Top 10 Bites Abroad: London, Florence and Rome

We’ve reached 30 newsletters, which is crazy to think that we’ve been kicking it for 30 weeks now 🤯 With that comes another Top 10 to celebrate, and I haven’t shared each of my favorite bites from my travels across the pond yet. Let’s jump to it to see which have made the cut and which newbies enter the discussion.

Reminder: these are NOT rated in any specific order. Thankful for each and every one of these bites.

1. Dishoom – House Chaat

The first meal after touching down in London, but I’m sure this wasn’t just because I was ravenous for a good meal after the 8-hour red eye followed by the hour-long train ride. As described by Dishoom themselves, this dish is “warm-cold, sweet-tangy Dishoom House Chaat… Golden fried sweet potato covered with cool yoghurt, pomegranate, beetroot, radish and carrot. Tamarind drizzle and green chutney lift it nicely.”

I wanted to try multiple things, and my eyes may have been bigger than my stomach, but I could’ve licked that bowl clean. Was a great start to the trip.

2. Ricotta and Spinach Gnudi

These gnudi were the main highlight of the food tour around the Santo Spirito neighborhood. We stepped into a family restaurant for our first taste of a true Tuscan dish. And you guessed it, the name literally translates to “nude”, which comes from these essentially being the filling of a ravioli that are refrigerated ideally overnight to firm up the outside and keep the inside soft. We love a simple dish. Will be making this at home soon.

3. Maritozzi and Sicilian Cannoli

These can go hand-in-hand because it’s where I found out how to order baked goods and at a coffee bar… and because I make the rules. Now I am a big fan of the maritozzi I’ve made myself, but this brioche was so light and airy. I had every intention of only eating half, but that went out the door after the first bite. And that cannoli was a perfect sweet treat part 2 in this pairing.

4. Filled Croissants – Pistacchio and Nutella

I’d start my morning at a coffee bar with a filled croissant every day if I could, especially if these flavors were matched every time. $5 for a shot of espresso and a croissant and on my way after 5 minutes max. I may have brought back two (2) jars of pistacchio cream for some of The Goods to come… recipe testing ahead.

5. All’Antico Vinaio – Italiano

I lucked out with a rainy weekday and didn’t have the long wait. The sandwiches live up to the hype, and the Italiano was perfect: prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, sliced tomatoes and pesto.

6. Ino – Balsamico

Two of the nearly daily sandwiches when in Florence made the cut. When they have the freshly baked bread down, it makes sense why sandwiches are such a staple here. The mortadella + ricotta salata (think of burrata filling) + balsamic made for a sandwich that easily competes with the one above. Not sure I could choose a favorite here.

7. Lunch Platter – Meats, Cheeses and Bruschetta + a Beverage

The perfect bites before walking around for a few more hours around Trastevere on my final day in Rome. A lunch time beer on the street, special. I’d like to sit in this picture often.

8. Armando Al Pantheon – Carbonara

You may notice that this is the only pasta to make the list. That’s not due to a pasta consumption shortage – that was an also almost daily (self-given) requirement. It’s because this was easily my favorite pasta of the entire trip and my favorite bite in Rome. I’ve never been one to jump at carbonara, but this may be the correct answer to “When in Rome.” Unfortunately I made the mistake of getting carbonara again somewhere else after this… that’s all I’ll say about that one.

Armando Al Pantheon, you win. I’ll be thinking about that meal for a while.

9. Tiramisu

Yes, these are all my tiramisu orders, which looking back really wasn’t enough. Three of these were in Rome, so I’d say four in two weeks was far too little. I also love that each of these are served so differently. I learned that typically tiramisu is made at least the night before so that everything can sit and the flavors get to know each other. Plenty of mental notes here to figure out how I want to recreate this at home.

10. Basil Walnut and Honey + Pistacchio Gelato

There are all sorts of tips about how to avoid the tourist trap gelato. Thankfully the food tours knew where to stop. This basil, walnut and honey flavor was easily the best gelato I’ve ever had, so shoutout to Fatamorgana Gelato. And the pistacchio was an obligation every time I had gelato.

Well I’m still working through a bit of jet lag, getting back to the swing of the East Coast hours. But I’ll take getting tired early and waking up early much more than the reverse. Plus some home cooked meals have been very, very nice after 2.5 weeks eating solo at restaurants. I’m incredibly grateful for all of those meals and time exploring, and happy to share some of it here. Time to focus on the Birds this week 🦅

Here’s to 30+ more of these 🤘