Another Valentine's Day Single.
Sigh...
No really, I don't
actually mind. This year I spent my day teaching and perpetually working
which was surprisingly fun.
I even had my
little 5 year old Valentine, Georgio who is an absolute love and adorable. He
surprise hugs me all the time. He and the other kids made my Valentine's day
very entertaining because we made cards and flowers out of construction paper.
A lot of effort,
but a lot of fun.
Then after dinner
I went out to dinner, a nice single girl dinner.
We went to a
restaurant called Ketumbar in Testaccio.
It was quite
interesting and not very typical as far as Italian restaurants go. It
used a lot of locally grown organic products and also had some combinations of
foods that I had not seen before.
For example, I
decided to try a tonnarelli (a typical Roman pasta) with a twist. This
tonnarelli dish was made with shrimp and avocado. I wasn't quite sure what
to expect
because I've never seen the combination before. The result was
surprisingly good. The avocado created a lovely, creamy sauce that was lighter
than a traditional cream based sauce. The shrimp was handled delicated
and cooked perfectly. That being said, there wasn't enough of it. In my
entire dish there were only 3 or 5 chunks of shrimp which is certainly not
enough shrimp for a €14 dish. The head of the shrimp was part of the
presentation so be warned. I didn't mind it, but I known a few people who
get antsy when they see eyes. The pasta itself had a good flavor
but it
was a bit undercooked for me. It was definitely more than a little al dente.
If I go back again
I would consider trying one of their traditional Roman dishes (which are a little
less expensive) or I might even consider trying a second because Endira's
Tagliata, a cut of beef was quite delicious. As was the Cicoria. We got
the organic cicoria and it was utterly fantastic. You could really tell that it
was organic by the taste, it was crisp and light and bursting with flavor.
I know Italy is known for slow
food, so I didn’t mind that our waitress left us to our own devices. We were
not remotely rushed while eating, but it was a little excessive to sit with our
empty dishes in front of us for more than a half an hour. Then the dessert menu was brought promptly
but she didn’t come back to see if we wanted anything for another twenty
minutes or so. By that time, I didn’t want dessert anymore. When I said that we were okay, the waitress
looked at me and said, “What a shame, the dessert here is fantastic,” and
walked away. I really did have the urge
to tell her that if she had come a bit sooner I probably would have ordered
dessert. Waiting made me realize that I was actually full and didn’t need
anything else. On one side this is good because I
saved my money and waist line
but honestly I would have loved to try a dessert. I was quite curious about
their tiramisu since it was made with “birra artigianale” or artisanal beer
which is anything but traditional. That
being said I was completely irritated with her attitude and behavior by the end
of the night.
beautiful and cozy seating for two |
Normally I do not get annoyed in
restaurants. I very much appreciate how difficult the job of waitressing must
be, however, this waitress was quite rude to us and then didn’t bring us the
bill for another half hour. We spent
more time waiting around than eating which I am usually fine with. But again
this was excessive.
I don’t know that I’d go back for
dinner. There was live music and the atmosphere was very calm so I would
consider going back for an aperitivo or buffet style dinner where being left to
our own devices would be welcome.
All in all I had a great night
because I was in great company and then we also made friends with the table
next to us; two ladies visiting from Milan. One was originally from Rome and
the other from Sicily, but they live in Milan now (they are not thrilled with
this turn of events) so they were really happy to talk to us about food in Rome
and I now have an excellent list of restaurants to try in the area.
I’ll post up the list soon and then
update as I try the various locales. I’m super excited about it actually!!
gorgeous decoration in the restaurant |
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