The Bon Vivant Blog

D wanted to line us up for a couple of cooking classes and both worked out ridiculously well. This cooking class was the less expensive of the two, and was an absolute steal. Really, chef Andrea could be charging twice as much and it would still be worth every penny. This is a cooking class [...]

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There are so many little restaurants in rome, that it’s almost impossible to know which ones are good, and which ones are bad. To my North American eyes, many have similar decor, similar menus – there is no way that just by looking that I can tell what makes a good restaurant. Even the best [...]

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What is the best gelato in Rome? Well, if you check a lot of the message boards/forums, apparently San Crispino is the best gelato in Rome although actually I think it depends on what kind of gelato you like and where you are staying. We tried several – Blue Ice (a very average chain with [...]

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At night, in Trastevere, you could never be faulted for just choosing any restaurant and going inside – the choice of places to eat is somewhat overwhelming. But with a little research, you can find places like Dar Poeta, where the ambiance is good, the service is friendly and fast, and the food is great. [...]

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Look – it’s easy to find good pizza in Rome. But this was exceptionally good pizza. Roscioli is both a bakery and a very high-end food store/restaurant located near Campo de’ Fiori. The Forno (bakery) was started by the parents a long time ago and the food store/restaurant by the sons more recently.

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I still don’t know how D continually manages to find such superb places to eat. She somehow tracked down ‘da Gino’ – and it was truly a memorable meal – one of those places that if you came here at the very start of your trip, you’d come here again before you left. She made [...]

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First night in Rome – too lazy/tired to make a reservation. We pull out the lonely planet and look for a place that’s a) open on a Sunday night and b) near Cambo de’ Fiori, close to where we’re staying. Ditirambo fits the bill – we cross our fingers and hope that it will be [...]

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Post-dinner at Ditirambo, strolling around Campo de’ Fiori – nothing makes dessert better when in Italy than a couple of scoops of gelato. We’re tired, we haven’t done any research, and we basically go to the first place we find, about 50 feet away from Ditirambo. Notwithstanding the english name, the gelato is actually pretty [...]

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