Hi all,
For our final shortlist of 2024, we’re heading to Rome! I’ve had the honor of spending stretches in the city at many junctures in my life. I studied ancient and baroque art throughout the city’s incredible museums and churches and public spaces in university. I stopped through a few times during my time on the road all over Italy in 2016 while working with Rolando Beramendi on his cookbook. I’ve come back for shorter holidays. Most recently, last month Laila and I packed a few bags, rented a friend of a friend’s apartment (their place is listed below in stays!) and spent a few pasta / puntarelle / aperitivo* / tiramisu-filled weeks living and working in Rome.
The recommendations below include new places I fell in love with as well as institutions not to miss. I also made it a personal goal this trip to order amatriciana — a classic Roman pasta originating in Amatrice made with tomatoes, guanciale, and pecorino romano — as much as possible so you’ll know where to prioritize for the very best one/s. (I got to nine and did the same thing with pizza rossa, plus, bonus for you: my mom flew out to meet me for a week and did fine work ordering as much cacio e pepe + straciatella gelato as she could). All to say, I miss this city already and I can’t wait to share these recommendations with you for your next visit.
Thank you as always for being here, if you celebrate, happy holidays and see you in 2025!
xR
PS I love writing these shortlists each month and have some very fun ones already planned for 2025 but I’d also love your input! Where do you want Shortlisted to head next year?
*scroll to the bottom of this shortlist for the cocktail I was drinking all over Rome + am still drinking back in Paris!
[eat | drink]
Rocco | One of my favorite things to do when visiting a city for long enough is to find a restaurant I love and return to it on the last night. It’s wonderful to feel welcomed back — and know exactly how good your last taste of a city is going to be. This trip that restaurant was Rocco. The menu is small, comprised of whatever they find at the market each morning, the amatriciana is spectacular as are any of the simple, perfectly cooked vegetable sides, as is the tiramisu
La Matriciana 1870 | an institution with, again, very good bucatini all’amatriciana. If you order for the table they serve it table side and it is a vibe. The space feels classy and old school and like a proper sit down meal and I highly recommend using that as an excuse to get dressed up a bit. If you’re there during punterelle season, don’t skip the classic salad made with garlic and anchovies. (It’s also near the train station if you’re looking for a pre- or post-travel lunch)
Armando al Pantheon | hands down, best amatriciana of the trip. The guanciale is crisp and meaty, the sauce is sweet and full of tomato flavor, the rigatoni is perfectly cooked (and IMO the ideal shape for amatriciana). They also have some of the best mozzarella di bufala I’ve ever had. I will think about that first bite of it for the rest of my life. Get it as a starter, please. We went twice and I would have gone a third time if we could have snagged another table (book in advance, it’s a hard table to get)