In Rome, the place that is regarded as the best for espresso is Bar Sant’Eustachio. The place was opened in 1938 and it’s almost mythical among the horde of caffeine consumers in the capital. They have their own website where you can buy their celebrated blend to enjoy the best coffee in the eternal city even if you cannot come here personally!

But of course, there is nothing like the real deal: even if the place might seem hardly out of the ordinary from the outside, you cannot help but feel as if you are steping into a sort of temple when you walk into Sant’ Eustachio. The employees have a sacerdotal gravitas to them and clients are advised to let the personel known if they want their espresso without sugar, since you get your coffee with the right amount of sugar already on it- something not many cafes in the city do. Maybe it has to do with the fact that some suspect that the sugar is actually an important part of their secret!

Sant’Eustachio is located at Piazza Sant’Eustachio 32, near Navona square. If you are staying at Yes Hotel or Hotel Des Artistes, or anywhere near the Termini station you can take the bus 40 from the station to get there (get off at the station “Argentina”). Here you have a map showing the bus route and the part you would have to do walking from the bus stop.

Have a great vacation and do not hesitate to contact us for accomodation if you are staying in Rome!

Our Blogger today: Raul

Wether you’re a vegetarian or enjoy a big sandwhich full of prosciutto crudo, they will do it all. The atmosphere is a very friendly one and the guys who run it are a couple of characters; they will help you feel right at home. And when you’ve finished with your food they’ll make you a nice smoothie with fresh fruit and many different recipes that they’ve concocted.

Fa’Bio It’s located on Via Germanico 43, just off Via Ottaviano. To get there just take the red subway line and get off at Ottaviano/ Musei Vaticani.

Hope you enjoy!

And don’t forget: your best options for accomodation in Rome are Hotel Des Artistes and Yes Hotel! Just drop us a line or call us (+39 064454365) to make a reservation or ask us a question.

Our blogger: Liam

Do you like chocolate? Which one do you prefer? Maybe the black fluid one or the white, the small ones with cream inside or the almond one?

It’s only a matter of choice: at Eurochocolate, to be held at Perugia you will find them all.

Perugia, the city famous for its baci perugina (literally “perugina kisses”, small chocolates with romantic messages which are an institution in Italy) is the perfect location for a chocolate festival. Ten days of exposition, and events, all related to the chocolate world.

Furthermore, like every year, Eurochocolate will offer to its visitors the possibility to learn more about one particular cocoa producing country. The special guest this year is Indonesia, the third country in the world when it comes to cacao production.

And if you are fans of Facebook you can join Faceciock (pronounced “…choc” in Italian) the virtual version of the festival on the popular social network.

On the bazaar in the historical center of Perugia 150 manufacturers of the industry will display its creations for the joy of all the chocolate lovers who will arrive from all around the world.

Enjoy your holidays with a us at Hotel Des Artistes or Yes Hotel and then spend a day to go to the beautiful Perugia city, located only a short train trip away from Rome.

Soriano nel Cimino is one of the most famous villages situated at the foot of the Cimino Mountains, in the province of Viterbo, near Rome. And in December it will become the toast of the region as it opens its doors to the annual festival of olive oil.

The festival, which takes place on December 8 and 9 in the village, will also open elsewhere in the region before Christmas in a bid to give more people the chance to taste possibly the best olive oil in Italy.

The village is situated in the province of Viterbo and after celebrating the festival of wine and chestnuts, its ready to show off its olive oil.

You can visit this amazing food festival during December- tasting the distinctive olive oil of the Tuscia region as well as enjoying yourself with evenings of dance, music and food.

Soriano nel Cimino is famous for its culinary delights too. “Spaghetti col ferro” (special pasta that is made with a small iron), and “Spaghetti alla ricotta” are two typical dishes.

With Hotel Des Artistes being so centrally located in nearby Rome, why not come and stay with us while enjoying a dance, a bite to eat and some authentic Italian fun?

A quick guide to Soriano nel Cimino

Orsini Castle, which also features several ancient towers, is the most iconic monument in the village. A precious altar made from Italian sandstone lies inside, which was previously situated in the church of Santissima Trinità of Cimino.

The historical centre manages to conserve its vintage character even today. The village takes a circular form, situated around the castle at the top of a hill. And in the Renaissance area of the city, there is Palace Albani-Chigi, which was built on the request of Cardinal Matzo. Nearby is an ancient natural spring, called “Papacqua”, which lies inside a famous sculpture.

The Tuscian festival of olive oil starts in Blera (24-25 November) and continues at Canino in December (December 1-2, 7-9, 15-16), Montefiascone (7-9 December), Soriano nel Cimino (8-9 December), and Vetralla (7-9, 15-16, 22-23 December).

There are so many stereotypes about Italians. Many of them are based on the gastronomic habits if this Mediterranean nation. Italians are known in the world as main pasta eaters- or Italiano Maccheroni Pasta. And it is in fact true that the inhabitants of one of the most gorgeous peninsula do like a lot pasta products. Also they are known for their immense love for the ice-cream, or gelato. And I admit it is one of the most tasteful in the world.

But today I would like to talk about a different Italian passion, which is coffee, very special coffee in Rome. As you may or may not know coffee beans were brought to Europe from Ottoman Empire, which in its turn borrowed them from Africa, precisely Ethiopia historical birthplace of coffee. Italy has a whole range of different coffee types, from espresso, cappuccino, ristretto, etc, etc… One of the first places on each agenda of any tourist that comes to Italy should be to try all the types of coffee, prepared in Italy. But again today I will not speak about a normal coffee. I will speak about a very special type of coffee, well, the most expensive in the world! You may be puzzled now, for sure, but I do inform you that this coffee is very, very special and you should be courageous enough to try it. Well, about the costs, this coffee, and let us reveal the secret, called KOPI LUWAK costs 90 euros per 100 gramms!!!

«Kopi Luwak» (in Bahasa Indonesian Kopi means coffee and Luwak is the name of the animal "producing" beans), or «Civet’s Coffee » is prepared from the coffee beans that have passed through the alimentary system of these animals in Indonesia. These civets are specifically put on coffee plantations and, as they say, they know how to find the best beans of coffee. They eat them, digest, and… Plantation workers then gather excrements , separated from them coffee beans, launder and fry them. Specialists say that this coffee has such a unique aroma. And I do confirm that this smell is all but nasty!
Just some interesting facts about these civets. Recently many hundreds of animals were killed in an attempt to stop the outbreak of SARS. The meat of these animals is being prepared in many Asian countries, especially in China, but it is believed that the Indonesian civet is different from the Chinese ones. And there practically no chances that a person would drink this coffee accidently. First, it is very expensive and second is specially made!

So, if you have enough courage to drink it while you are in Rome, just go to the Bar Bonito in the Ostiense Train Station and enjoy its particular taste and aroma, as I did just a week ago!

Ostiense station is just few steps away from the Piramide Line B Metro station, if you stay in Hotel Des Artistes in Rome just hop on the train on Castro Pretorio and in 10 minutes you will be in the right place to try the right coffee!

HAVE A GOOD… COFFEE!!!

The Italian Eurochocolate Festival, an event dedicated to the culture of chocolate, is preparing to inaugurate its fourteenth edition that will take place from the 18th to the 26th October in Perugia.

The festival has its core center in the historic center of the city.

It is the most popular festival of the chocolate and the most followed by Italians, making of Perugia the European capital of the chocolate.
For nine days the Umbrian chief town transforms itself in a huge open-air pastry-shop for the delight of all the choco-addicted.

At Eurochocolate Perugia festival there will be dozens of major events including exhibitions, laboratories, internships, cooking classes, tasting, expositions, banquets, celebrations and the final prizes which are the : Eurochocolate Awards.

The edition 2008 of the most famous chocolate exhibition for its fifteen years of life is shown still more amusing and joyful than ever, with new playful and oh so yummy products that will be introduced.

In Perugia, Eurochocolate will be Play Chocolate to celebrate game, joy and music.

Chocolate makes us go back to our childhood and Eurochocolate is a great festivity, where everybody comes to taste chocolate in its innumerable, traditional or unusual varieties, to be involved in a lively atmosphere in the historical city center.

The image-symbol of Play Chocolate is a paper airplane.

Many initiatives will animate Perugia from the 18th to 26th October and the innovations, still top secret, will be numerous.

For all the tourists the occasion is without any doubt a good one to discover the most remote corners of this antique medieval center and to enjoy the famous Umbrian hospitality.

Related blog : Easter Chocolate

Finally I’m back with some news and appetizing stories and an attractive place too  that I stronly recommend you visit and, no doubt  it is definitely off the track so the curious will be delighted. Ready? Ok !

Let’s go start a marvellous trip into Amatrice, the village that claims to be the inventor of “pasta all’amatriciana” , which is famous worldwide and so is roman food.

Amatrice is a small town located along Lazio’s boundaries, surrounded by a green basin and  magnificent woods. The basin climbs softly  towards the mountains up to  1800 metres leaving a beautiful grassland that looks just  like a sea of flowers during spring and summer. With its Solitary cascades, beaches, forests and trekking paths the landscape of this part of the Central “Appennino”, is of great fascination for all the fans of the nature.

Now let’s get down to the real business ! I am of course speaking  about the pasta all’amatriciana probably one of the most famous Roman pasta recipes. In fact it  is still going on the diatribe between Rome and Amatricia inherent the pasta all’amatriciana paternity.

Back to its origins this italian pasta was cooked by shepherds with cacio (is a kind of fresh and tasty cheese), typical bacon and pepper, and was  called “alla gricia”.

After the Americas discover  tomatoes and the  importation , the original recipe has changed in the classical one with everybody knows. After the crisis of sheep farming, most of the amatriciani emigrates to Rome where they opened their restaurants. The oldest one , Il Passetto, opened in 1860 , and is still one of the best known place in Rome to eat your Amatriciana.

Only for you the original recipe:

For 4 people

500 gr of pasta ( bucatini or spaghetti)

500 gr of tomatoes San Marzano

100gr of smoked bacon (should be very fat )

100gr of pecorino’s cheese

Extra  virgin olive oil

½ glass of dry white wine

Pepper

Salt

Let the tomatoes boil for a few minutes into the water

Take out the seeds from the tomatoes. Cut the bacon in thick slices e cook it in a pan. When fat is melted,  pour in  the wine.

Take the mixture out of the fire and in the same pan cook the tomatoes with the pepper and the oil.

After a minute put the bacon inside. Meanwhile cook the pasta and voilà les jeux sont faits!!!!

Good news is that on 30 and 31 of August in Amatrice there will be the fair of the   spaghetti all’amatriciana where you can eat the true amatriciana pasta with its full flavour and wash it down with a good  local italian wine.

For the occasion a stamp will be released ! So what are you waiting for?

Direction:

Da Roma : SS4 Salaria. Km 132,000 crossroads to Amatrice

For italian food lovers, see here other Italian food recipes !

And for those stopping in Rome here is our selected Rome restaurants where to eat a good Amatriciana !

The legend says that Marco Polo introduced the pasta to Italy after his exploration of the East in the 13 century. But we can trace pasta back until the fourth century B.C., an Etruscan tomb showed a group of people making what appears to be pasta. Further yet the Greek mythology suggests that the Greek God Vulcan invented a device that made some kind of… spaghetti! 

In 2005 a big discovery was made: a 4,000-year-old bowl of noodles has appeared at an archaeological site in western China. Possible proof for the argument that China invented before Italy? "These are definitely the earliest noodles ever found," said Lu Houyuan, a researcher with the Institute of Geology in Beijing.

Now we understand why there are different theories on the matter, basically the following opinions (quotations of mentioned before Lu  Houyuan): " Chinese people say that Marco Polo brought noodles from China back to Italy and Italians say they had noodles before that". The chinese group that made the discover declared: ‘‘All this has been based on documentary material, on personal accounts and menus. But we’ve been unable to find any actual material, until now."

Despite that discovery, some people are inclined to say no to a ‘‘chinese born pasta’’ this, for a simple reason: Once you have begun to make flour, and bread, it seems an obvious next step to make a firm dough, roll it out, and dry it to produce something — pasta — that will keep very well, much better than either flour or bread. Therefore bit’s more likely to think that pasta has been discovered independently more than once in the course of history.
Moreover, Arabs were already making spaghetti at Trabia, in Sicily, in 1150, long before Marco set out, some others said.
As for ravioli, they’re mentioned in documents predating Marco Polo’s trip. So they didn’t come from China.

So at last the theories are many, but the truth is one, no matter who or when, who invented pasta gave us a great tasty legacy, and that taste is the real mystery.

Once you will visit Rome, do not forget to eat in a very famous restaurant Le mani in pasta in Trastevere, where you will be served typical roman pastasciutta al dente at reasonable price.