Random notes.
Nuovo Mercato di Testaccio aka Testaccio Food Market: outstanding market. Great quality and selection. Got a lot of staples at the well-known Enzo e Lina stall, sweet couple.
Random note on transportation: despite what it looks like on the ATAC map, the 3B line is a bus that connects the 3 and 8 tram lines. It connects with the 3 at the Pyramide terminus.
The apartment we’re renting didn’t have a pepper grinder, so we went looking for a small one suitable for taking on picnics (since we could use that at home). I got a list of nearby places from http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/1023855 and updated them with some Google research and footwork.
c.u.c.i.n.a., Via di Parione, 31 (www.cucinastore.com): Smallish place with all kinds of kitchen gadgets. We got a pair of AdHoc brand pepper and salt grinders, made in Germany, look well-made.
http://www.adhoc-designshop.de/en/Set+pepper+and+salt+mill+Minimill.html
Sorelle Adamoli (formerly House & Kitchen), Via del Plebiscito, 103: Big place with dishes, espresso machines, stemware, all kinds of stuff. Back room is an incongruous mix of scooter & racecar paraphernalia.
Fratelli Bassetti Tessuti, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 73, just off Largo di Torre Argentina. Extremely old-school place with every kind of textile including a huge selection of tablecloths and napkins. We were looking for those extra-large dishcloth-like things for making pasta (I forget the very specific Italian word for them) and they had 15-20 to choose from. It’s the kind of shop where you have to tell the clerk what you want and they get it off the shelf.
Antonangeli, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 81/83. Kitchenware including a good selection of wine glasses.
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Comptoir de France, Via Giovanni Vitelleschi, 20: huge selection of French wines, small selection of French cheeses (all raw-milk, can’t get most of those at home), foie gras, cookies, etc. First real Brie I’ve had since the last time I was in France.
Antico Forno Roscioli, Via dei Chiavari, 34: The casareccio classico levain bread is very good, better than Poilâne to my taste. Crusty, crunchy, nice dense crumb, makes fantastic toast.
Orange tart looked good but flavor was only so-so and it was kind of soggy. Coconut macaroons were wrong, like maybe they accidentally added some overripe cheese. Not a place for dolci, I guess.
Went to the Mercato di Circo Massimo on Sunday because it’s the only one that’s open. Great place, all of the vendors are local producers. Got pasta flour direct from the guy who grew and milled it, fresh sheep ricotta, tiny ceci, a bottle of the old-school local red wine that’s slightly sweet and fizzy, etc.
It was absurdly crowded but the vendors have numbered-ticket machines so you don’t have to fight the crowd. We plan to go back on a Saturday, I figure it’ll be less crowded since there are lots of other markets open that day.
http://www.mercatocircomassimo.it/portfolio_item/mercato-circo-massimo
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If you’re here long enough that your clothes don’t fit, Pitran at Via Merulana 29 and Via del Gambero 18 has nice menswear in plus sizes. They also have women’s clothing at Via Merulana 5 and Via della Croce 7.
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Co.mi.sa. di Conti Alessandro, Via dei Giubbonari, 55: corner store just off Campo de’Fiori with an amazing variety of stuff: many good wines, dairy products, flour, wide variety of teas, dried beans, yogurt, lavender bar soap … if you don’t see what you need, ask, he may have it stashed away somewhere. I’m not sure what this place’s legal classification is, it shows up as a drogheria in some listings and a dolciumi in others.