When in Rome, do as Romans do! This not only means act like one, but walk like one, eat like one and drink like one, behave and try and look as less as tourist as possible. Not as easy as it sounds, unless you are Rome born, or have spent years in this fascinating, beautify and historic city, which attracts crowds of tourists from all over the world all year long. As a city with so many tourist you will have difficulties finding the right place to stay, and if you are on the budget, you will find it even harder to find a place to eat for a decent price (let’s not call it cheap, it offends the food and the chef), because the prices are way up, hiked for a reason, all these tourists have to spend their money somehow, cheap or expensive.
However, if you want to catch the spirit of this magnificent millenniums old city, you should try and really use the phrase “When in Rome…”, and there are ways you can do this. First, you can try and explore online, and read all about the places you can visit and places you can eat nearby, write it down and go on an adventure. Sure, it might be difficult to find your way through, but this way you will find the places which are “tourist free”, and you will enjoy a good meal at decent price, a true Roman meal, not that frozen junk food with a can of soda included, and not the ones you get a valet service and a waiter in a tux (the pricey ones).
You can even follow a list, but again, you have to find it, and most probably you’ll be sharing your meal with another tourist, and feel like Roma (tourist).
Perhaps the best way to eat in Rome is to find a friend who is Roman and who can take you to the best and decent priced restaurants and present you the Italian cuisine in a way it should be presented, with all its diversity and colorful tastes, Pizzas, pasta, Jewish Ricotta Pie, gelato, Spaghetti allo scoglio, Carbonara, Rigatoni amatriciana and the list goes on. Hungry yet? Surpassingly maybe, but not everyone has a friend in Rome! Yet again, there is a way, why don’t you hire one for a day or more? Getting your local culinary guide is easy, and can offer you the experience you want and you can expect the meal for the price you are willing to pay. Your local insider can take you to genuine Roman places to eat, places where only Romans eat, and the best part, you can customize and make your own plan, visit the places you want picked from a long list of restaurants offered by your local friend.
Whatever you choose from the above mentioned, you will not be doing a mistake, the choice of places to eat is huge, and there are small hints that can really help you when in Rome:
- Don’t be shy to try some pizza on the slice, some of the best pizzas in Italy are served on the slice (after all, its pizza, it can never be bad)
- Book you place to stay and choose breakfast included, this will save you money and you will have a fresh coffee in the morning (very important for a long day sightseeing)
- Visit the local farmers market (Campagna Amica market in Circo Massimo), which is a market set up on different location, but worth all the time to find it. Eat freshly prepared food cooked by locals on site, and you can buy groceries where local buy, not tourist crowded markets.
- Coffee served on carts throughout Rome, especially on tourist attractions, can be the best coffee in the world, for 1 euro, so try it out!
- Avoid places with flashing lights saying “cheap cheap cheap”, enjoying food involves keeping your best health also!
Also, Rome is far from just a good town to eat, enjoy the romance of Rome from sunrise to sunset, and clear your thoughts at the Trevi Fountain, enjoy the silence of the Colosseum, breath Rome, just like Romans do!
