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the city's best: La Tazza d'Oro (Via Degli
Orfani 85 A) and the Sant' Eustachio
(Piazza Sant' Eustachio 82). At the Tazza
d'Oro, which also roasts its own beans on
premises, large bags full of Brazilian coffee
are stacked up right by the counter, and
regulars use them for ad hoc seating. Sev-
eral other roasteries line the nearby Via di
Tor Cervara, informally nicknamed Rome's
Coffee Way.
In other neighborhoods, an artistic
crowd hangs out at the trendy Rosati
(Piazza del Popolo 5), at that vast public
gathering spot Piazza del Populo. Across
the Tiber in Trastevere, Café-Bar di Mar-
zio (Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere 15)
is a warmly inviting spot with a view of the
famous fountain.
For most Romans, their favorite espresso
bar is simply the most conveniently
located; the coffee quality is routinely high
wherever you stop in. There are many
variations on the straight shot of espresso,
besides just adding milk to make it a cap-
puccino (named after the pale brown
robes of Capuchin monks). Customers
may order their espressos ristretto (short
and dense) or lungo (diluted); if you only
want a drop of milk, ask for macchiato. If
you want a shot of brandy or some other
liquor, ask for caffe corretto (or “revised
coffee”). Order a caffe Americano and
you'll get a somewhat diluted brew in a
larger cup. You can either sugar it yourself
or have the barista sweeten it to order.
Espresso bars generally serve light food
as well, but connoisseurs warn against
those that offer warm food—after all,
warm food equals fragrant food, and who
wants any other aroma to compete with
the glorious smell of coffee?
Patrons drink and run in Rome's espresso bars.
modernity, however: A genuine espresso is
always served in a ceramic cup, never in
cardboard or plastic “to go.”
The city's oldest coffeehouse, founded in
1760, is Antico Caffè Greco near the Span-
ish Steps (Via Condotti 84; & 06-6791700 ).
Although such notable foreigners as Stend-
hal, Goethe, Keats, Liszt, and Mendelssohn
count among its former patrons, it hardly
qualifies as an espresso bar anymore,
spiffed up as it is into a romantic sit-down
restaurant with marble-topped tables and
red velvet chairs.
Folklore has it that the best coffee bars
are near the Pantheon, because of its
superior water supply, piped through an
ancient Roman Empire aqueduct leading
from a crystal-pure spring outside the city.
Whether or not this has any basis in scien-
tific fact, espresso bars throng that neigh-
borhood, including two regularly cited as
( Leonardo da Vinci International Air-
port (Fiumicino; 30km/19 miles).
L $$$ Hotel de Russie, Via del
Babuino 9 ( & 800/323-7500 in the U.S.
and Canada, or 39/6/328881; www.rocco
fortehotels.com). $ Hotel Grifo, Via del
Boschetto 144 ( & 39/6/4871395; www.
hotelgrifo.com).
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