Antico Roscioli Forno | Rome, Italy | Pizza | Click + Eat

there are several different types of pizza one can experience in italy; and rome, in my opinion, has some of the best...

there is thick, foccacia-like crusts, thin cracker-like crusts and crusts that fall in-between. EVERYWHERE you look there is pizza for sale and it is hard to pick through all the places and truly find pizza that will change your life. hopefully this post will help you out!!

my top three places in rome [in no particular order] are...

pizzarium 

• gorgeous foccacia crust and lovingly doused with the most flavorful olive oil
• pizza al taglio [by the slice] and by the weight
• known for their unique flavors and fresh ingredient combinations
• featured on anthony bourdain's, the layover: rome
• prati neighborhood -- perfect before or after you visit the vatican
• long lines, but worth the wait! take it to go or stand and eat if there is room

da remo 

• the bestest cracker crust pizza in the world! seriously!
• individual pizzas with the most erfect char on the crust! 
• ADORE the marinara [fresh tomato sauce with roasted garlic--NO CHEESE]
• located in testaccio neighborhood
• sit where ever they put you
• worth the trip to this awesome neighborhood!

antico roscioli forno [the place i am featuring in this particular blog post]

• crusts differ in thickness depending on what you get
• fresh ingredients!
• LOVE the rosso [tomato] and the fresh mozz with tomato and basil
• this place is also a bakery and the ricotta chocolate cake is divine.
• pizza al taglio [by the slice] and by the weight, but watch the scales -- they accidentally doubled out cost one day!!
• centro storico -- near the campo de fiori
• stand and eat outside or take it to go

above: antico forno from the street

above: rossa pizza. crisp cracker crust

pictured above + below: mozzarella di bufala, fresh tomatoes and fresh basil

fresh campo de fiori market finds!! right up the street from antico forno

thank you for reading my post.  please comment below. ciao :)

#pizza #rome #roma #roscioli #forno #italy 

#pizzarium #remo #prati #testaccio #centrostorico

Marco G | Rome, Italy | Favorite Places

choosing a restaurant in rome is not an easy feat.  one can easily be caught up in a tourist trap quicker than you can say "colosseum".  when choosing a restaurant we tend to steer clear of the restaurants with waiters begging you to come in and/or with a menu the size of a highway billboard posted out front.  some of the best restaurants are off the beaten path and require a long walk to get there, but the results are typically stunning and worth the blisters on your feet.  my husband, shawn, also does hours and hours and hours [and hours] of research on his favorite food blogs and he religiously reads the ny times food section... 

all of this research led us to marco g's while we traveling in italy last summer [2012].  now we are back in italy in 2013 and once again loving our trips to marco g's.  during our first visit marco (whom waits on each and every table--with the help of a friendly and welcoming staff) recognized us from last summer which really made us smile :)  marco makes each and every guest feel as though they are dining in his own home.  his food is his passion and if there is one thing that shines above that, it is his service.  marco believes deeply in his mission and it translates to beautiful, traditional italian food. marco using only the freshest of ingredients and his menu will change to accommodate seasonal offerings found at the markets.  

below is a menu my husband and i enjoyed on our first visit this summer...we have since been back to enjoy the same.  however, during the second visit we also feasted on beautiful grilled porcini mushrooms that marco had picked up at the market that morning.  and for dessert we had fragolini [baby strawberries] with a touch of fresh lemon juice and sugar--the traditional way to enjoy this delicacy.  

anyone that stops in rome should make marco g's a must stop for dinner.  put away your cell phone and enjoy "slow food" dining with impeccable service. 

our menu:

amuse bouche of homemade foccacia with rosemary and corse salt | octopus salad with potato, red onion, and carrots | grilled aubergine [melanzane] with homemade mozzarella and fresh basil | pacchieri with large shrimp [mazzancolle] in a fresh tomato sauce

marco g

via garibaldi, 56, roma 06 580 9289

they take reservations but outside is first come first serve; even with a reservation

Holy Cannoli!! | La Cannoleria Rome | Sicilian Bakery, Italy

when in italy a cannoli stop once a day once a week...is a must :)  and when in rome la cannoleria is just the place to stop after visiting the vatican, san pietro basilica, piazza navona and/or castel sant'angelo.  we adore the mini cannolis because you can eat more they are the perfect bit of sweet and savory that will tide you over after a long walk in the warm roman sun.  

other good eats you can find at la cannoleria are homemade sicilian jams and marmalades, gelato  on brioche [traditional sicilian way to eat gelato], sicilian wines, tortes and granitas. make this yummy sicilian bakery a must stop when is rome :)

above: totes getting the last of the chocolate mini cannoli and feeling no shame!

above: mini chocolate cannoli before it is in my belly.

la cannoleria is seen above in red *A* pin. piazza navona is *B*. castel sant'angelo is *C* . 

vatican city|san pietro basilica is *D*. 

please comment below and let me know what you think...  thanks!!

Strawberries + Anise Cookies | Trastevere + Testaccio Finds | Rome, Italy

ciao bellas! thank you for stopping by my blog :) 

this will be the first of many yummy food and art related blog posts from our travels in roma -- italy that is.  

today i wanted to share with you two amazing things that made me smile.  the first are chewy and absolutely flavor packed anise cookies from forno la renella in trastevere.  we had eyed this adorable shop last year, but never had the chance to pop in.  today the beautiful baked goods and amazing pizza displayed in the window got our attention and so we finally headed in.  

there were several yummy finds, but seeing as we had already had lunch we were only looking for a sweet afternoon treat. omg! the helpful staff at la renella jumped in to explain all of the cookie varieties -- chocolate, red + white wine, coconut, lemon, etc., but the anise cookies hooked me instantly.

if you are in trastevere you have got to grab some baked goods here [ and some pizza too -- will review the pizza later ]. 

the texture of this cookie was spot on; slightly crunchy on the exterior and chewy + light on the inside.  the anise was bold without being overwhelming which made me happy! i only wish i had gotten one more, but hey, i am here for a month and need to pace myself.

going, going, gone. forno la renella anise cookies. trastevere, rome

today we also ventured over to the newly renovated testaccio market.  the new location is pretty awesome compared to the former AND, as in most things in rome, it sits a top an archeological dig site.  at one point the market floor opens up and you can see down to the old wall of the city and tables filled with pottery shards and other artifacts.  most romans walk by, but this nerd had to stop and gawk -- so much so i forgot to take a photo...HA!  alas, i will be back to get some more good eats at this market filled with true, friendly romans! definitely make this a "must go" on your list if you are in rome for a while!!

at the market today my husband, shawn, got some beautiful cherries and i grabbed a basket of sweet mini stawberries.  believe me, it was hard to not grab everything in site; homemade ricotta filled ravioli, squash blossoms, fresh calamari, peaches, zucchini, shoes [ ummm, yep, shoes ], frittatas with asparagus, etc.  i honestly had to keep reminding myself that i CAN go back.  but for tonight, strawberries and cherries will pair perfectly with our meats and cheeses  :)  buon appetito y'all!

please comment and let me know what you think!!

My Photography Philosophy | Celebrating the Moments

recently i was researching fellow wedding photographers in the chicago area because, if i am already booked on a specific date, i LOVE to refer clients to photographers with a similar aesthetic as my own. it's a nice thing to do and my heart skips a beat when others do it for me :)

while collecting my list of photographer friends i came across Studio Starling and noticed that they had a blog post that addressed the debate over publishing wedding photos on wedding blogs [ Wedding Blogs and the Photographer ].  honestly this has been on my mind A LOT lately and the fact that i came across this post while writing about my own photography philosophy could not have been more perfectly timed! i have been wanting to express my thoughts on this topic for quite some time...so here goes!

~

the emphasis on having your wedding published/featured on a wedding blog is intensifying and i believe all photographers should take note and ask yourself the following questions: do i photograph to get published, or do i photograph to document the truth of the day? why do i photograph weddings?

now i am not bashing wedding blogs.  they are a great way for brides to gain access to trends + tips,  they can be fun to look at, and they are also a nice way for photographers to advertise their photography studio and their wedding portfolio.  i am also not bashing photographers that shoot just to get published. hey! if that is your style then more power to you; it is just not my style.

where i do have a little bit of a problem is when bloggers tell brides-to-be that good photographers get "published" and if a photographer has NOT been published then you should be cautious.  YIKES! really?    

in a blog post created by Style Unveiled [ thank you Starling Studio for pointing this out ] they offer their readers 10 tips to help choose a wedding photographer.  although some of the tips were quite helpful, they lost me on a couple points.  in their post they state:

"Does it look like the photographer has been published in wedding magazines and on wedding blogs?...It's important that the photographer you choose takes detail shots of your wedding.  Why? It goes back to #2...getting published. If your photographer isn't excited about snapping detail shots or doesn't take many detail photos of your wedding, getting it published will be quite a challenge". 

wait! really? should one of your top 10 reasons to hire a wedding photographer really include getting published? i kinda cringe at that thought. as a wedding photographer i happily document the details of the day, but not so you can publish the images on a blog.  i do it so the bride and groom can look back and remember just how quirky their first attempt at arts and crafts was. Or smile when they see grandma's vintage lace doilies featured in the table setting.  i believe too much emphasis is being placed on getting published!!  

weddings are filled with reunions, vibrant energy, love and emotion and that is what we, photojournalists, set out to capture. that is what drew me to document weddings in the first place! and in the end, if one of my weddings happens to look publishable then that's cool, i may submit it. OR if my images are "not quite a fit stylistically" for this blog or that blog, and my client friends LOVE them, then that is pretty cool too!!

this june marks my 9 year wedding anniversary, and when i look back at my own wedding photographs it is not the images of my hand-made accents that i continually go back to [ and believe me, i slaved over them ].  it does not irk me that my wedding wasn't published in a magazine or blog [ because the images are still gorgeous regardless ].  what i do go back to, year after year,  are the images containing all the beautiful faces of our friends and family expressing laughter, tears, joy and love!  

all of this brouhaha surrounding "I must get my wedding photos published or featured on a blog" takes the focus off of what the photographer is really there to do.  which is to tell your story through imagery that is truthful - imagery that celebrates the moments. 

my father-in-law, norm, passed away just shy of our 1st year  wedding anniversary. he was 49. for me, my husband, and our families, the images of him proudly enjoying our wedding day are priceless.  they fill our hearts with happiness every time we look at them.  weddings are filled, first and foremost, with the  people we love! like this beautiful man in the photo above. as your photographer this is what drives my inspiration...capturing moments like these. 

please feel free to comment. thank you!