DELICIOUS ITALIAN FOOD IN ROME - WHERE TOURISTS RARELY GO!

Our final lunch in Rome was a scrumptious sausage fest and bodacious ball party!😅 Following our depressing disembarkation from Queen Victoria this morning, we find ourselves melancholy and hungry in Rome, about six blocks north of Vatican City, and decide to take comfort in a random nearby restaurant that we locate on Google maps - and oh, sweet Fortuna, what a lucky find! Trattoria Antico Falcone occupies the lovely loggia of one of the few 15th century palazzi left in this part of Rome, once owned by the powerful Strozzi family of Florence. When we arrive, it is teeming with diners, a blend of Italian and English floating through the air. We choose to sit inside in order to enjoy a meal not seasoned by cigarette smoke. The menu features a lovely list of local dishes, some of which are new to me. Yay! When our server comes to take our orders, I ask her for her recommendation as to which of the veggie side dishes to order. Smiling warmly, she recommends the cicoria. Done and done! Our "primi", arrive, and the aroma wafting from the plates immediately elicits an intense desire to consume the victuals before us! I have chosen the palline al verde, ricotta cheese spinach "balls"; I've never had such a dumpling before! - like the best part of the ravioli! They are lovingly embraced by a sage & butter sauce, topped with freshly grated pecorino Romano and a sassy single sage leaf. I julienne the foliage with my fork and knife, adding a sliver of the intense flavor to each bite of airily fluffy dumpling. Slices of wonderfully crusty, chewy, freshly baked sourdough bread come with our meal, and I utilize one to absorb every last streak of buttery goodness from the plate. So much for the balls - onto the sausage! 😀 Ryan has ordered the salsicce e broccoletti - sausage with broccoli greens; the freshly pan-fried homemade sausage patties are richly spiced, consisting of naturally sweet pork that has a bright, clean flavor. The greens have been infused with butter and sing with the zing of red pepper, complementing the sweet slabs of sausage perfectly. Next come the secondi - more balls! 😀 Before us is placed a dish with two large polpette (meatballs) generously draped in a pomodoro sauce that is paradoxically both rich and cleanly simple. As for the meatballs...wow, just wow. Each bite brings velvety goodness - delicate, fluffy, flavorful, smooth - lovingly ringed by the ragu. The best meatballs I've ever had. Including my own!🤣 To rouse us from the stupor of our food coma, we order tea - while our companion orders the panna cotta with berries! More food coma! Delight thrills through me when the tea arrives: it is served in pertly pretty porcelain - definitely made the otherwise mediocre Twinings tea sweepings taste better!😀 As for the panna cotta... rich, thick, creamy, topped with firm, sweetly tart blueberries and a strawberry compote...too sweet for me, but my companions found it perfect (note: most conventional desserts are too sweet for me). Such a meal demands a postprandial stroll, which we take to another country - Vatican City! Micro countries for the win! 😀 Trattoria Antico Falcone has become my new favorite eatery in Rome; it certainly added a happy note to the otherwise sad afternoon following our disembarkation from Queen Victoria. We will definitely return on our next visit to Rome, whether we need food-based emotional succor or not.😅 #italianFood #rometraveltips #cruisetips #cruiseblog #travelblog #yummy #eatinginitaly #Rome #Italy