Eating - Rome - page 92

FAST FOOD
A tavola calda (hot table) offers cheap, pre-prepared pasta, meat and vegetable dishes.
Quality is usually reasonable while atmosphere takes a back seat.
A rosticceria sells cooked meats but often has a larger selection of takeaway food.
There are also takeaway pizza joints serving pizza al taglio (by the slice). When it's good,
it's very good.
Other great snack food to look out for are arancini , fried rice balls that have fillings
such as mozzarella and ham. These originate from Sicily, but are very popular in Rome
too, where they're known as supplì .
ENOTECHE (WINE BARS)
You can eat well at many enoteche, wine bars that usually serve snacks (such as cheeses
or cold meats, bruschette and crostini ) and hot dishes. In this topic these are mostly listed
in the Drinking sections, but they're usually great places to eat as well.
TRATTORIA, OSTERIA OR RESTAURANT?
Usually for a full meal you'll want a trattoria, an osteria (neighbourhood inn), a ristorante
(restaurant) or a pizzeria.
The differences between the various types of eateries are now fairly blurred. Tradition-
ally, trattorias were family-run places that offered a basic, affordable local menu, while
osterie usually specialised in one dish and vino della casa (house wine). There are still
lots of these around. Ristoranti offer more choices and smarter service, and are more ex-
pensive.
Ethnic restaurants are more prevalent these days, though in Rome, Italian food remains
king.