Sunday, November 23, 2008

Back to Testaccio

Via Dionigi, Rome, Nov. 20—
  • Felice a Testaccio, via Mastro Giorgio 29, Rome; tel. 06/57.468.00

  • Tiramisu in bicchiere

    THE TAXI DRIVER who brought us in from the airport two and a half weeks ago said, when I mentioned Perilli in Testaccio, as we drove past it on our way to our apartment, that he preferred Felice, so I filed that piece of information away. Then the other day I looked up Rome in the Slow Food guide to Osterie d'Italia and there it was, Felice, along with only three or four other restaurants — Slow Food doesn't seem a particular friend of Rome.
    The menu is entirely spoken and entirely traditional: six or eight pasta first courses; six or eight meat second courses; only two contorni (vegetable side dishes); only one dessert. The tables are jammed together; the restroom is teeny; you'd better not think of going without first making a reservation.
    I opened with spaghetti alla matriciana, in a creamy tomato sauce, and went on to coda di vitello, braised oxtail again in tomato sauce. The spaghetti was delicious though a little messy; the oxtail was good but nearly impossible to eat: I longed for a sharp knife. Dessert was Tiramisu in bicchiere, served in a liqueur glass, delicious and thick, almost gluey, with a deep deep chocolate flavor.
    Cerveteri bianco "Cantina Cerveteri", 2007; Lazio Merlot "Togale," 2007

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