Estonian food is so different than Italian food. But in a way, very familiar. I went a well known restaurant, Rataskaevu, in old town Tallin and ate in a picturesque tavern.
Rye bread at Rataskaevu.Rye and poppy seed bread from Moon.
Of course, I tried the elk. But I did not like it as much as the salmon soup and the rye bread.
Salmon soup at Rataskaevu.Salmon soup at Moon.
Near me was an international group of friends who had travel over from Stockholm, Sweden, for lunch, emphasizing how small the distances can be up here in the Nordic-Baltic region where the transportation and WIFI are fast.
Rataskaevu.
In Tallin, all the restaurant staff spoke excellent English. It make visiting quite easy.
Blinis at Moon.
Tallin is a favorite city for many people and I asked one where he thought I should eat. He recommended Moon, and it was delicious.
Pickled appetizers at Moon.
When I admitted to the waitress that I did not like the pickled appetizer platter, she admitted that generally one needed to be drinking vodka with it.
Chicken Kiev at Moon.
The “Chicken Kiev” was the best I have had. It was light, moist, juicy, buttery, crunchy, and delicate.
“Short Leg” Street so named because it is a short cut to the top of the old town.
In the fall, I decided to visit some of the former “iron curtain” countries and I decided to start at the top. Estonia is small but lovely.
Tallin is a wonderful old medieval town with modern technology and efficiency. The architecture in the old town was delightfully old and out of a fairytale.
Much of the town is Baroque and from the 17th century. I like the older bits better.
I have been to some of the award winning airports like Singapore and Rome Fiumincino, but I think Estonia’s Tallin airport might be my favorite.
While it is a small airport, for a small country, the aiport is unusual on the outside and the inside. It is blue on the outside which is unusual. And on the inside, the chairs are colorful in a cultural design that hint at tradition in a very modern country.
The airport has play areas for children and child-like people. The shop is a small emporium of cards, food, traditional crafts, and duty free.
The airport in Tallin left me with a good impression. The country did too. More on that another time.
Who knew that this would be a thing? But, just as TexMex is trending, so is Vietnamese food, just in a quiet way. The selection is not great here but this is what I have managed to find:
A small bowl of pho in Thien Kim Roof Garden.
Thien Kim Roof Garden, Via Cassia 927: Located on the roof of a strip mall out to the north of Rome, way too far for me.
Banh Mi, Via Otillia 10: the only banh mi in town. They get their food products (beef jerky, bread rolls, etc.) from Thien Kim. The owner, Mara, is married to a Vietnamese man. The restaurant opened in October 2022, just two blocks from the Coliseum. They serve rice noodle bowls, banh mi sandwiches, summer rolls, papaya salad, and rice ravioli. Check them out. They are delicious. Also many vegetarian options.
Nunu’s egg shrimp cups.
Nunu, Via Varese 38/40: Good food. Not sure what their soup is like. Indoor and outdoor seating. Located near the train station.
Pho 1, Via Meruluna 115-116: I wanted to like this popular place. It was okay but the soup was not soul pleasing.
Mekong, Via Enea 56a: I have not been here. They are only open at night. The reviews show mixed reactions and the owners are aggressive online so I’m too afraid to eat here.
I had heard about Bonci pizza for a long time. Was it worth the wait? And the weight? When I finally went, it was strategically on a cold Sunday morning. There was no line. Modern music blared. The guys were friendly. The pizza was heavy from the toppings but the bread itself is light and crunchy. A lot of the toppings are served cold. The combinations are modern and unique. Scrambled egg with spicy salami, ground chickpeas/garbanzos with artichokes, and many other combinations. I’m not sure I would go again or find it worth the hype.
Gelato is usually served with two flavors, no matter the size. This was banana and coffee flavor. Topped with unsweetened whipped cream (panna).
Apparently children make terrible tourists. So I’m told. So what to do with them? There are things that cost money and then those that cost a little money, and those that are completely free. Here are some ideas.
First, here is the list of pools in Rome from an Italian digital nomad. More of her recommendations about what to do with kids in Rome are here. RomeWise wrote Rome with Kids and that basically covers all the bases on bringing your kids to Rome as tourists from food to bus tickets etc. Most important is the list of pools at the bottom of the article. This article, 15 Fun Things to Do in Rome with Kids, has a list of 15 things to do with kids but much seems aimed at shopping.
On a hot day, go to Hydromania, a water world just outside Rome. Open from May 28-mid September sometime. Note that the rides are closed from 1-2 pm so that the staff can eat lunch. No kidding.
Hire a professional tour guide to tailor the tour for your kids. These twocompanies (second link is for a mom who is an archeologist) specialize in tours for kids in Rome.
Take a golf cart tour with Rolling Rome or Rome Golf Cart Tour. You can see Rome by foot, bike, Vespa, bus, buggy (tuk tuk), horse cart, car, and so many other ways. This is a city for walking. But very hard on strollers.
And at the end of the day when you are exhausted (or if there is a meltdown before), your uber will work here. Or download the ITtaxi app and use that if you do not want to use public transportation.
Visit Ostia Antica (it has ruins like Pompeii, but also has a beach nearby), for the day. It is on the coast and it is about an hour from Rome.
A really good thing is that Italians LOVE children and they will be extra friendly and helpful around children. The fastest meal in Italy is a children’s menu at a restaurant — it’s plain pasta with no sauce or butter. Followed by a main dish of fried chicken cutlet and fries. Even if not on the menu, it is always available. It may take 40 minutes for your glass of wine… but your kid will be served immediately. (I usually order the kid’s pasta for myself).
Tacos from a Honduran restaurant, Tacos Kings. Pork and beef (out of focus, but so well seasoned!).
It’s the new year and time for new fashions. The Italians are fashionable and this includes what type of food they eat. When not eating Italian food, they eat what is trendy.
A few years ago it was all about sushi. Last year, it was all about poke (but most of these places are not serving Hawaiian poke. They are serving stuff on a bowl of rice). My guess is that the next trend is the ever-loved-by-gringos: tex-mex. As I have mentioned before, wherever I go in the world, and no matter how yummy the food, someone will always ask me where they can find “Mexican food” and American Tex-Mex. I wrote about the top ten Mexican restaurants in Rome, back in 2020. Once I got to Rome, I asked my gringo friends and they told me which ones they recommended…
Tacos from Lu’um.
Pico’s,Vicolo della Renella 94, 00153 Rome Italy, in Trastevere has grown so much that they had to re-locate to a larger space further down the street. I like that this place has normal height tables. This restaurant was started by two Italian guys who had traveled to Mexico. Sometimes the cooks are American, Bangladeshi, Canadian, and Italian.
Jalapeno, Via Aurelia 483 (on the outside of the Inerio Market) is located on the outskirts of Rome so it’s not so easy to get there but the good thing is that there is a small shop next door where they sell Mexican food items.
La Cucaracha, Via Mocenigo 10, Prati: Is highly recommended.
Lu’um’s appetizer plate of nachos, meat, beans, etc.
Lu’um Mexican Bistrot, Via Agri 20 in Parioli. The owner lived in Mexico for a long time. He and his family decided to open a Mexican place in 2021. I found the tortillas to be overcooked but otherwise things seemed good. Once in a while there was a bite of spice.
Tacos Kings, Via degli Esqui 56: Is a new Honduran restaurant but you can still get really good nachos (addictively good) and guacamole. Really good prices too. Their tacos have only meat inside because the meat is fully marinated so does not need sauce, or lettuce, or anything… It was perhaps cheeky of me to lead off a photo of non-Mexican tacos, but of all the ones I have tried in researching for this article, theirs were the tastiest.
Nachos from Tacos Kings.
Pulgarcito, Piazza Attilio 41, Garbatella: This place is a bit far out but if you want a pupusa, then this is the only Salvadoran restaurant in Rome. They also make tacos but those were not as good as their “pasteles” which are deep fried corn pasties/empanadas.
Four pupusas.
Along with Lu’um, there appear to be a few new places to try:
La Punta Expendio de Agave, 4.4 stars.
Los Cabos APS Las Calaveras, 4.1 stars, Via di Monte. Testaccio, 91
Fiesta y Siesta, 4.2 stars, Via Nomentana 155
Guac smear is appearing everywhere, here at MiVa in Prati.
Along with the increase in “Mexican” restaurants, avocados are appearing on more and more menus. More Tex Mex products are available in stores as well. It will be nice when Italy grows avocados all along the peninsula and not just in Sicily.
Seen in a local grocery store.
I’m done with my research having had some fairly mediocre tacos along the way. But, I’ll be going back to Tacos Kings for another tamarind margarita and those corn tortillas.
Roman statue in Rome. This is probably Achilles, a Greek god.
As my time in Rome draws to a close, I realized that I had not visited many of the areas that were once part of the Roman Empire, especially those that were once behind the Iron Curtain. Back in August, I decided to make it the “Fall of the Iron Curtain” and draw back the curtain from the top in Estonia down to Albania. I did not succeed.
If you are a map geek like I am, try looking at Vox’s active map as it shows the rise and fall of the Roman empire. Rome was vast and when I did visit parts of the former Roman empire, I did in a plane ride what would have taken a Roman more than 20 days. That was in modern day Albania. In Roman times, modern day Albania was known as Illyria or Epirus, on the coast of Dalmatia and Macedonia. It was very Greek. One can visit Greek temples in Albania, and it seems like someone invested a lot of money on roads in the area around them.
Map is from Vox.com
One of the reasons why I visited Malta was a curiosity to see the influences of the Roman world. In modern times, it can be hard to recall that the Romans looked up to the Greek empire as an ideal. But, in places like Sicily which was part of Greece (Magna Greca) for hundreds of years, one can see the Greek influence in Italy. Italy has only been a unified country for 150 years. The Roman empire lasted about 900 years.
In places like Tirana, the modern capital of Albania, it is hard to see traces of the Roman empire. Except perhaps in the faces. In Montenegro, it seemed quick obvious that it was once a Roman area.
Statue of Mother Theresa near the airport in Albania.
The town of Budva looks much like towns in certain parts of Italy. In contrast, the people are giants compared to Italians.
But, back to Albania. The people there were not giants. The contrasts of rich and poor were quite apparent in Tirana. There were many non-touristy things about Tirana. But, if one escapes to the sea, then one can see why it is compared to northern Greece. Another odd thing I noticed were the men wearing headbands. Then I realized that they had hair implants. I guess this surgery is very cheap over here. The food was good in Albania. Fresh seafood and surprisingly good sushi. The most striking thing about Albania is that Mother Theresa was from there.
In terms of tourism, Albania has the potential, with Greek temples, good beaches, cheap bus and taxi options from the airport, and some English speakers. BUT, 90 percent of Albanians smoke. This will keep the tourists away.
In conclusion, I did not make it to all 20 (or so) iron curtain countries. Looking at the map, I realize that I have already been to many of the far edges of the Roman empire. More from my adventures next time.
After having more than 30 visitors in the last year, I thought I would share my “food tour” of Rome. This is an addendum to my “Tourist Information for Rome.” While I recommend going on a tour with a professional guide as they are worth it because it is a rigorous test and it takes two years to pass the test to be a licensed tour guide. Not sure what the regulations are for food tours. But, maybe you want to do one or two things, in which case, you can try some of my suggestions. Many of these places are mentioned in my list of Roman restaurants to try.
Go to three markets to see three different markets: where normal Romans shop, the touristy version, and zero kilometer (everything produced from within a 100 km/68 mile radius of Rome). I recommend going to Trionfale, Campo de’ Fiori, and the San Teodoro (Campagna Amica Circomassimo) farmers market. I wrote about local markets earlier. Trionfale is the large central market and you will experience real normal Romans doing their shopping. Campo de’ Fiori will bring you into a mix of what was once a real local market now overrun by tourist tat vendors (limoncello, spice mixes etc.), and San Teodoro (only open on weekends) will show you a yuppy farmers market where many social media influencers can be seen filming. But, ignore them and hone in on that fact that everything, from olive oil, cheese, meat, wild greens, bread, honey, pasta, and wine, was made locally.
Look at these beautiful “weeds” at the San Teodoro market.
Markets are open Monday-Saturday from 7:30-2, generally. The San Teodoro market is only open on weekends (closed all of August) from 8-3. If you want to go when it is quiet, try 9 am. If you love the crush of old ladies in housecoats cutting in front of you in line, go at 11:30 am. I do not recommend going after 1:30 pm, as the vendors are hangry at that point (they have been up since 4 or 5 so not in the best of moods at 1:30 pm). If you want to go to another “real” market, try a local one or Esquilino. For a market with a combination of local, touristy, and influencer plus with more restaurants, try Testaccio.
Trionfale, Via Andrea Doria (near the Vatican so you could do it on your way).
Campo de’ Fiori, Campo de’ Fiori (it is a plaza).
San Teodoro, Via San Teodoro 76 (near the corner of the Circus Maximus, around the corner from the Mouth of Truth, and behind the Palatine hill).
Sample spreads and dips at San Teodoro market.
Testaccio, Via Aldo Manuzzio 66B (but any taxi driver will know where it is — say, “mer-CAT-oh-test-AH-chi-oh”)
Grab breakfast at the market. Or explore and eat at a bakery or coffee shop. The “cornetto” (croissant) is a normal breakfast food, but so is pizza. Any “forno” sign you see is a bakery. Buy a piece of white pizza (no cheese and no toppings other than salt and oil) and enjoy that or get something more substantial.
Forno Monteforte is my favorite Italian bakery/cafe. Via del Pellegrino 29. You can sit down and people watch. This is the place for you if you like classy elegant types of places.
L’Officina della Pizza, Via Cicerone 22: Not only the most delicious and varied pizza “al taglio” (by the slice, but really by weight), but they also make fantastic house sliced potato chips. They only have high tables but you can take your pizza to Piazza Cavour which is nearby and eat your breakfast there. Or eat it while walking and let the olive oil run down your hand. Yummy!
Mushroom pizza in the front and a pumpkin pizza sandwich in the back, topped by a potato pizza at L’Officina della Pizza.
Stop for some gelato. Gelato can be eaten any time of the day from 8 am to after midnight. It is not dessert. It is a separate thing. I like Gunther’s but Neve di Latte is also good. Otaleg in Trastevere is one of the best in Rome and they make the best sorbetto (non-dairy sherbet/sorbet).
Osteria del Rione, Via Basento, 20 (near Villa Borghese): This place is a real local place located in a basement. They have an extremely limited menu (basically what Bruno, the owner, tells you he has), and a set menu for 10 euro. The food is always good and “on point.” The only downside is that this place is mostly a lunch place so go at 12:30 to get a table.
Fuoco Lento, Via Flavia 63/65: Old school waiters, outdoor seating, never had anything bad here (But I would avoid the proscuitto as it is house cut and too thick for my liking). It’s my “go-to” place. Open on Sunday night as well. Outside the touristy area so much easier to get a table.
Saltimbocca, Via di Tor Millina 5, is on a small street off Piazza Navona so if you find yourself down there, you could go here for lunch (even at 3:30 pm) for an authentic Roman experience.
Then do some food shopping. Go to a wine tasting. Or olive oil tasting. Or cheese tasting. If you go in to a cheese shop, they will usually let you try their cheeses.
Beppe and His Cheeses, Via di S. Maria del Pianto 9A (in the Jewish Ghetto so a good anchor for your visit to the area of Rome that had Jewish people 500 years before JC). This shop/restaurant will vacuum pack your cheese so you can take them with you. The last time I was there, I sampled seven cheese, including one they put on a piece of bread, and they gave us a glass of Prosecco… it’s a fun place. Also, sells pasta and many other delightful things. Take a sturdy bag with you.
Castroni, Via Cola di Rienzo, 196/198: Visit this emporium and buy gianduia gold nuggets. There are other branches of this store but I like this big one. This is also a place where you want to take a backpack or other sturdy bag as you will invariably buy many things.
Gold bars of gianduia (like fudge nutella) at Castroni.
Colline Emiliane, Via degli Avignonesi 22 (near Piazza Barbarini): This place makes delicious food. It is the cuisine of Emilia-Romagna (Bologna, Modena, Parma, etc.). Small and with no outdoor seating. But, they have a window where you can watch the pasta being made fresh every day. You have to call to make a reservation. It is a very popular place so I recommend walking past one night and making a reservation for the next night.
Tratteria Valentino, Via del Boschetto 37 (in Monti): great local place on a side street in Monti. Near Quirinale palace. Hidden in plain sight because they kept the old facade from when the space was a ice shop. (Not to be confused with Trattoria da Valentino on Via Cavour, which is also fine.)
MiVa, Via Ezio 23. This is a bit out of the way (although not far from the Vatican) and they make excellent food with modern offerings but NOT molecular cuisine. There may be foam but it will play a supporting role, not be the WHOLE dish.
I list other places but these places are currently on my “Rome in Two Days” food tour when people visit… which are doing a lot…
Also, check out my Instagram @madventures.me to see what I’m up to on the daily.
The old town seen from top of the citadel, with the modern city in the background.
As my time living in Rome draws to a close, I decided to travel to see other parts of the former Roman empire. One such place was just across the water in Budva, Montenegro. Budva was part of ancient Greece and it became part of the Roman empire in 200 BCE (150 years before Caesar, 200 years before Jesus).
If you want to avoid the crowds of Dubrovnik, visit Budva in the off season. I recommend staying at La Villa boutique hotel. Be silly and enjoy yourself making your own Game of Thrones video clips. Even if you have never seen GOT, Budva will charm you.
The citadel. One has to pay an entrance fee but it was worth it for the view.
The old town of Budva is a walled medieval city sitting on a peninsula in the harbor of Budva. It’s a tiny walled town with paved streets that match the same taupe stone buildings. Most of what one can see today in the old walled town of Budva was build in the 15th century CE (500 years ago).
The old city at night. I highly recommend off season as it is very crowded in the summer.
Montenegro is part of the European Union. If you enter by land from Albania, the border crossing may take you over an hour. Once we got on the road, Budva was only a couple of hours away (if you land in Albania), mainly because there is a stretch of road that is not highway. One gets a nice “local” route, bumping through neighborhoods and increasingly beautiful views. It all seems like potential for commercialism. Budva seems to be all resort hotels and construction, which contrasts so nicely with the old walled town. The staff at La Villa gave us good advice to park in the public parking and pay for a day pass (minimum is two day pass at 20 Euro) because otherwise the rate is per hour!
Sveti Stefan from a convenient overlook along the road.
On your way in or out, visit the other towns of Sveti Stefan and Bar. Sveti Stefan is another tiny jewel of a town. It was bought by a private resort so no longer open to the public during tourist season. Can you imagine?
The quality of the photos is not high as most of these are shot from the car. Rome is not always beautiful. It is also a place of beggars, homelessness, trash, food banks, traffic, and always, the one eternal thing is tourists.
A beggar. Some will approach you and talk to you.Typical mode of transport.For the tourists…Always luggage.Selfies…Lots of dogs here.A selfie at the forum.
So you are visiting Rome for a vacation? And you want my advice? I wrote about tourist information back in May but here is a reminder of what I would tell you if you asked me, “Where should I eat? What should I see? What should I do in Rome?”
