Bellini's and Negroni's in Roma

Steve and his wife Sue are on vaca in Rome but still hard at work doing proprietary market research. Our data suggests that in fact, Negroni's taste better from the rooftop bar at the Minerva Hotel overlooking the Pantheon...even though they cost 16 Euro's! The next evening our locus of focus was Harry's Bar Roma (it just happens to be across the street from our hotel) where we sampled Bellini's, another new experience for Sue's palate which received rave reviews.

After dinner we got lost, (which occurs about every three minutes in Rome) and got directions from "Federico the First" who turned out to be proprietor of what is arguably a Michelin 2 Star restaurant on the Via Sistina where they make their own bread and pasta. We made plans for dinner the next night and were not disappointed. Starting with The Dalmore neat (wow!) for me and a house Prosecco for Sue, Federico recco'd a bottle of Pio Cesare Barolo. I have a great familiarity with Ceretto Barolo's and Barbaresco's from my days at Palace Brands, but I hadn't had much experience with other brands. This one was a bit disappointing at first, but then it started to develop, and develop and develop, and in about a half hour it blossomed into a hugely powerful and complex explosion in the mouth. Just right for the perfectly prepared lamb chops Federico paired it with.

As the conversation got more lubricated, old Freddie and me (we got to be best buddies by the time the main course was served) started talking bidness. Turns out he knows everybody who's anybody in the wine biz in Italy. At this point, our host pulls up a chair and a glass, the gold flatware comes out, a super dessert (all I remember it was chocolate and cream and really good), and a coffee liqueur that the Fredmeister said was better than Kahlua. Of couse by this time, my neutral researcher perspective has been severely compromised, so it's hard to tell. We ended the evening with Cappucino's which you're not really supposed to have after noon. But, since were were such old friends by now, Freddo checked with the Pope for a special dispensation. Then we staggered back to the hotel, and so to bed.