Pasticceria Linari, Another Gem in Testaccio

Right across the street from Santa Maria Liberatrice in Testaccio, Pasticceria Linari welcomes the neighborhood in for a light snack and conversation. The day we discovered it was the feast day of the patron saint of the church and the place was buzzing with people who were pouring out of the church. Besides the religious holiday, this was a celebration day for the entire neighborhood of Testaccio. You could see the camaraderie of the patrons, they were people who knew one another.

If you’ve ever wanted to travel and live like the natives then a bakery like Linari is a good choice for your experiment. It’s located in a working class neighborhood that is not flooded with tourists and the items are made for the local taste and priced to be affordable. You pick up local customs if you pay attention, like offering a few coins with the receipt for faster service (although looking dazed and confused worked very well for me) and feel as though you could easily blend in if only you could keep your mouth shut! We were greeted by several locals who seemed slightly amused, but happy that we were able to see something of their daily routine. It was a win win situation and I look forward to going back there on our next visit to Rome

Linari, like Pasticceria Bernini on Via Marmoratta in Testaccio, is also more than a bakery, it also serves gelato and sells other items including wine. Here are some photos of the gelato that are decorated with the main ingredient of each flavor. Cute idea, especially for children who cannot yet read.

And now for a little something different:

Linari's Website

The New Testaccio Market

It's been at least 4 years since the residents of Testaccio in Rome have had their daily market moved to an indoor venue 6 blocks from its former location on Via Luca della Robbia. For many years the old outdoor market suffered during inclement weather for lack of customers and discomfort for the vendors. The new building changes all that and even offers underground parking. Although this market has long hosted residents from all over the city, it is now easier for non locals to shop there. I'm pleased to be part of that group.

The primary purpose of the mercato is to supply fresh poultry, fish, pork, beef, cold cuts and produce to the neighborhood. The poultry can be quite varied as seen in this photo.

Now that the stalls have a roof over them, vendors are upgrading methods of keeping their products in better condition. For example, the fish monger can keep flies off his seafood by covering it with parchment paper that will not blow away in the wind. 

Most of the meats are now in permanent, refrigerated cases that keep them at optimum temperatures. This provides not only for preserving  freshness, but eliminates any worry one might have about contamination from insects and bacteria. That's a big improvement.

When renting apartments in Italy, I have occasionally cooked more than breakfast. This rib roast caught my eye, but the fantasy of a full dinner diminished as I imagined trying to clean an oven. If I was convinced it was Chianina beef, the fantasy may live on, but I'm not certain that it's sold outside of Tuscany.

Rome, like most of Italy, is pork centric, so you see it in many forms while you stroll through the mercato.

In this photo, there appear to be a combination of pancetta, the Italian, non smoked bacon; ham, and guanciale. The round, fatty piece is guanciale, the cured pig jowl that is  traditionally used in a traditional  Carbonara recipe.

Fruits and vegetables abound in the market and are interspersed with many of the other items sold there. It would be easier to shop if all products of a like kind were in the same area.

As things stand, there is a loose affiliation between food groups along with prepared foods. But you are bound to find exceptions with general merchandise in the mix.

Prepared foods are putting in a strong showing too. Today I saw a white Veal Ragu that looked every bit as good as those I've seen in restaurants. It was so entrancing, I failed to take a photo. 

Prepared, although not precooked, the polpette (meatballs) in these photos are at the very least a convenience food in Italy. Those below are actually cooked and ready to heat and serve.

 

Plenty of vendors are prepared to part with  baked goods including pastries, biscotti, rolls, breads and the ever favorite, here in Rome, Pizza Bianca, the Roman answer to focaccia. Even better, are the pizze with various toppings.

I highly recommend that anyone who has never tried a squash blossom nor a porcini mushroom "bianca" style pizza (without tomato sauce) give it a try here. They're two of my favorites, even though I still like the zucchini, as well as the potato and rosemary versions.

The typical pizza bianca, as well as the other pizze, may appear to have a cracker like exterior, but there's a factor of chewiness inside that raises them to another level. Pizza Bianca with its drizzled olive oil surface is delicious on its own, but even better when paired with any of the cold cuts and cheese sold at the mercato.

Gourmet shops selling these types of panini abound in Testaccio. So buy your own ingredients at the market or let someone else make one for you, but don't miss trying some.

 
 
Mercado Testaccio is also home to many shops selling clothing, shoes and handbags. Some are vintage, others sell only accessories, jewelry or leather goods. All live happily under one roof. 

On my most recent trip, I discovered Bee Joux, a shop selling women's accessories, including Italian leather purses and French jewelry. Even though I try to buy locally made products, the jewelry was too tempting, so I succumbed and bought a set, deluding myself into thinking it was still okay, since I had been to France on the same trip.

The tables with clothing piled high on top, with a bargain basement appeal, attract many customers, no doubt hoping to find an under priced treasure, but I couldn't bring myself to memorialize them with a photo.

If American vintners are willing to sell wine in boxes, how can I criticize Italian wine served up in plastic bottles? Whether bringing their own bottles, or purchasing a plastic bottle at the wine shop, Italians can satisfy their love of wine locally by paying for it by the liter. Casks of wine from all over Italy can be found at wine shops in Rome.

Campo Dei Fiore, Field of Flowers

Of all the tourist attractions in Rome, the Campo Dei Fiore seems to be the most active, both day and night. In the morning the large piazza  transforms into an open air market for its lively neighborhood  of residents and craftsmen. Surrounded by restaurants, bakeries; shops selling food specialties, fresh meats, and wine; it becomes a magnet for tourists seeking a more personalized view of Roman life. At night it becomes a destination for impromptu entertainment.

 

In the morning, at first light, produce and flower vendors are setting up their wares. Tables and umbrellas are set up all across the campo. It's difficult to distinguish the umbrellas of the restaurants that encircle the campo from those of the vendors, so from a distance the market seems larger than it's actual size.

     
    

Kitchen  wares, tee shirts, umbrellas, aprons, the produce, flowers, plants, dried pasta, spices,  honey and preserves, olive oil, truffles, as well as balsamic vinegar and various condiments sit side-by-side in this world renowned market.

 

                                   

             

 

Some vendors present their products as perfect gifts to take home; for instance, the olive oil and balsamic vinegar that's packed together in cellophane and tied with ribbon or spice mixes packaged with the name of the campo. Make no mistake about it, that bag of dried vegetables and spices has nothing to do with Carbonara, which is a pasta made with guanciale, eggs, pepper and cheese. It would, however,  make a decent soup base or flavoring for a tomato based, vegetarian, pasta sauce. I find it difficult to believe  that any native born Italian would have put this product together and said it was a preparation for pasta Carbonara.

 

The truffle products are hard to beat, but don't cost very much more at home, if you can find them. I bought a small jar of Urbani white truffle salt and brought it home. It is much more fragrant than any other truffle salt I have purchased to date. Perhaps it's because the vast majority of truffle salts are made with black truffles.

On Saturday you might find more clothing such as a sweater stand. It's apparent that the current focus of most vendors is on the tourist trade, so if your interest is in seeing a functioning neighborhood market, Esquilino and Testaccio may be a better choice. If you are lucky enough to be renting an apartment with a kitchen in this area, then the market and surrounding shops are excellent for making your own meals. These are a few of the items I put together while visiting this neighborhood: A cheese plate consisting of Pecorino Romano with an onion, balsamic, cranberry and apricot jam; a sheep's milk ricotta, the creamiest and sweetest I have ever tasted, with a balsamic and dried cherry reduction (I cheated and brought the cherries and cranberries from home); Goat's cheese and mascarpone covered with walnuts and honey; a meat based pasta sauce; smoked salmon carpaccio with olive oil, lemon and fresh oregano; and various sandwiches made with freshly baked rossetta rolls and pizza bianca pizza from the bakery and cold cuts from the salumerie.

    

Several vendors stood out, perhaps because their displays were so beautifully manicured, but others were noticeable for the personality of the vendors themselves.  Leo, the owner or manager of the best looking produce in the entire market was very engaging. One day he asked my name and where I was from, then handed me off to an employee. The next day he introduced me to yet another assistant, but by my name and home town. While I would not call that a pitch, it did produce a sale. The selection of produce was quite wide in range and if you were wondering about the pine cones, you've heard of pignoli or pine nuts, right? The last photo is one of chestnuts, wearing their overcoats.
  

Prospero, the 78 year old Roman answer to Ron Popeil, was wooing customers with his kitchen tools that shredded, sliced and corkscrewed vegetables. He did this while singing Bibbidy Bobbidy Boo. Who could resist such a pitch?  Although his prices were firm, he insisted that if I used his name, the man selling cheese would be happy to offer me a discount. I had to wonder if the cheese monger knew about this "sconto" (discount). By the end of the day when the magic was over, Prospero, much like Cinderella's coach, disappeared and all that  remained was a pumpkin, or in this particular case, carrot shreds.

Because of the large number of restaurants surrounding the campo, it becomes a convenient place for your morning cappuccino. You can watch the hustle and bustle of the market while you're leisurely sipping your drink. During the day the menus change from pastries and coffee, to pasta, panini and pizza. In the early evenings you can still find something to snack on. If you need that cappuccino or tea, don't be shy about asking for them if  you can't find them on the menu. As I worked my way through the sea of restaurants I found that many were willing to accommodate you with these drinks, even the pizzeria and mozzarella bar.

If you're looking for good pastry to go with your coffee, I would recommend that you buy them from a bakery rather than at a restaurant. The selection will be much better and fresher. I would direct you to Il Fornaio, the long-standing neighborhood bakery two short blocks away on Via Dei Baullari, the street that bisects the campo. You'll recognize it by a large plastic case holding a huge mortadella, or in this case, a large roasted porchetta. This bakery is also very good for sandwiches and focaccia or what the Romans call Pizza Bianca.

 

Now let's take a look at those pastires. Il Fornaio's selection is extensive.
   

Forno Campo Dei Fiore is a bakery well known for baking excellent Pizza Bianca and sandwiches made with it, but their pastries are few, mostly biscotti. I recommend it for take out sandwiches when you are on your way to walk along the Tevere river just a few blocks away. If it does not seem to you that there is enough Mortadella in that panini, keep in mind that in Italy sauce is a condiment for pasta and used sparingly, and cold cuts are used in the same way, since the bread is the most important element.

Later in the evening, when the vendors have packed away their goods and left the area, the bars start attracting young customers from all over the city.  Those too young for the bars, work their way to the gelaterie in the area, but always end up in the campo. 

Hungry yet? Not only are there 10 or more restaurants in Campo Dei Fiore itself, you can also find many more clustered on the side streets. They range in price as well as quality, serving the classic dishes or more imaginative renditions of the classics, all the while using seasonal ingredients. The seasons can be long in Italy, as was evidenced by fresh artichokes and asparagus in October. Hopefully the tradition of eating locally and seasonally has not gone the way of the siesta, a 2-3 hour break in the middle of the work day.