Florence, Italy: Rome Night 2 (Cul de Sac)

I just got back from a very fun night. Dr. Antrim, one of the TCU professors, had recommended this restaurant to us for our trip to Rome. It didn’t disappoint. One thing we’re having trouble with, as a TCU group, is learning to be individuals and to break off. So, after going to three different places to find tables for 8 (not the best idea at 8:45 at night), Jen and I went on our own back to the “Cul de Sac” to see how good the food really was.

One again, it didn’t disappoint! We waiting probably 45 minutes for a table for two, and they gave us one in the outdoor area right beside the street. Even though those in the states think this is probably some of the worst seating, we still enjoy it in Italy because you’re at the center of everything. You see the people walking in the streets. You have wonderful conversations with each other. You hear the cars buzz past you going 50km/h in the alleys. You feel the cool fresh air of the nice Roman (or Florentine) night. It’s nice.

The wait was worth it because I got two dishes that filled me up and were “oh, so good.” The first was Pheasant pate (that’s pronounced ‘pat-aye’, I just didn’t know how to put the accented ‘e’ on the end). They serve with with sliced carrots and you spread it onto toasted baguette rolls. I’ve never had pheasant before, but it was great. Then came the lasagna. Jen and I both ordered it, which could have been bad if neither of us had liked it. But who couldn’t like it?!? I think there were at least four or five layers of pasta noodles with so much stuff in the middle that I couldn’t distinguish between the cheeses, meats, and other spices. Also: so good!

Before we had those, though, they brought us the menus. The waiter put it so perfectly when he said, “here are your menus (he handed us two laminated paper menus) and here is the book.” We laughed and started looking through it and the ENTIRE book was different types of wines. How should I have reacted to that? Should I have said, “oh, thanks, give me a year to read through them” or better yet “wow, which one of these is your favorite?” The wine book is something that I love. If you have a type of wine you like, there’s a good chance it’s in there, you just have to find the number. I knew of a great type that I’d had before, the Vernaccia del San Gimignano (the place I’d visited on a previous trip), so I chose one of those vineyards – they have four different ones. It reminded me of my Barry Schwartz mantra: “choice isn’t always a good thing.” The one we decided on matched up to the previous kind I liked – always a good thing.

The food was great. The atmosphere was great. What topped it off was the night; no, I didn’t indulge in a Roman gelato binge! When we were finishing dinner, this street entertainer came up. Normally they are pretty non-chalant and will ask for money and accept a head shake. This one, however, stole the show. He has to make so much money! He was street magician who had one phrase: “guarde …” Everything he said was that followed by some other filler word. (That’s Italian for “watch” by the way — I’m not sure if it’s imperative or perhaps just the 2nd singular). After the first trick we finally figured that we wouldn’t be able to ignore him since everyone else in ours and the two surrounding places were watching him; and we had the best seats! So he went through his magic tricks, most of which were pretty funny and pretty obvious. He had one fumble which got the whole crowd laughing. His candle, which was obviously hollow, accidently popped it’s tea light top and the trick was transparent. It made it even better though! At the end he did a magic trick where he took off his wig, showed his bald head, and used it as a collection hat. He was such an entertainer and such a comedian that most of us decided it was definitely worth it. The night was made by “guarde!”