Piazza Navona

Dinner last night was good, not mind-blowing, and I blame myself. I spent the evening in Piazza Navona which is lovely -- en enormous plaza full of artists, musicians, and street performers and lined with cafes. I suppose it's a little like eating in Times Square but I was hungry, I had to go to the bathroom, there was a table right on the square where I could linger and look at all the people go by . . . See below the two items of note. Exhibit A: Bresaola. The plate with the shaved parmesan is not red. That is a very-thinly sliced dry aged beef called bresaola. I thought it was remarkable -- lean, very flavorful. Exhibit B: not the pretty berry cake but the innocuous-looking espresso. That is caffe correto -- espresso with a shot of grappa in it. I've been reading Donna Leon's smart, enjoyable series of crime novels set in Venice, and Commissario Brunetti's brute underlings always order caffe correttos in the morning. It will make you breath fire, but it's brilliant I think as an after-dinner drink.





P.S. I take back what I said about the ease of navigating Rome. There is a caveat. Navigating north-south is a breeze. East-west is nearly impossible. There doesn't seem to be a single street that travels east-west uninterrupted. It's as if it just isn't meant to be done. Piazza Navona is west of where I am staying. After getting hopelessly turned around, I admitted defeat and jumped in a cab.