rosti al pigneto (rome)

Last week Gillian and I decided to take Friday off and head out to the beach. The weather seemed like it would be perfect. All week long Rome had been blessed with bright blue skies, with a cool breeze. Beach weather, right?

Except, of course, Friday turned out to be the exception to a week full of perfect days. We woke up to overcast skies and the prediction of storms later on in the afternoon. Rain check for the beach day, literally. But since we were already in a “take the day off” kind of mood, we decided a road trip was in order.

So we headed out to Pigneto.

Ok you Pigneto living friends of ours, I know Pigneto is not that far away. Yes, I know it’s a short car or bus ride from the center. But for those who don’t live there, it always seems farther than it is. And I say this in a good way.

Going to Pigneto always makes me feel happy, like I’ve gotten out of Rome somehow. And I have. Pigneto is an intensely residential neighborhood that manages to retain its feeling of being a village. And while some of the original shops and bars still exist, there has also been a spurt of new openings as well.

One of the most recent is Rosti, opened by Marco Gallotta, the chef and owner of the rightly well known Primo. The idea behind Rosti was to open something that would be welcoming to both the old residents of the neighborhood, as well as the new.

The Pigneto neighborhood is located along the train tracks, and many of the original houses were built as housing for the workers. And in fact, Rosti feels very much like an old fashioned circolo. Circoli were the social clubs that were common until quite recently in Italy. Different groups of workers (train, police, etc) had space where they could get together once they retired , to hang out. Often no more than a small ground floor room in a building, they almost always have some sort of outdoor space as well. Which, of course, have benches for hanging out, and usually a bocce court.

Rosti is huge. Located in a converted workshop, the outdoor garden area is even bigger than the inside dining room. Covered in white gravel, the garden is scattered with brightly covered tables, a playground, a vegetable patch and – of course – a bocce court.

Since it was lunch time, Gillian and I did the buffet. Even though I’m not a huge fan of buffets, this one won me over. I mean really, any buffet that sets out a bowl of burrata next to a bowl of anchovies wins points in my book. I also loved the assortment of grilled vegetables and even the boring looking couscous salad turned out to be not boring at all, packed with tons of mint and jewel like bits of carrot and zucchini. And the potato tuna salad was decadently indulgent, with firm cubes of potato and chunks of tuna mixed up with the perfect amount of home made mayonnaise.

The main courses, which were brought out about a half hour after we sat down, included a perfectly seasoned and super moist porchetta. Nothing wrong with that.

Desert was also delicious too. An apple cake that filled the dining room with the scent of cinnamon , as well as home made hazelnut biscotti.

But if you don’t want to do the buffet, there is plenty else to order. There’s a daily lunch menu, and a wide selection of burgers and even a special pastrami sandwich. (Very curious about this)
 
And I’ll definitely be going back. Which is very easy to do since they are always open. All day long, 7 days a week.

Rosti
Via Bartolomeo Alviano 65
Tel: 06.275.2608
Open every day from 11am to 2am

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