The Best Meal I’ve Ever Had (So Far)

This trip has basically been about food. I’ve been eating my life away…especially in Rome.

Rome was food heaven. Every single meal I had in Rome was delicious. The service was always outstanding, and everything always tasted freshly prepared. I think Johnny and I ate in our apartment once the entire week we were in Rome.

Now, I’m a huge fan of Anthony Bourdain and No Reservations. I had watched his episode on Rome months before we took our trip, and knew we had to go to a place called ‘Restaurant X’ that he featured. One simple Google search later, and I had found the exact restaurant and made reservations for dinner. Restaurant X, now not so unknown, is called Roma Sparita, and it’s located in the Trastevere area of Rome, hidden in an alley that opens into a big piazza. It was definitely a place I would not have found on my own. The specialty of Roma Sparita is their cacio e pepper (cheese and pepper) pasta, placed in a fried bowl of parmesan cheese.

Yes. A FRIED BOWL OF PARMESAN CHEESE….aka heaven.

We ordered a bottle of white wine to share…and feasted on the most glorious bowl of pasta I’ve ever had in my entire life. The flavors were so simple, the dish is literally just cheese and pepper, but every bite was oozing in flavor. Johnny and I barely had a real conversation, other than, “Oh my god this is so good!”.

And it wasn’t just us eating this cacio e pepe. EVERYONE, and I mean EVERYONE had the same exact dish on their table. I’ve never been to a place where one dish is that popular. But trust me, it was seriously that good. I still have dreams about it!

After our pasta dish, we ordered another course, this time deciding to have grilled shrimp. And OH MY GOD. I’m not a huge fan of seafood, but I told myself that I’d step out of my comfort zone. And I’m so glad I did. It was the most amazing dish. The shrimp was perfectly seasoned, cooked to perfection and just oh…so… delicious. I could have easily ordered more.

The whole experience was just awesome. It was simple, hearty Italian food, good (and inexpensive!) wine, wonderful atmosphere…everything you could ask for in a perfect meal. After we finished, we decided to get gelato, and we just could not stop talking about how amazing our meal was. Actually, we still talk about it today. It’s definitely one of those meals that’s going to stick with me forever.

What’s the best meal you’ve ever had? Let me know in the comments!