Eating Italy Food Tours, (Rome, Italy)

This time around I had a few extra days to spend in Rome and therefore I felt compelled to do a Food Tour in the city. I have to be honest that Eating Italy Food Tours was not my first option but it was the only one that had availability and it was not conflicting with my commitments in the city.

I opted for the Testaccio tour. Testaccio is a traditional working class neighbourhood of Rome whose recent process of gentrification has changed its reputation from poor to hipster (think of Corktown if you live in Toronto). The difference is that instead of booze, you could find the main slaughterhouse of the city and plenty of butchers. It was not my first time in the area and for someone like me who despises dislikes anything that is touristy it is a nice place where you don't have to bump into tourists at every minute.

The folks organizing the tour were very friendly and accommodating. The tour is held in English (of course). I cannot think of a respectable Italian that would join that tour, but one of the organizers was raised in Rome, so I was quite happy to hear from time to time some real Italian while his was interacting with the customers and staff from the stores and restaurants that we visited.

We tried pizza al taglio, supli, tiramissu, charcuterie, cornetto, pasta, fresh canollo, and mozzarella di buffala. We also visited the testaccio market, the old slaughterhouse, and even a cemetery. The last stop was for a brief class of how to distinguish fake and real gelatto (we also sampled it).

My companion loved the tour and I am sure that most of the people also had a great time. I enjoyed the experience and it was a great opportunity to learn about the history of Testaccio and Rome but I would never recommend this tour to any serious foodie. The only place that wowed me was Volpetti, a deli where you can find fantastic cheeses and cold cuts. I managed to get a beautiful piece of parmigiano reggiano - Thank you God we are allowed to bring cheese to Canada!