Rome: Where All Roads Lead - Italy - page 40

absolutely nothing spontaneous about them, but I've managed to find a handful
of worthy choices.
Near the Spanish Steps
€€€ Gusto (Piazza Augusto Imperatore, 9; % 06-3226273) has succeeded in
making the experience of dining en masse both enjoyable and Italian in feel. This
enormous restaurant complex, which includes a wine bar, a pizzeria, a drink bar
with the Italian version of bar food, and an upscale restaurant, is, perhaps as
trendy as Rome gets. Most dishes are around €12. It is a popular hangout for
Italians and local expats who want to escape the monotony of the quaint trattorie,
and it is a magnet for Rome's glitterati, who flock here on the weekends to be
seen. It is also a gastronomically pleasing place to eat and a wonderful environ-
ment in which to meet friends, but the question that begs to be asked is: Who
comes to Rome for trendy eats? If you are only in Rome for a few days, give this
one a skip and head to one of the more authentic Italian restaurants. But do visit
the cookbook-and-gift shop.

€€€ Al 34 (Via Mario de' Fiori, 34; % 06-6795091) is one of the most consis-
tently tasty restaurants in this area. There are regional Italian dishes, and the chef
offers up very creative fare by mixing and matching pasta shapes with sauces that
don't generally go together. Favorites include the sepia fettuccine with seafood,
verzino pasta with garlic, and the tonnarelli with scampi and radicchio, all €12.
The decor has a distinctively romantic feel (red velvet tends to do that), and the
tables are dark and intimate. Reservations are recommended.
€€€ Margutta Vegetariano Ristorante (Via Margutta, 118; % 06-32650577;
www.ilmargutta.it) is widely touted as the city's leading spot for creative vegetar-
ian fare. What this restaurant can do with a simple zucchini flower is amazing, to
be sure. Established in 1979, Margutta continues to attract many non-vegetarians
simply because the food is so reliably delicious. Try the monster salads for lunch,
or tuck in for the famous Garfagnana soup (€12), with chestnuts, pumpkin, and
mushrooms, or sample the vegetable chickpea couscous.
Near the Pantheon
€

Eating near the Pantheon is synonymous with spending money—with two
exceptions. The wonderful and ever-so-rustic Maccheroni (Piazza delle Coppelle,
44; % 06-68307895; www.ristorantemaccheroni.com) is the first. Reservations
here are compulsory and the place is always packed with boisterous Italians who
come for the good value and good food. The waiters are flirtatious and pinup
cute, but it's the food that makes the visit worthwhile. Start your meal with the
buffalo mozzarella, which comes sprinkled with bread crumbs and olive oil, and
move on to the rigatoni alla gricia (bacon, sheep's cheese, and pepper) for just
€6.50. The house wine is Chianti, and the menu looks like it hasn't been updated
(or reprinted) since the 1960s—which is lucky for anyone dining there.

Not far away is Da Gino Trattoria (Vicolo Rosini, 4; % 06-68734341), which
will give you as authentic an Italian experience as you might hope for in the cen-
ter of Rome. Ask the matron of the restaurant for advice on what to have and

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