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| 7 courses plus aperitif and petit fours |
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| Porter and Triple (Left) and a Pork Sandwich from My Ale |
With only one item left on our 'Must see' list not already visited or planned, we headed out to the Galleria Spada at the Palazzo Spada.
Rome, unlike other major cities, does not have a single world renowned art museum where most of its collections lie. Instead much of the famous art is in churches and small museums. Until we got to the Spada we did not realize how infrequently visited this particular art collection appears to be. For much of our visit we were the only patrons. I frequently joked with Sean how romantic it was that he rented out the whole museum for me. The museum is very small. It consists of four rooms and a courtyard with a famous renaissance perspective (a mathematically derived Optical Illusion) which no doubt caught my attention in the DK eyewitness Rome book and put this otherwise obscure attraction on the 'must-see' list.
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| Top Left: Sean in Gallery 1 with the printed guide to each and every painting Top Right: Famous Perspective by Borromini Bottom Left: Raphael 'sketch' of a vaulted ceiling piece from a church. Bottom Middle: "Allegory of Astronomy" Bottom Right: Globe drawn in 1619 |
The perspective was an optical illusion designed to make a 27 foot long corridor appear 90 feet long and a very tiny statue (less than 2 feet tall) appear life-size. The optical illusion certainly tricked us but probably not to the intended proportions. The statue to me appeared about 5 feet and the corridor appeared maybe 50. However this is likely due to the fact the intended viewing location which is elevated and behind a large glass window was off limits to the public during our visit. None the less it was still quite cool.
The meal...We arrived in Italy with 4 guide books, an ever growing list of 'must-see' activities and our lodging booked. We didn't plan out every moment. Our only two reservations before arriving in Italy was a car rental and an 8:30pm dinner reservation for Glass Hosteria in Rome. Needless to say we had been looking forward to this meal all week. When Thursday night rolled around we both dressed in our finest. Sean in his dark blue suit, white dress shirt and tie while I wore a newly acquired black and white striped structured A-line dress.
We walked across the bridge from our quiet established Italian neighborhood to the vibrant up and coming Trastevere district. This former working class neighborhood has undergone an urban revival into a funky young happening scene. Often in our travels we enjoy staying in these parts of cities but I think we both appreciated staying in a more central area that did not require earplugs. The footbridge lined with groups of teenagers talking, laughing and listening to the various street musicians play. The our path took us through well lit cobblestone streets packed with outdoor tables filled with patrons. The sounds of boisterous conversation echoed upward along the buildings. Glass was located at the angular point of a building jetting into a four way intersection like a broken shard.
The restaurant offers a full a la carte menu as well as three tasting menus. A contemporary vision of traditional Roman cuisine in 7 courses that changes seasonally (as well as a vegetarian version) and a more cosmopolitan menu with 9 courses that changes more frequently.
We opted for the traditional 7 course summer tasting menu with wine pairing (4 glasses: 1 white, 2 reds and a dessert wine). The wines paired well with the courses but only one was truly memorable (enough for me to jot down the type of wine). Barbaresco, it is from NW Italy Piedmont and is made with Nebbiolo. It is similar to a Barolo but aged one year less. Will certainly keep my eye out for this style as we travel North.
Aperitif:
Course 1: Gazpacho
The meal started with a round loaf of crusty bread cut with a cross along the top to divide it into four even chunks. A small bowl of olive oil mousse sprinkled with black salt to spread over it. A creamy dense orange sherbet colored chilled soup thickened with almonds and richened with decadent foie gras was brought out in a shallow bowl. Garnished with cheese and microgreens. Each silky spoonful the perfect balance of bright acidity and rich creamy texture.
Course 2: Beef Tartare
Beef tartare is one of my favorite dishes. Since I went back to eating red meat in 2009, I have ordered this raw chilled beef dish countless times in many major cities and several countries. This was by far the best beef tartare I have ever eaten. What really set this beef tartare apart was a very soft slow poached egg with a blood orange yolk. The whites of the egg barely cooked to a creamy but quivering texture while the yolk, when broken, still ran. When I broke the yolk with my spoon (the cutlery was cleared between each course and just a single spoon offered for this dish) the thick orange center oozed like magma through the plateau of chopped raw beef. The dish was garnished with microgreens and fried breadcrumbs. There was a faint note of citrus that made me question whether the color of the yolk was due to it being injected with orange juice or whether my mind was playing tricks on me. Either way it was heaven and for me, the star dish of the meal.
During coursed meals in France the length between each course is long, an intermission so to speak where the whole restaurant gets up and goes out for a smoke. We had found ourselves alone in many restaurants in Paris between the second and third course. We were prepared for the same experience in Rome only to find that in Italy the only break between courses is bread. The moment the empty plate from the second course was whisked away a basket with 5 types of bread was ushered out. The space between courses filled with what else but more food. We found this true across Rome and Southern Tuscany that the time between courses is short almost non-existent and anything longer than a few minutes is filled with bread.
Course 3: Veal Tongue Pastrami
Many years ago for my birthday Sean wanted to make me Osso Buco (An Italian preparation of veal shank braised low and slow) because it was a fancy meal and veal is not a common meat in the United States, he called an expensive local artisan butcher shop in Seattle. The exchange involved a mortified butcher shop employee exclaiming indignantly that they don’t sell veal and then promptly hanging up. Veal like so many other delicacies comes with a side of guilt. It was during this course that I realized why exactly there are so many churches in Italy. After this meal I was going to need to find a priest and confess.
Guilt aside, the third course was a creative and playful take on a Jewish classic. This deconstructed sandwich included yet another type of bread (soft and chewy) served alongside thin slices of cured white veal. Delicate texture, a subtle sweetness from the veal and the distinct spice blend typical of pastrami made the meat a true delight. What is a pastrami sandwich without mustard? The thin slices of meat topped with a mustard ice cream providing a cold refreshing creamy element that nodded to the traditional sandwich. Pickled vegetables provided acidity and coated the greens that topped the dish in an almost light vinaigrette.
Course 4: Lamb Chops
The meat course was a rack of lamb with three chops seasoned with an herbaceous mix of spices most notably sumac. It was served on a wide stone plate atop a brightly colored gastrique with assorted root vegetables. It is mushroom season now in Italy and tender morsel added an earthy umami bite to the mix. The lamb was perfectly cooked medium rare and probably one of the most flavorful bites of roasted meat I have had in a long time.
Course 5: Ravioli
Each region of Italy has its own pasta dishes (specific shapes and sauces). The traditional Roman pasta is a carbonara which is with egg, hard cheese and pancetta. This was a truly clever dish. Essentially the stuffed pasta was an inside out carbonara. The pasta was stuffed with a light tomato sauce and salty cheese. Then brushed on the outside with an eggy mixture and topped with crispy fried guanciale (similar to pancetta but made with the jowl meat). It was another show stopper dish.
Course 6: Sweet Breads
Towards the end of the pasta course I found myself trying to figure out what came next. I knew there was one dish between pasta and dessert but could not for the life of me remember what it was. Perhaps I had counted the courses wrong. The plate came out with three small morsels that the waiter explained in English was sweet breads with foie gras, pistachio and sour cherries. Sean and I both looked at each other. Clearly we had read that on the tasting menu and just blocked out that it was on there. Neither of us had ever had sweet breads and we knew it was some organ meat but which one… Desperate research subsequent to the meal has narrowed it down to either the thymus gland or the pancreas of veal but I can’t be sure which one. Either way we were not won over by this organ. The texture is overly chewy and the flavor was completely masked by the pairing of foie gras which dominated the palate, pistachio and the liquor soaked sour cherry.
Course 7: Bailey’s Gelato in condensed cream
Dessert was a large bowl of thick sweet condensed cream where a sphere of Bailey’s flavored gelato floated. The dish was a bit one note, sweet. Dolce, as the Italians put it and heavy. There was espresso in gel form and I assume it was intended to be a take on an after dinner cocktail. It paired well with the madeira dessert wine. It was tasty but certainly not awe inspiring. Not surprising as having exquisite dessert often requires having a pastry chef on hand.
Petit Fours
Dessert was followed up by a selection of petit fours. A sphere of chocolate with a creamy ganache rolled in pistachios, grape jelly, miniature profiteroles (cream puffs) and little macaroon style cookies.
All in all the meal was spectacular! Towards the end of the night a middle-aged woman in a white chef’s jacket with magenta pink hair strolled in. She made her way around the tables talking to various guests and eventually stopped to chat with us. It was very exciting to get to meet the chef. I knew the chef was a woman (which is already really cool and impressive not only to have a restaurant worthy of a Michelin star but also to achieve such a high honor in a male dominated field like fine dining) but it was really nice to have that personal interaction. We praised the menu and talked about the food scene in Seattle. We have been to several Michelin star restaurants over the last few years but this was the first time we got to meet the chef in person. It really added to the experience and made it a night to remember.
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