Eat local: Salumeria Roscioli, Roma (Rome), Italy

The deli meat counter is the first thing you see when walking through the front doors of Salumeria Roscioli, Roma, Italy; the dining areas are in the rear of the streel level floor and downstairs amidst their wine collection

 

Checking in with friends who knew Roma, Italy, well about places to go for an authentic Roman luncheon, we got several recommendations for Roscioli, located just north of the Tiber River, east of Campo de Fiori.  Four of us got a table at the back of the main floor where all the deli products are for sale (there is also a dining room on the lower floor, amidst their wine collection).  Their web site provides a good introduction: “Salumeria Roscioli is the evolution of the historic family grocer, an enterprise undertaken in 2002 by the Roscioli brothers, Alessandro and Pierluigi.  The refined locale in the heart of Rome provides both for a dining experience in the dedicated spaces of the Ristorante, and takeout of the products selected over the years by the two Capitoline brothers….  The selections: 300 types of cheese, 150 varieties of cold cuts, 2,800 wine labels, and a wide selection of preserves, sauces, mustards, canned foods, pastas, oils, and vinegars.  These are just a few of the products found at Salumeria Roscioli, the space dedicated to artisanal excellence in the heart of Rome.  Here everything revolves around the raw materials, and there are not only Italian products but also attractive delicacies from abroad, like the British blue cheeses, French soft cheeses, Spanish cold cuts, and Scottish salmon.”

 

An appetizer of three kinds of smoked salmon, Salumeria Roscioli, Roma, Italy

 

Very fresh and creamy burrata with olive oil and sun-dried tomatoes – delicious!, Salumeria Roscioli, Roma, Italy

 

 

The best home-made cacio e pepe (a local Roman regional specialty, pasta with cheese and black pepper) we had in Roma – a minimalist recipe that exemplifies the complexity of pan sauce precision; Salumeria Roscioli, Roma, Italy

 

Accompanying our luncheon was an excellent 2012 Barbaresco from the Piemonte (Piedmont) cooperative producer Produttori del Barbaresco; Salumeria Roscioli, Roma, Italy

 

Meatballs and fried polenta, Salumeria Roscioli, Roma, Italy

 

Fresh artichoke salad, Salumeria Roscioli, Roma, Italy

 

Beef carpaccio with fresh burrata, Salumeria Roscioli, Roma, Italy

 

After lunch we stopped around the corner at Il Forno Roscioli (the bakery) and bought a bunch of crunchy-chewy Roman Brutti ma Buoni nutty cookies (translated as “Ugly, but Good”) that were the best we’ve ever had.  We were very sad after we had rationed them and finally ran out a few days later…

 

Cappuccino with home-made cookies that we dipped in warm chocolate (a Roman specialty), Salumeria Roscioli, Roma, Italy