Rome restaurants--that DON'T serve italian

Few people realize that Rome has a growing "Chinatown." The Boston Globe reported,"The Piazza Vittorio at the heart of Esquilino is flanked by more signs in Chinese characters than Latin letters." And there are some great places to eat in this section of town - and inexpensive!!

For Indian food, try Maharajah at at Via dei Serpenti, #124 or Surya Mahal, in Trastevere at Via di Ponte Sisto, #67.

As far as German, I've not eaten at a German restaurant here in Rome. I'll be interested in the responses you get!

OK Kent I'll bite... When the French eat out, do they order FRENCH onion soup, or just onion soup?

The whole naming business is funny. As you point out, what we call French Onion Soup is, by the way, difficult to get really good in Paris (I have relatives who have lived in Paris for a long time and they only consider one or two places to have acceptable quality) is translated as Onion Soup, my French isn't good enough to actually write the phrase. The other one to note, which is fun, is that what we call French Fries are "pommes frites", or simply fried potatoes, in French.

Kent and Ron,

That reminds me of my friends commenting on my liking of "Chinese food"....you know the game, "If you could only have one cuisine for the rest of your life what would it be?" I always say "Chinese" and the most common reply I get is "Gee, I can't immagine anyone eating Chinese food every day." To which I answer "Me either...except maybe the 1 Billion Chinese who do so when they are not eating at McDonalds."

But Rome has its own cuisine which is different from both Northern Italian and Sicilian! And, as far as that goes from Florentine or Genovese. Pesto by the way, is Ligurian. Alfredo is made-up - it's an American Italian dish.

There is a lot more to Italian food than what you find in the US. But if you need a change of pace you can find it in Rome:

Chinese: Mr Chow at Via Barberini 94 (near Piazza Barberini)
Spanish: Tapa Locas at Via di Tor Millina, 4/5 (near Piazza Navona)
Greek: Ouzeri at Via dei Salumi, 2 (Trastevere)
American/Tex-Mex: Hard Rock Cafe at Via Vittorio Veneto 62 (near Piazza Barberini/Villa Borghese) because sometimes you need a good hamburger!
Austrian/German: Cantina Tirolese at Via Vitelleschi, 23 (Vatican)
Thai: Thai Inn at Via Ozanam, 94 (Via Nomentana)

Doug - Alfredo sauce is a HUGE myth. When friends come over and they order it, despite my protestations, the waiter usually asks, "Who's Alfredo - he does not work HERE!" At that point I usually win a small wager.

Yet, I have found a restaurant that may serve something similar. "Da Alfredo" is located on Via Scroffa, #104 - just down from the Via Repetta and the Augusto Mausoleum. I read about it in the "Insider's Guide to Rome," and the author gives it high marks. The do have a Fettuccine Alfredo for 20E (pretty pricey for pasta!) and NOW, after reading about it - and walking by it while on a Caravaggio search - I HAVE to try it!!

Here's a description I found online: Solemnly baptized the "King of Fettuccine" by overseas gourmets, at Alfredo's you can rediscover the magical atmosphere of Rome in the roaring 60's.

The restaurant is about 70 years old and "Alfredo" created his own sauce in the 40's... Can't wait to try it - but it's not going to be the ALFREDO we all know!

Ron - I came across the discussion about Alfredo sauce in a similar discussion of American Chinese food - so many "Chinese" dishes we love were created in the states - General Tso's chicken is an example - and sometimes end up being imported back to China.

One things that fascinates me about Italian cuisines is how much of the basic ingredients came from the Americas - tomoatoes, corn, potatoes. I've never seen a discussion about ow that happened.

Doug - you're right; that is a curiosity... yet not too many Italians I know would admit that... If you get more info, drop me a line!

Ciao!

When my wife and I were in Rome 20+ years ago we did eat at Alfrados. This June we will be back with our 3 kids. Its just Butter and Cheese mixed and added to pasta. 20E, one dish can feed 2 and the nice part is that men eat first;)
To get away from Italian food, we plan to go to the big McDonalds in Rome; thats about as far away from Itanian as you can get. After a Big Mac you will be happy to eat 20 more home cooked meals.

After being in Europe for 2 weeks I felt the need for a hamburger. So, we went to the Hard Rock in Rome. It was good to go to a familiar place. I went once again to a Hard Rock after another 2 weeks but this time I was in Munich.

Bob, last time I was in Rome, I found that after a week or so I was ready for a change of diet. As I was staying close to Termini, there were a few choices (including of course, McDonalds). I found the Road House Grill had a fairly decent Hamburger, and the Nacho chips with Salsa were great.

I'll be back in Rome again shortly, so if I find any other locations, I'll post another note.

Happy travels!