It was a busy Saturday for the K-N Touring Team. We'd gone for an early morning run, a late morning Underground Rome tour, and an all-afternoon session at the Musei Capitolini - plus we'd learned all about spolia. We were hungry. We were also looking for a restaurant in Rome, on a Saturday night, without any reservations.
But we are nothing, if not persistent (and in possession of the awesome Eat Rome app - well worth the $2.99 price tag). After being turned away at our first two tries, we stopped into Osteria dell'Ingegno - and were immediately shown to a table.
The place was crowded - the tables were packed in pretty tightly, and we needed to squeeze carefully between other diners to get to our table. Every other table was full, and remained so for the rest of the evening. We must have gotten pretty lucky to snag a table when we did!
We started off by sharing a deep fried artichoke, served with hummus and a fried potato cake. This was our least favorite dish. Deep-frying things usually makes them exceptionally delicious and crisp - but taking an already-pointy-and-pokey artichoke and frying it crisp is just...ouchie, at least to me. Plus, the inner parts didn't really get fried, they just got oily and mushy. The hummus and potato cake were good, but not extraordinary.
Don't get me wrong - the appetizer was good, but not exceptional. However, our entrees were spectacular:
We enjoyed our meal with several glasses of very good wine: a prosecco with our appetizer (this was fast becoming a habit in Italy!), and a glass of white (me) or red (Kee-Min) with our entrees.
We were finding it very, very difficult - and frankly, just plain unwise - to resist dessert in Italy. So we were an easy sell on a "twist on tiramisu", and an apple torte served with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.
The tiramisu was delicious, and although it lacked the ladyfinger base to which I'm accustomed, I had no problem polishing the whole thing off. The apple tort was particularly scrumptious, especially with the homemade ice cream (not too sweet) and warm dipping sauce (sweet, but in a good way). And with that, we were full and happy:
This was, by no means, our cheapest meal in Italy, costing us somewhere around 90 Euros for 4 glasses of wine, appetizer, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts. But we had basically skipped lunch, so this was really 2 meals in one! Plus, the food and service were excellent.
We ate quite a bit of fantastic food in Rome, but this was probably our favorite meal - by a small margin. I should admit to the possibility that we were swayed because we were especially hungry on this particular evening. But we aren't claiming that our data are perfect, and what I can tell you is this: Osteria dell'Ingegno is where I'd head for dinner tonight, if I opened my eyes and found myself in Rome, right....*now*.
But we are nothing, if not persistent (and in possession of the awesome Eat Rome app - well worth the $2.99 price tag). After being turned away at our first two tries, we stopped into Osteria dell'Ingegno - and were immediately shown to a table.
The place was crowded - the tables were packed in pretty tightly, and we needed to squeeze carefully between other diners to get to our table. Every other table was full, and remained so for the rest of the evening. We must have gotten pretty lucky to snag a table when we did!
We started off by sharing a deep fried artichoke, served with hummus and a fried potato cake. This was our least favorite dish. Deep-frying things usually makes them exceptionally delicious and crisp - but taking an already-pointy-and-pokey artichoke and frying it crisp is just...ouchie, at least to me. Plus, the inner parts didn't really get fried, they just got oily and mushy. The hummus and potato cake were good, but not extraordinary.
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| I enjoyed this scrumptious tower of root veggies (bottom) and seared tuna (top), served over pureed fresh peas and a balsamic reduction. My mouth is watering as I look at this, two months after actually eating it. The flavors were bright and genuine, the root veggies were al dente, and the fish was super fresh and seasoned just perfectly. That crunchy decoration on top was an added bonus. |
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| Risotto cakes with fresh ricotta and something green (spinach?), served with a creamy thyme-nutmeg sauce. These little guys were smooth, creamy, and a mix of sweet-n-savory I don't usually care for - but worked splendidly here. |
We were finding it very, very difficult - and frankly, just plain unwise - to resist dessert in Italy. So we were an easy sell on a "twist on tiramisu", and an apple torte served with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.
The tiramisu was delicious, and although it lacked the ladyfinger base to which I'm accustomed, I had no problem polishing the whole thing off. The apple tort was particularly scrumptious, especially with the homemade ice cream (not too sweet) and warm dipping sauce (sweet, but in a good way). And with that, we were full and happy:
This was, by no means, our cheapest meal in Italy, costing us somewhere around 90 Euros for 4 glasses of wine, appetizer, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts. But we had basically skipped lunch, so this was really 2 meals in one! Plus, the food and service were excellent.
We ate quite a bit of fantastic food in Rome, but this was probably our favorite meal - by a small margin. I should admit to the possibility that we were swayed because we were especially hungry on this particular evening. But we aren't claiming that our data are perfect, and what I can tell you is this: Osteria dell'Ingegno is where I'd head for dinner tonight, if I opened my eyes and found myself in Rome, right....*now*.
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