La Fraschetta di Mastro Giorgio

This very originally named restaurant (it takes its name from the street it's on) sits in a hidden corner of Testaccio well away from the run of the mill tourist places in Rome. I found out about it from Lorenzo at Pierluigi one day when I asked him where he goes if he eats out in Rome and this was one of two places he mentioned. It is next to da Felice, which was recently written up in the Times as a place to truly Roman cuisine. I have never been to da Felice so much of this is only what I have heard, but Fraschetta is owned by the same family that runs da Felice so the food is pratically the same and prices are a bit lower as it is not as well known. Their menu is not as strictly Roman as it could be, no cacio e pepe for example, but they still have some great things.

I went with a friend last week and we both left very satisfied. As we were ordering, our waiter, after every suggestion we made, said something along the lines of "Well that is good, but...you should probably order this." Needless to say we followed his advice and were very well served in doing so. We started with a plentiful assortment of meats and cheeses (7 euros) that came from the deli-esque counter we walked by on our way in that set my mouth watering before we even sat down. After that my friend had a spaghetti with chicory and pecorino cheese, a suprising combination that went really well together, and I had the house pasta, an amatriciana mixed with n'duja (spicy Calabrian meat sauce) that left me drinking the house Chianti rather quickly to put out the fire in my mouth, something I greatly enjoyed as I often miss the lack of spice in Italian food.

After our pasta we were pretty full, but I have decided to pick up my grandfather's quest to find the best tiramisu in Italy, so I had to order dessert. And I think I may have succeeded to that end (not that I'll stop looking), but their tiramisu was unreal. It was considerably thicker than most I have had, almost a firm cream that held its shape over the biscotti in the bottom of the bowl, topped with a great chocolate powder. As we were splitting the traditional tiramisu our waiter came by and mentioned that they also make a strawberry one, which we of course tried, it was also excellent, but the chocolate one wins.

After dessert we each had a little after dinner drink, limoncello for Erin and an Amaro del Capo for me. All told we had a large antipasto, two plates of pasta, two desserts, bread, water, a liter of wine, two after dinner drinks and the bill only came to 62 euros, not something you find often in Rome. A definite keeper.

We went on a Saturday night and made a reservation, which was a good idea as they were packed when we got there at 9 and would have had to join the line outside otherwise.
Via Mastro Giorgio, 19 (Via A. Volta, 36), tel. 06 5741369. www.lafraschettadimastrogiorgio.com.