Apertivi time in Monti, Rome
Caponata & Pecorino “Chronicon” wine
at al vino al vino in Roma

When you’ve had a big lunch of cacio e pepe along with un quartino di vino bianco AND carciofo alla giudia – when it comes time for dinner – all you really want is just a little sumpin’!

Ladies and gentlemen: meet apertivi time. A glass (or two) of wine that sometimes comes with a small dish of tartalli. Gratuito – that is, free. Or you can spend a few Lira (okay Euro!! But I miss paying thousands of a currency for a meal. Another time. Another story).

As usual, I digress. In the Roman neighborhood of Monti where I usually stay – or any Italian neighborhood really – you look for a trattoria or wine bar that serves up superb appetizers. And great wine.

Such is the case on this September 11 in the year 2023. A visit to al vino al vino on Via dei Serpenti for a homemade caponata on crusty bread. And a bracing glass of white wine from Abruzzo.

This is one happy camper.

Meanwhile…

Cacio e Pepe at Sora Margherita in Roma

So, I promised the story of my history with this exquisite pasta dish cacio e pepe.

Here it is.

On my very first visit to Rome, I headed to the Jewish Quarter looking for this tiny little place called Sora Margherita.

Once you sat at a table (“un tavolo per uno, per favore” you were asked to fill out a card with your name and contact info. This apparently made you an official member of the restaurant. I suspect it had something to do with taxes. Never found out for sure. That ended years ago.

Anyway, I was so busy being cool that when I saw these steaming plates of pasta heaped with what I thought was parmigiano (it was not – it was pecorino Romano) I knew I had to have that dish! Rather than just point at it and say “questo”!!! That!!! I asked for parmigiano.

What came out from the cook was this inscrutable dish that was clearly NOT that pasta but instead what I *think* was probably eggplant parmigiana.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!

I learned quickly that you should make a tiny fool of yourself, and go ahead and appear ignorant. And fucking ask!!!

CACIO E PEPE. Say it out loud. Cacio (cheese) e (and) Pepe (pepper). That’s it. Add a little pasta water and you get an out-of-this-world pasta dish. Do NOT be fooled by those American restaurants that start tossing in olive oil. Or butter. Or God knows what else.

This is my Cacio e Pepe story. And I’m sticking to it!!