Rome is abundantly busy, especially during the summer months. It’s hot; tourists spill over one another at nearly every corner—but not all. Like all great cities of the world, the grand comes with a few scams, and not every meal is delicious—nowhere it ever is. But it is downright wonderful, majestic even, and worth the fight.
Spend a night, spend seven. Get lost. Find your own hole in the wall. Drink grappa with a grandpa—drink two. There are trendy restaurants nearly impossible to get into; many are included in our guide. Your vacation is not defined by the monogram on your dinner plate, but rather by the story of how you got there.
Of all there is in Rome, my favorite: Trattoria da Augusto. It's a simple restaurant in Trastevere. They serve honest food, Romana food. I see people who go to Rome for their holiday, post every meal and it's the same four pasta dishes on repeat. Ok, fine - a cacio e pepe is delicious, the carbonara is fabulous, but Roman food is more than that! So when you go to Trattoria da Augusto, DO NOT ORDER THE PASTA. I really mean that, it's not good. Objectively, it is the worst pasta in Rome. Order the lamb with peas, the roast chicken with potatoes, the rabbit in a vinegar spicy sauce.
The restaurant is owned by a man, not sure if he inherited the place or started it when he was young. But the restaurant is run by the women: women cooking, women in the front of the house, the owner just tries to hide. One time I was dinning there and pointed to one of the photos on the wall, a glossy image from the early 90s. It was of two of the ladies who work the front of house. I pointed and said, "sisters?", she laughed and replied, "nope! ex-wives of the owner", and pointed to him while the two ladies chucked to themselves.
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