When we’re headed to a new city, the first thing I do after booking the hotel is start researching places to eat. We’ve traveled {are are going to be traveling} to places with amazing food cultures. I want to eat all the things. Everything. I don’t want to waste an opportunity on a bad meal at the some touristy joint. And I would say that about 90% of the time the research pays off and we eat well. What’s my secret? Expats. Or more specifically, expats who know their food.

When I started researching Rome, Katie Parla’s name kept coming up a lot. After graduating from Yale, she moved to Italy and has racked up a number of degrees all focused on Italian food. She has a blog, she co-founded The Rome Digest {another great resource}, and most importantly for us, she has an app.

Besides being full of great recommendations, this app’s map works offline–something I think would make most travelers jump for joy–and leads you to nearby restaurants that will knock your socks off. Seriously these places are so good!

Read on to see some of our favorites {and a couple places we stumbled upon that weren’t on the app}.

{photo by the Kiwi}

L’Asino D’Oro
Following the app, our first stop was L’Asino D’Oro. It was relatively close to our apartment near the Colosseum, so when we set out to explore the area, we ended up near this gem. After a mysterious but oh so tasty amuse bouche, The Kiwi dived into his wild boar with chocolate sauce while I had lamb meatballs with peppers in a licorice sauce. For dessert we tried the Bavarian and  indulged in a pudding with sage and saffron. Everything was creative. Everything was delicious. We didn’t have reservations and lucked out with the last table outside. Loads of people started getting turned away. My advice? Make a reservation because this place is too good to leave it to luck.

     

Pizzarium
The next day we headed over to the Vatican to see St. Peters and to do the Vatican museum. Before we headed into the museum we were getting a bit peckish, so following the app, we nipped down the stairs across from the museum entrance and just down the road was the best pizza I have every had. This tiny little shop has at least 10 different pizzas on offer. You tell them which ones you want to try and they’ll cut off squares. In the end we tried these; {from top to bottom, right to left} roasted peppers and tomato sauce; tomato pesto and arugula; potato, Roma cheese, green beans and marinated onions;  and ricotta and pickled zucchini. They also have a number of craft beers to wash that pizza down with. Best. Lunch. Ever.

Colline Emiliane
After a long day of sightseeing that culminated at the Trevi fountain we fired up the app to find some dinner. We were directed to Colline Emiliane and, after a 2 hour wait {make reservations y’all!}, we finally got to feast. We started with melon and prosciutto, an amazing combination. For our mains we decided to carbo load. I went with their famous pumpkin ravioli while the Kiwi dove into the spaghetti carbonara. For dessert I had spied a lemon meringue pie on our way in so my choice was easy. The Kiwi chose the cheese plate and man were both delish.

          

Armando al Pantheon
The next night we knew were were going to end up near the Pantheon so we went ahead and made reservations at Armando al Pantheon. I did not want to be waiting two hours for dinner again and the app says that reservations here are pretty essential. The Kiwi absolutely loved his duck with prunes and my guinea fowl with mushrooms and black beer sauce was pretty good too.

     

Panella
While walking around our neighborhood one day we came upon the coolest bakery/restaurant/food shop I’ve ever been to. We stumbled across it during the pre-dinner cocktail hour so they had all kinds of creative looking foods and baked goods laid out buffet style and I was dying to give it a try. Unfortunately we couldn’t get a table, so we decided to come back the next day for lunch. While it is kind of chaotic in there, the food was completely worth it. Between the zucchini blossom pizza, roasted tomato stuffed with risotto and rosemary potatoes, and the whole meal cake with blueberries we had that day, and the big loaf of seedy bread we got for lunches the next couple days I can safely say this place was a winner, even if it wasn’t on the app.

Donkey Punch
On our final day in Rome we found ourselves in the middle of the Trastevere and a downpour was imminent. We were starving and knew we needed to take shelter pretty quickly. As the first drops started to fall we ducked in to the first place we saw, Donkey Punch. This place could not have been any more perfect. After we ordered, the Metallica {pepper salami, cream porcini, mushrooms, and provolone} for the Kiwi and the Rolling Stones {truffle cheese, raw prosciutto, and arugula} for me, we settled in with our craft beers {an Italian IPA and a saison} and waited out the rainstorm while chatting about beer with the owner. This guy knew his stuff!

     

{other Rome tips}

Most places don’t open for dinner until 7pm and if you don’t have reservations you might be waiting for a while. Plan accordingly.

Have I mentioned you should get this app?

Linked with Travel Tuesday