Favorite foods in Rome & Venice

Pizza, pasta, salads, sandwiches, fresh fruit or juices. Try some cannoli or other pastry in addition to the many flavors of gelato. In both cities I have enjoyed buying pizza-by-the-slice.

Venice: Sepi in Nero, cuttle fish in ink sauce. Fegato ala Veneziana: liver and onions.

Anything on the menu that you have never heard of or never tried! Baccala mantecato (a creamy spread of dried salt cod) is one of my favorites in Venice, along with sepia in nero, and you may see other preparations of baccala. Some restaurants offer a mixed antipasto platter with several items to try; I had a very good one last year at www.osteriamascaron.it, one of Rick's recommendations near San Marco in Venice.

In Venice we eat at Tre Arches and eat their chicken/artichoke pizza. It's in a white (bechamel) sauce and we enjoy it very much.

In Rome I mostly eat veal of many prepartions. The side I always order if it's on the menu is carcioffi (artichoke hearts) a la Romana.

Wish I were going with you, but I'll be there again eventually.
Have a great trip
Mimi

In Roma, try gnocchi (most likely on the menu on Thursdays), saltimbocca alla Romana (traditionally made with veal but sometimes with pork), deep-fried, crispy artichokes, anything alla Bolognese, mussels in white wine sauce. Spaghetti alle vongole (small clams). There's also deep-fried fillets of baccala. For dessert, panna cotta. If you go out for breakfast, a coffee and cornetto (many filling flavors or empty), if there is a Neapolitan bakery try sfogliatelle (traditional ones are ribbons of phyllo-type dough around a sweet ricotta and citrus filling).

In Venezia, try risotto with seafood, risi e bisi (rice with peas), antipasti with seafood or cured meats and cheeses.

I disagree with Laura's advice about trying something (= anything?) you've never had, you could end up with tripe, brains, intestines, or horsemeat. Nothing wrong with those, but...

Have a tasty trip!

I just looked up Via Merulana to see where you are staying. It is not far from one of our favorite places to eat, Hostaria Da Nerone.
They had great veal and the best Carcioffi a la Romana. Be aware they are closed on Sundays.

Have a great trip, hope you enjoy it.
Mimi

Spaghetti carbonara is, I believe, a Roman specialty and delicious. We have always been there in spring, and it may be strictly seasonal, but artichokes were everywhere, both steamed Carciofi Romana, and fried Carciofi alla guidia, or Jewish style. Try just about anything that is in season, too. These items may be featured on many menus and are highly anticipated and eagerly sought after. My firm belief after several visits is that it is almost impossible to eat badly in Italy. That doesn't include the 1 euro pizza slice, but we've had a few of those too. Bon appetito!

In Venice we love the "mixed grill" of seafood, generally a platter for two with all kinds of creatures you may not have seen before, especially crustaceans.

Taverna San Trovaso in Dorsoduro, just up from the gondola workshop, has a good price for this.

http://www.tavernasantrovaso.it/

Note that there is also a Ristorante San Trovaso but that is different. We have never dined there. Make reservations for the Taverna if you wanttomsitin the nicer back room.

The mixed grill (grigliata misti) is different from fritti misti di pesce which is deep-fried seafood,mutually calamari and shrimp (gamberi). That is good too.

Pasta with artichoke hearts in Rome

The Conad city supermercato in the basement of Roma Termini sells Neapolitan Sfogliatelle in their Pastry Shop toward the back of the store. They are in different shapes, big and hearty, most have the traditional filling, but there are other fillings too. I haven't tried them all, but I will. These are sensational pastries and I get them whenever I can.

I LOVED pasta all' amatriciana - a very flavorful red type sauce. YUM!!!

Also we tried Jewish Artichokes in Rome that were good - I had never had artichokes - these were kind of fried and very good!

Artichokes are carciofi and they come fried (alla Giudea) and sauteed (alla Romana). You eat the entire thing, leaves, stems and all. Pasta all'Amatriciana or All'Arrabbiata are great, the latter a bit spicy and meatless. Trippa as Zoe mentioned is Roman, but it is offal so only order if you like organ meats. My husband loves the stuff. Saltimbocca is a good rec from Zoe. For vegetable, try cicoria. It is rather like spinach, but unique, usually first boiled then pan fried in oil with chili pepper flakes (peperoncini). "Eggplant Parmesan" will be called melanzane al forno. It is not breaded (usually in Rome, anyway) and it is meatless. It is one of my go-to meals. I get the melanzane and my spouse the trippa. A nice "mixed Italian platter" of salume and cheese makes a nice antipasto.

Panini from a bar make a good casual lunch. Great ones at Papy's in Piazza Barberini, also (stand up only) up the street at Bar Renelli in Via di San Nicolo da Tolentino which has the best buy in town, well-filled sandwiches for only €2.70 each. Many bars are starting to offer big salads, too, and if you see a La Baguetteria they do a great panino.

If you are in a pizzeria (traditionally dinner only in Italy) also try some fritti which will vary widely from place to place. Arancine or Suppli are fried rice balls, filled with various things. Olive Ascolane are olives stuffed with meat then breaded and fried. Often you can get a mixed platter of fried goodness to share.

In Venezia we favor seafood. Cozze are mussels and vongole are clams. I prefer the former in a sauté as an antipasto, and the latter as spaghetti con vongole. Risotto is a good choice, as are many grilled seafood main dishes.

Buon appetito!

Here are a couple of fun lists to inspire you:

Top 10 Venice

Where cabbies eat in Rome

Where to eat in Rome's touristy areas

Gelato! Do you really need anything else? :)