The Eternal City is home to a cuisine that is also, for the most part, unchanging. Romans—sophisticated and discriminating—have not been tempted away from a culinary tradition rooted in antiquity and refined over the course of centuries, but practice it to perfection on a daily basis in family-run trattorias, osterias, and artisanal food shops. Author David Downie has spent much of the last thirty years exploring Rome’s daunting labyrinth of ancient alleyways and medieval market squares and has uncovered the best and most authentic destinations. He describes the food, ambience, and customs that make dining in Rome an unparalleled experience, including Rome’s informal weekly recipe calendar, the key to what appears on many menus, and the long and proud history of coffee in the city (the three best roasters are situated on the route of an ancient aqueduct, whose water was long held to be the best for coffee brewing, which may account for its character: “peerless, fragrant, powerful”).  This is the guide of reference to a way of life worth preserving and deserving of celebrating.

For each neighborhood, listings are broken into three categories: 1) dining: restaurants, trattorias, osterias and other eating places; 2) retail food: bakeries, pastry shops, open markets, groceries, delis, ice cream parlors, salami and ham makers, cheese mongers and cheese makers, etc; 3) wine: wine shops and wine bars.

Boxed sidebars add entertaining and informative tidbits of city lore, culture, customs, quotes, and anecdotes to bring alive the historic culinary richness and above all the amazingly rich store of food artisans and food and wine outlets of Rome.

Cross-referenced indexes broken down alphabetically, by neighborhood and by category, make the book easy to use both during the planning stages of a visit and while on the street. Food Wine Rome has an overall map of central Rome, so that readers can find addresses immediately.

A glossary of essential Roman/Italian food terms make shopping, marketing, and eating fun and rewarding.

Top restaurants that do not correspond to the spirit of the Terroir Guides—because they’re too trendy or international in character, or serve creative cuisine, or specialize in food from Italian regions other than Lazio—are fully listed for the convenience of readers, but not reviewed. Readers will find them reviewed in most other guides to Rome and Italy.

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David Downie is an American author and journalist who divides his time between France and Italy. For the last 20 years he has been writing about European food, culture and travel for magazines and newspapers worldwide. His books include Enchanted Liguria: A Celebration of the Culture, Lifestyle and Food of the Italian Riviera; Cooking the Roman Way: Authentic Recipes from the Home Cooks and Trattorias of Rome; The Irreverent Guide to Amsterdam; and Paris, Paris: Journey into the City of Light. His political thriller, Paris City of Night, will be published in fall 2008. Hit the Road Jacques: A Skepitcal Pilgrimage Across Burgundy is due out in spring 2009, as is Downie’s second Terroir Guide, this one to Rome.

Alison Harris has worked throughout the world shooting photos for travel books, cookbooks, advertising campaigns, book covers, and magazine articles. Her latest books are Markets of Paris, The Pâtisseries of Paris, and Chic Shopping Paris, published by The Little Bookroom.

Bar Benito
Via dei Falegnami 14, Tel: 06 686 1508. Very inexpensive. Near: halfway between Via Arenula and Piazza Mattei, facing Vicolo dei Falegnami.
Doormen, mail carriers, commuters, other local regulars, and stray tourists use this family-run caffè and tavola calda for breakfast, snacks, and lunch. The dining room is cool, airy, and clean, with high, coffered ceilings, overhead fans, and linoleum-topped old wooden tables. The classic, tasty Roman food is made in the morning and kept warm—or reheated—when early-rising customers start showing up around noon. Expect to find carciofi alla romana, lasagna, picchiapò beef stew, saltimbocca, tripe, and other trattoria standards on the menu, which changes daily. The torta di ricotta is house-made and delicious, a true Roman cheesecake in the Jewish style. The service is casual, the atmosphere relaxed, and the prices impossible to beat. It’s worth noting that the delicious pizza bianca comes from Antico Forno del Ghetto, which is about 200 yards away.

Dar Filettaro a Santa Barbara
Largo dei Librari 88, Tel: 06 686 4018. Open from 5pm to 10:40pm. Closed Sunday. Very inexpensive. Near: 150 yards southeast of Campo de’ Fiori, across from church of Santa Barbara.
If Rome were London, this would be the city’s favorite fish ‘n’ chips joint. The locals who’ve been flocking for decades to this cult fry shop, lionized by the late, great food historian Livio Jannattoni, call it either Filetti di Baccalà or Dar Filettaro, though you won’t find either name posted outside, on the pocket-sized square where booksellers and bookbinders—i librari—once plied their trade. The fry shop’s interior is the size of several telephone booths clapped together, and if you choose to sit there in unparalleled coziness and savor the simple, delicious fried codfish; the platters of ham, salami, and cheese; the salads and cooked vegetable dishes; or salted anchovies served with a curl of butter, you will exit with the scent of essential Rome on your clothes. Outside, in warm weather, at one of the small tables in front of the spotlit façade of tiny Santa Barbara, a snack or a full meal becomes more than a mere eating experience, and allows you to avoid being mistaken later for a codfish. Note that no credit cards are accepted; the prices are startlingly reasonable.

Il Goccetto
Via dei Banchi Vecchi 14, Tel: 06 688 01746. Open 11:30am to 2pm and 6:30pm to midnight. Closed Sunday. Near: about 200 yards north of Piazza Farnese.
Il Goccetto is a cozy, conspiratorial den with only a dozen small tables where Rome’s top wine tasters—sommeliers, journalists, and wine collectors—meet to exchange notes, talk vintages, argue about yeast, clones, and the toasting of barrels, and see which 30 wines the shop’s affable owner Sergio Ceccarelli has on the chalkboard that day. The day’s selection is available by the bottle or the glass. Now that Italy’s public places are smoke free, Il Goccetto is a delight. The choice isn’t vast—Ceccarelli typically stocks wines from hundreds, rather than thousands, of wineries—but you can be sure that the most promising bottlings from established or up-and-coming Italian and French winemakers will be showcased here. There is no lunch or dinner served; however the hams, cheeses, and snacks are excellent. Il Goccetto is not easy to spot. Look for the worn “Vino Olio” sign on the façade above the main door, on the corner of Via delle Carceri and Via dei Banchi Vecchi, across from the small church of Santa Lucia del Gonfalone.