quality of the flavor. For example, if you taste strawberry and the after taste is strawberry, then you can tell it was made with real strawberries and it’s a good quality. If you taste a bitter acidity taste afterwards then you can tell the gelato was artificially flavored and the quality isn’t as great. Nova has plenty of flavors to choose from and they’re all very velvety and smooth. Here’s a complete list of their flavors:

Mint chocolate chip
Bacio
Vanilla
Pistachio
Cheese
Cookies and crème
Creme and chocolate
Baba
Caramel
Nutella
Lemon
Melon
Mango
Pineapple
Amerena
Raspberry
Kiwi
Strawberry
Mixed fruit
Banana
Coconut
Trifle
Yogurt
Cappuccino
Mixed fruit yogurt
Tiramisu
Cassata
Coffee
Creme
Hazelnut
Malaga
Chocolate

Flavor Score: 8

Service: When you walk into Nova Caffe there lots of seating and lots of nicely dresser employees. Don’t let this fool you, the service is terrible. If you order gelato, you can’t sit at the tables and eat it, you have to pay extra for that. If you like trying different flavors of gelato before choosing which flavor to order then you won’t like it here because they don’t allow that. The people working there aren’t very friendly either. They do however, offer much more than gelato so if you’re looking for someplace to eat or just grab a pasty, they have a large assortment and their menu comes in several different languages.

Service Score: 2

Price: Because the Nova Caffe is within 300 meters of St. Peter’s Square, you can expect the prices to be a little more expensive than your average gelato shop.

Cone prices:

· Small, 1 flavor – 2.50

· Medium, 2 flavors – 3.50

· Large, 3 flavors – 5.00

Cup prices

· Small, 1 flavor – 2.50

· Medium, 2 flavors – 3.50

· Large, 2 flavors – 4.50

· Large, 3 flavors – 5.00

Price Score: 4

Overall Score: 14

Overall, Nova Caffe is not my favorite place but the quality of the flavor and the location make up for everything else. If you’re in the area for the papal festivities and you feel like some gelato, Nova Caffe is just a short walk away. Try the mint chocolate chip, it’s my favorite!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Eataly

My class recently took a trip to Eataly in Rome. Eataly looks like a huge warehouse but when you walk in, it’s buzzing with shoppers roaming around the four floors of produce and restaurants. You know that anyone you find there is a food lover. For me, it was so exciting to walk through the front doors; it made me instantly want to start shopping and go home to start cooking right away.

Inside Eataly

Eataly is partnered with Slow Food. For those of you who have never heard of Slow Food, it’s a non-profit organization that works to help small farmers get their produce on the market and still keep their products at a competitive price. Slow Food encourages people to buy fresh, locally grown foods versus eating fast food or processed food from the grocery store. It’s hard for small farmers to produce high quality organic produce at reasonable prices because efficient distribution channels are often difficult to find and its hard to compete with farmers who mass produce their products with a high quantity and low quality concept. Slow Food is about making low quantity and high quality possible. They help get the product from the farm to the shelves in the grocery store and help with the marketing for the farmer. That’s where Eataly comes in.

Eataly offers every possible ingredient you can think off. Personally for me, I was so proud of the entire concept of Eataly because it really forces you to realize that everything we put in our mouth was grown by a farmer. What a lot of people don’t realize is that everything we see in the store started as a seed or was raised by a farmer. I grew up on a farm and still live there today. All of my life it has frustrated me when people don’t understand where their food comes from. No, it does not magically appear at the grocery store. During the fall my grandpa gets up before dawn and stays out after the sun sets just to harvest all the crops on time. So Eataly was something that I could really connect with. I think that being there and seeing all the different types of food makes visitors appreciate their food just a little bit more.

In addition to all the great produce, Eataly has 23 different restaurants. Each restaurant has a theme, so no matter what kind of mood you’re in when you visit Eataly, you’re sure to find a restaurant just for you. Whether it’s mozzarella, chocolate, pastries, or gelato, there’s a specific restaurant just for that theme. When you plan on going to Eataly make sure you have at least a couple hours to spare and bring your appetite!

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Lux Jem Cafe

Ciao! Every week, I try a new gelato shop in Rome, throughout all the different neighborhoods. Each shop is evaluated by flavor, service and price. Each shop can be rated up to 30 points: 10 possible for each category. This week: Grand Lux Ristorante and Cafe. This is a cute little place nestled in Prati. It’s not far from Old Bridge Gelato Shop but I didn’t feel right not blogging about this place since I’m a regular there.

Via Leone IV 10/12, 00192 Roma, Italia

Flavor: The flavor quality is middle of the road. If it’s anything I’ve learned its that fruit flavors are the hardest to get right. You have to use real fruit or you can taste the flavoring and sometimes it leaves an unpleasant aftertaste in your mouth. The Mars Bar flavor is my favorite here. If you want, the owner will even dip a portion of your gelato in chocolate for you!

Here’s the complete list of flavors (the owner changes the flavors from time to time so a few of them vary):

Mixed Berry
Strawberry
Dark Chocolate
Chocolate
Pistachio
Melon
Banana
Lemon
Yogurt
Vanilla
Hazelnut
Eggnog
Biscotti
Coffee
Caramel
Coconut
Tiramisu
Cheese
Panna Cotta
Kinder Bar
Bacio de dama
Cherry
Trifle
Nougat
Cookies and Crème
Crème
Mars Bar

Flavor Score: 5

Service: The service is mostly what brings me into this shop. The owner is a nice man you always gives you a warm welcome when you walk through the door. If he’s feeling generous he might even give you a little pastry on the way out. There a few tables inside to sit down and enjoy your gelato, outside seating and the shop is connected to a restaurant next door. It’s small but it has a very friendly and inviting atmosphere. It’s a great place to stop in after school or work and enjoy a scoop of gelato.

Service Score: 9

Price: The pricing here is average. You get more bang for your buck if you choose a cone over a cup. A small cup is 3 euro but a small cone is 2 euro and it’s the same amount of ice cream. You can make that be one or two different flavors.

Here’s the complete price lists:

Cones

Small – 2 euro
Medium – 3 euro
Large – 4 euro
Extra Large – 5 euro

Cups

Children’s size – 2 euro
Small – 3 euro
Medium – 4 euro
Large – 5 euro

Shop owner scooping some strawberry

Price Score: 6

Overall, Grand Lux is a place you go when you want to sit down and relax to eat your gelato with friends. The flavors don’t stand out from one gelato shop to the next but they’re worth going back for seconds, and the prices aren’t too bad, either.

Overall Score: 20

Next week: For those of you who will be visiting Vatican City soon to catch up on all the action, I’ll be stopping in Nova Café to see just how good it really is.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Giolitti

· Flavor: I could go on and on about the flavors at Giolitti. Every flavor is so authentic. If you order the mango flavor, it tastes like you just put the sweetest juiciest mango in your mouth. When it melts in your mouth it’s like you’ve died and gone to heaven. Same goes for all the fruit flavors. You can tell the gelato is made with real fruit. If your order Bailey’s be prepared because it actually tastes like Bailey’s liquor, you can taste the alcohol in every bite. If you want, each cone is topped with real, fresh whipped cream. There’s nothing better. There are other unique flavors like Champagne, Candied Chestnut and Disaronno Amaretto.

Here’s the full list of flavors:

·         Limone (Lemon)

·         Menta (Mint)

·         Banana

·         Mandarino (Mandarin)

·         Pistacchio

·         Arancia (Orange)

·         Fragola (Strawberry)

·         Mango

·         Lamponi (Raspberry)

·         Visciole (Cherry)

·         Mirtilli (Blueberry)

·         Ananas (Pineapple)

·         Cioccolato fondente (Dark Chocolate)

·         Nutella

·         Biscotti Oreo

·         Cioccolato (Chocolate)

·         Nocciola (Hazel)

·         Crema (Crème)

·         Caffe (Coffee)

·         Zabaione (Cheese)

·         Tiramisu

·         Torrone (Nougat)

·         Stracciatella (Cookies and Crème)

·         Disaronno Amaretto

·         Marron glaces (Candied Chestnut)

·         Amarna (Black Cherry)

·         Pompelmo rosa (Grapefruit)

·         Cioccolato (Chocolate)

·         Canella (Cinnamon)

·         Noce (Walnut)

·         Caramel

·         Fico caramellato (Caramelized fig)

·         Liquirizia (Licorice)

·         Bailey’s Irish Crème

·         Pera (Pear)

·         Cassata Siciliana (cake filled with ricotta, chocolate and candied fruit)

·         Riso (Rice)

·         Yogurt

·         Cocoa

·         Champagne (sherbet)

Flavor Score: 10

Service: When you go into Giolitti you have to buy your ice cream first from the cashier at the door. You choose your size and how many flavors you want, and then you take your ticket to the man scooping gelato behind the counter. Each time I’ve been there they are very friendly and speak English pretty well. If you ask, they’ll even recommend what flavors go well together.

There’s seating outside if you want to sit and enjoy your gelato or there’s seating inside too. The catch is you have to order other food to be allowed to sit there. The shop offers lots of other pastries and sweets as well as premade sandwiches. Overall I was pleased with the service.

Service Score: 8

Price: The prices are moderate to expensive depending on your budget. They’re a little higher than a small little shop you would find in a residential area like Prati, but considering Giolitti is a well-know spot just blocks from the Pantheon, it’s a little more expensive. Here’s a full pricing list for gelato:

· Small 2 flavors – 2.50

· Medium 3 flavors – 3.50

· Large 3 flavors – 4.50

· Extra Large with chocolate dipped cone 4 flavors – 5.50

You can check out all the other delicious treats they have here: http://www.giolitti.it/english/home.html

Walnut and Bailey's with a dollop of whipped cream

Price Score: 7

As a whole, I would definitely recommend you visit Giolitti at least once if you come to Rome. Although I wouldn’t mind weekly visits. The flavors are the great, the service is good and the prices are reasonable. I would have to recommend a cone with strawberry and mango or if you’re not a fruit person, chocolate and walnut. And be sure to get a big scoop of whipped cream!

Overall Score: 25