WhyRoam_Header

Beating the Heat at a New Gelateria

By

For a while now I’ve been hearing good things about a certain gelateria.  It’s located in an area I don’t frequent often, and I had not made it a point to stop in and visit.  The other day I was in the area, melting from the heat of the day, and decided to locate the gelateria to get a frozen treat to help cool off.  
 
The gelateria is named Palazzo del Freddo Giovanni Fassi, but is commonly known as Fassi.  The gelateria has been run by the Fassi family since 1880.  It is located on the other side of Termini Station, opposite direction from most of the main tourist sights, and near to Vittorio Emanuele metro station.  

When I first entered, I immediately noticed two things.  1. The gelateria was huge.  I have not seen another gelateria in Rome even close to this size.  2. Apparently everyone had the same idea as us to get a gelato to help beat the heat outside because the place was packed.

When I saw how many customers were waiting to get their gelato and how many were already sitting at the tables enjoying their frozen treats, combined with the fact that this gelateria had been in business for well over 100 years, I was expecting magic.  I was expecting to be wowed.  In the end, I was left satisfied, but the satisfaction did not involve a wow factor.  Let me explain.


In my opinion, the ordering process is dysfunctional.  The crowd of people in the photo above never formed an actual line.  You pay at the cassa (register) off to the side, then maneuver your way through the crowd to make it to the counter and flag down a server. With all the people crowded about, it made it very difficult to see the various gelato types offered.  There is a large sign above with pictures of ingredients for you to see the different gelato flavors available.  This just does not work for me.  I am a visual person.  I want to see the actual food options, not just a graphic display of the ingredients.  Once we made it to the front, I was able to see the gelato options directly in front of me, but none of the options in the cases on either side of me.  The ordering process left me feeling a little frustrated.

I ended up with pistachio, chocolate and lemon.  I did a no-no and paired chocolate with a citrus, but that’s just what I was in the mood for.  To me, the chocolate was a little bitter.  I love intense dark chocolate (which is normally a little bitter), but I wasn’t a big fan of this and wouldn’t order it again.  The pistachio was fine.  It was tasty, but not the best I’ve had.  The winner for me was the lemon.  The lemon was great!  It was tart and refreshing.  If we go back to Fassi, I’ll definitely order the lemon again.
  

One good thing about Fassi is the space itself.  There is a lot of space inside and plenty of tables are provided for you to sit and enjoy your gelato.  My theory is that many people frequent Fassi in the summer months because of the air condition (somewhat of a rarity in Italian homes) and plenty of seating with no cover charge (another rarity among Italian restaurants and eating establishments).

Another good thing is the price.  A medium sized cone or cup with three flavors is only €2.

So, to sum up Fassi, I wouldn’t go out of my way to frequent here, but I would return again if I were in the neighborhood.  I would also order the limone (lemon) gelato … it was quite good!  


Gelateria Fassi
Via Principe Eugenio, 65
00185 Rome, Italy
http://www.palazzodelfreddo.it/
Closed Mondays
Open Tues – Sun from 12:00 PM – 10:00 PM, and until midnight on Friday and Saturday

 

Pompi: Dessert Heaven & The Perfect Pick Me Up

By

The name Pompi kept coming up for places to head to for great desserts.  I even heard and read claims that they have THE BEST tiramisu in Rome.  I actually dismissed this claim.  I would say I am somewhat of a tiramisu connoisseur, and several tries of the dessert here in Rome failed my taste buds miserably.  I guess I should clarify that statement.  I don’t meet many sweets that I don’t like, and even some of the claimed tiramisu desserts tasted good, but they should have not been termed as being tiramisu.  One I tasted had a vanilla pudding type custard, and another had a cake crust, or bottom layer, instead of lady fingers.  To me, those are simply desserts, and shouldn’t make a claim to fame as being tiramisu.  
 
With that said, I set off to try Pompi.  I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, but I didn’t have overly high hopes for the tiramisu.     
 
Upon arrival there was a steady flow of customers entering and leaving, and all the cafe tables in front were filled.  A good sign!   
I was blown away as soon as I entered.  I was so excited to discover all the different types of desserts!  I immediately declared I wanted to try one of everything.  They had a variety of gelato, along with an array of sweets and baked goods.  They also not only had tiramisu, they had several kinds of tiramisu!  Who knew?  

They also had a refrigerator case full of beautifully decorated, drool-inducing cakes.    

After I snapped out of my dolce trance, I noticed the rest of the large refrigerator case was filled with prepared and packaged tiramisu.  At that moment, I knew this place meant business with their tiramisu if they had that many prepared to walk out the door.

In addition to the side walk tables in front, Pompi also has a large sitting area in the back.  As typical in Italy, sitting down comes with a charge.  Your dessert of choice will run you an extra few dollars if you decide to sit down and be served at a table.  It was a such a beautiful day, we decided to get ours to go and sat down to enjoy our (very tasty) treats in the park area near to the pastry shop.

We opted for a classic tiramisu, and another tiramisu with a twist.  I wanted to taste the traditional tiramisu, and just as I had read and heard before, it was delicious!  It was the best tasting tiramisu I have had in Rome so far!

We also shook things up a bit with a non-traditional tiramisu (something I did not know even existed).  Instead of the espresso and chocolate, it had hazelnuts and caramel.  I was a little leery of it at first since it was something I had never even heard of, but it was absolutely delicious!  It will definitely be ordered again.  In fact, Pompi also has several other flavors (strawberry, pistachio and banana & nutella), and I can’t wait to see if they are all equally as delicious.
Needless to say, I loved Pompi, and can’t wait to go back to try more of their delicious desserts!  It actually reminded me of my favorite 115-year old Italian pastry shop in New York, Venieros.  If something can transport me back to New York (my favorite city) and give me a taste of home, I’m definitely going back!   
 
Pompi is not far from the Metro A stop Re di Roma, and is open daily from 6:30 AM – 1:30 AM. They also have a smaller location (with the same great tiramisu) near Piazza di Spagna (Via della Croce, 82).  

Pompi
Via Albalonga, 7
+39 06 7000418

 

A Perfect Weekend Afternoon in Rome

By

This past weekend I mentioned on Twitter the hubby and I were planning to go on a gelato date to my favorite gelateria.  Well, we did, and we ended up extending the date to the whole afternoon.  It was a great (and much needed) break!  It ended up being the perfect weekend afternoon in Rome with pizza, gelato and a visit to Rome’s rose garden.We started the afternoon at a great little pizzeria in Trastevere.  I’ll be telling you a little more about the place soon, so stay tuned. 🙂  We then made our way near Piazza Navona to stop for gelato at my favorite gelateria.  After we filled our bellies, we headed toward Circus Maximus where we spent some time in Rome’s rose garden enjoying all the beautiful, colorful roses.  Below is a glimpse of our day in photos.


At the pizzeria, we started with pear and gorgonzola bruschetta.  I love the flavor combinations with the sweetness of the pear paired with rich, savory cheese. So tasty!

I had the ‘Vegetariana’ … mushrooms, roasted bell peppers, and grilled zucchini and eggplant.  The hubby had the ‘Tonno’ … tuna with sauteed onions.  Tuna might seem like a surprising pizza topping, but it’s quite delicious!  


After lunch, we made our way near to my favorite gelateria … Frigidarium.  You can read more about Frigidarium here.  Disclaimer: I got caught up in the moment and too busy enjoying my gelato, I forgot to snap a photo.  This is a photo I previously took, but my gelato this weekend looked almost identical.  I stuck with my go to flavors here: pistachio, tiramisu and spagnola (vanilla with tart Amarena cherries).  All of those flavors smothered in a chocolate shell coating.  It seriously is divine!  

With full bellies, we made our way to Rome’s rose garden.  As you can see, many had the same idea, and were out enjoying the lovely day and admiring the beautiful flowers, too. To learn more about Rome’s rose garden or to view opening times, click here.  

The bees were also enjoying the flowers.  

After touring through the garden, we made our way to the top, sat on a bench, exhaled and enjoyed the view and the lovely afternoon.  

© copyright 2013 – All rights reserved

Why Rome?

Dolce Idea: A Sweet Idea in Trastevere

By

Several months ago we had the sweetest clients who gave us the nicest gift of assorted chocolates.  I’ve mentioned it a few times before, but I am a complete lover of chocolate. I am a self-proclaimed chocoholic, so you can imagine my excitement when we received such a thoughtful gift.

Fast forward to last week.  I was walking down a side street in Trastevere, one I had walked numerous times before, but this time I noticed a familiar logo.  It was the logo from the chocolate shop where our lovely gift came from.  Of course, I had to take a detour and enter inside.  The name of the shop is Dolce Idea, and let me tell you, what a sweet idea it was to go inside!

 


There was an assorted array of chocolates displayed behind the glass counter, which immediately started my mouth watering.  The small, specialty chocolate shop was also filled with a rainbow of pastel and brightly colored wrapped chocolate eggs in preparation for Easter (known as Pasqua in Italian).  This shop has some of the prettiest decorated eggs I have seen in Rome so far.  They even had small chocolate bunnies, like in the States (not the norm here).

If you are looking for an Easter gift, or just want to spoil someone (or yourself) with tasty chocolates and beautiful edible treats, be sure to visit Dolce Idea.

 

Dolce Idea
Via San Francesco a Ripa, 27
Roma, 00153 (in Trastevere)
Telephone: 06 5833 4043
http://chocolate.dolceidea.com/

A Tisket, A Tasket … What’s In An Italian Easter Basket?

By

 

Easter is fastly approaching!  Can you believe it?  When I think back to my childhood years, I am reminded of waking up early on Easter Sunday to see what goodies the Easter Bunny (aka Mom & Dad) had left in my Easter basket.  Easters for me were filled with decorated eggs, chocolate bunnies, small toys, plastic eggs filled with candy, chocolate and money, and baskets with pastel colored ‘grass’ to display the decorated eggs and hold all the Easter goodies.  

After a lifetime of the same traditions, and the holiday commercialized to consumers in a grand spectrum each year, I was shocked during my first Easter in Italy last year.  No bunny, pastel or cartoon baskets.  No brightly colored plastic eggs to place treats in or have an egg hunt with.  No aisles and aisles of assorted Easter candies.  No egg dye kits.  
 
My first thought was, “Wow, these kids are missing out!” 

Yes, I know the Easter holiday has been overly commercialized, but I have fond memories of Easter days of my childhood.  I would wake excited to discover what the Easter Bunny had left for me in my basket.  We would then head off to church, all decked out in our new Easter attire (I always got a new dress and shoes specifically to wear on Easter Sunday).  After church we would go to my grandparents’ house for a big Easter lunch.  After lunch, all the kids would make their way run outside to the backyard for an Easter egg hunt.  We would all try to collect the most of the colorful plastic eggs scattered and hidden throughout the yard.  The real excitement was for the one who found the ‘golden egg’, a large, golden colored egg with money inside … usually $20.

 
 
Here in Italy, it seems large chocolate eggs take the place of Easter baskets.  Supermarkets display an assorted array of the brightly wrapped, extra large chocolate eggs in preparation of Pasqua (Easter holiday in Italian).  You can find the chocolate eggs wrapped in an assortment of popular children’s characters for the younger crowd (Barbie, Spiderman, Hello Kitty, etc.), plain for the slightly more sophisticated, or with a simple statement of ‘Auguri’ (congratulations and well wishes expressed during holidays or important days).  I still miss the variety of assorted candies and treats, but with an oversized egg made of chocolate in front of you, how can one complain?! 🙂  
 
Another typical Italian treat specific to Pasqua (Easter) is the Colomba.  It is a cross between a cake and a bread, and is made with flour, eggs, sugar, yeast and butter.  It is usually topped with almonds and sugar, and is shaped in the form of a dove.  The name Colomba Pasqua translates to Easter Dove.  You can find the Pasqua treat in a variety of different flavors … traditional topped with almonds and sugar with candied orange peel inside, chocolate, lemon and different cream filled flavors.  I wish they were available all year round, but I think my waistline is glad they are not. 😉  They’re quite tasty!