In my 33 years as a resident of Rome I have seen many transformations and trends in Roman street food, but a few items will always and forever be staples of Roman Street Food: Pizza, Panini, Gelato e Grattachecche.
Pizza
Let me be clear: when I say pizza, I don’t mean just any pizza. I mean Roman pizza, medium thickness crust, charred just the right amount on the edges, typically a margherita, or with fresh mozzarella and cherry tomatoes, or bresaola rugola and parmigiana. You pick the piece – pezzo – you want, however big or small you want it, and they wrap it just right so that half the folded over piece is covered by paper for your hands to hold, and the other half is exposed so that you can eat it without making a mess while you keep walking. You can even have a little antipasto, should you be extra hungry, and enjoy a Supplì, a fried rice ball with ragù. ìPizza al taglio is the perfect lunch or dinner on the go: fast, delicious, efficient, and usually very reasonably priced. Favorite pizza al taglio in Rome? Alice, of course.
Where to Find Great Pizza in Rome
Two convenient locations downtown: at Corso Vittorio Emanuele II (right near Piazza Venezia), and at Via delle Grazie, right near the Vatican.
Panini
Let’s talk about Panini. Be aware that panini does NOT mean any old sandwich that was pre-made and is sold from a countertop. No way. Romans like their paninis made to order. We like them hot. We like them with meat, or grilled vegetables, or cheeses, or all of the above. When I was growing up I lived more on the outskirts of the city, in the residential neighborhoods, and there we had – and you can still find – food trucks that served paninis made to order all hours of day and night. Because of the rough nature of the trucks, the style of food, and often the people making the actual panini, these food trucks are called Il Zozzo, The Dirty. Their hands might have not been the cleanest, but those panini with steaming hot salsiccia and melanzane are to die for. If you happen to not venture out into the more residential areas of the city, you can still find shop versions of the food trucks in the center of town.
Where to Find Great Panini in Rome
Near Villa Borghese you can check out Hosteria del Panino, where the feature is panino alla porchetta, a traditional cut of pork meat from the nearby town of Ariccia, very flavorful and aromatic.
Or, if you are hopping around the Vatican, be sure to stop at my personally favorite panino joint: 200 Gradi, right in the heart of Piazza Risorgimento.
Gelato
Moving on to the sweet foods, you might think gelato not to be a meal. You’re right, it’s not. But Romans love their gelato when walking around town, especially in the late afternoon and evening times. It’s summer. You’re hot. You aren’t so hungry because who is that hungry when it’s blistering hot out anyway. What do you have for lunch? Gelato.
BE CAREFUL: with gelato you can ABSOLUTELY go wrong, so beware of chains and any place that will charge you over 3,50 euros for two flavors on a small cone.
Where to Find Great Gelato in Rome
Some of the best gelato in the heart of Rome can be found at Gelateria dei Gracchi (my number one favorite), at Via dei Gracchi near the Vatican, and at Punto Gelato in Piazza Sant’Eustachio, a skip and a hop from Piazza Navona or the Pantheon.
Grattachecca
I will end with the most Roman of all these foods: La Grattachecca. Again, an ice cold snack that doesn’t quite make a meal, yet the perfect item to enjoy on the go on a sweltering hot summer day or night. A Grattachecca is very simple: ice grated from a big block into a cup and smothered in the syrup of your choice. You’ll always find them at any time of the year.
Fun fact: The etymology of this funny word? The first part is quite simple and self-explanatory: Gratta comes from the verb Grattare, which means to grate. Now for the second part, Checca, that is where things get a little slippery. Some say it comes from the diminutive of the female name Francesca, which in Roman is indeed Checca or Chicca. Other theories tend to be a bit more risqué, so I will leave those to you to research those should you be curious.
Where to Find Great Grattachecca in Rome
If you are traveling to Rome in the summer, you will have no problem finding grattachecca street stands all over the city; but don’t worry should you be here in the winter, as they don’t quite follow the seasons.
