Agata e Romeo

For our final dinner in Rome, we went to Agata e Romeo. Agata e Romeo is listed as one of the top 10 Rome restaurants in numerous books and foodie websites, but we never got around to going to it last year as we either had other plans or the restaurant was fully booked. On our last evening in Rome, we committed to going to it.

To be honest, I wasn't sure about the restaurant, which is probably why we didn't try harder to go last November. In various reviews I read Agata was touted as being a well-known "TV chef," and that sounded suspicious and potentially unappealing to me -- which is stupid, really, since I love Mario Batali and Jamie Oliver and they are TV chefs of a sort, too. Fortunately, my suspicions turned out to be totally silly. Agata e Romeo uses beautiful, seasonally fresh produce in a wide ranging menu, and its reputation is well-deserved. The restaurant is cozy and specific while being romantic and elegant, run by a wife (Agata) and husband (Romeo) team. Romeo greets you at the door and acts as the warm host and Agata is in the kitchen. At the end of the evening, when we were the only people left in the restaurant (as usual), we had the chance to meet them both and express our delight with the food. Agata and Romeo were both lovely and gracious, and seemed truly pleased that we had a fabulous time.

David and I shared a starter of stuffed zucchini flowers that had NOT been battered and fried, but baked, stuffed with ricotta cheese and placed over a cheesy soup flavored with saffron. For our first courses, David had a "timbale of hollow pasta stuffed with eggplant and smoked scamorza" (pictured above) -- basically, a pasta "log" with eggplant and a soft smoked cheese sauce. This dish was delicious. I, in turn, had grilled scallops wrapped in prosciutto with a garlic and leak sauce. For our mains, I had wonderful breaded loin of tuna and David ate quail. Agata's millefeuille is well-mentioned in various reviews, so this is what we had -- and it was a terrific sweet finish. Agata e Romeo has an extensive wine list, too, and we had a bottle of 1997 Traminer that went fabulously with our food and for our tastes. With dessert David had a liqueur made of hazelnuts and I had a proper absinthe, which was powerful but nice. We had a wonderfully romantic evening, and were pleased with our final dinner choice.

(Agata's millefeuille)

Rome is a wonderful city -- great for foodies like us. It was the perfect few days' holiday after grueling casting weeks in various cities in Europe. In Rome, we got a city holiday with a beach-and-sun-holiday attitude (as well as beach and sun), with plenty of delicious food. Next time we visit Italy, we hope to do a little bit more driving and touring through various places... and learn a bit more Italian.

(In the mean time, I think David has gained back the weight he lost while on his casting tour... and I may have gained some, too... but alas, that is a holiday in Rome!)