bravo: la retro'bottega, 75011

Besides the confusing name* - which has inspired several early reviewers to harp on senselessly about an imaginary nostalgic quality to the service and cuisine - there is, in my view, absolutely nothing wrong with La Retro'Bottega, the lower-11ème cave-à-manger opened earlier this year by former Rino sommelier Pietro Russano and his business partner Salvatore Li Causi.

I don't mean this as a back-handed complement. I mean they got almost everything right.

As someone who has developed what amounts to a physical allergy to bad restaurateurism, I'm filled with gratitude that a place like La Retro'Bottega exists: a comfortable, soulful cave-à-manger with a refreshing, vegetable-driven menu and a masterful selection of well-priced French and Italian natural wines.** Had I euros enough, and time, I'd dine there every night.

n.d.p. in roma: rockin': roscioli restaurant

For me the greatest benefit of having spent time in the restaurant industry has undoubtedly been the continued friendship of former bosses and coworkers. Great chefs, sommeliers, and managers, simply through their passion for their metier, invariably become walking indexes of the best dining and drinking destinations worldwide, and it's to them I turn for recommendations whenever visiting foreign cities. (Blogs, Chowhound, and native inhabitants all have their uses, of course, but nothing beats the opinions of actual professionals.) 

Immediately upon purchasing tickets for Rome, I shot an email to my former boss D, and within five minutes he'd replied with a single, unqualified recommendation: Roscioli Restaurant. "Best carbonara of my life," was his only description. 

Situated just off the Piazza de Campo dei' Fiori, Roscioli is in fact an encyclopedically well-stocked specialty delicatessen that doubles as a rocking great restaurant during meal hours. The carbonara was indeed stunning (almost everything was). But the real draw, for me and I suspect for D as well, was a vast, impeccably curated wine list, including just about every Italian wine I loved, and many more I'd heretofore only heard wonderful rumors of.