The Spicy Spatula

Hello my favorite vegan foodies! I am back–sort of–from Italy so please bear with me because this week will be filled with all the delicious vegan food we ate in Rome, Italy.

I don’t know how much traveling you’ve done but depending on where you are in the world, finding vegan food can be quite a chore. In Germany, for example, it wasn’t too difficult to find vegan food at any of the food markets but finding a vegan restaurant meant schlepping all the way to Berlin. Sure, you could go to a vegetarian restaurant and cross your fingers that they didn’t forget there was egg or milk or cream in something, but that’s taking your belly health into someone else’s hands.

In Romania, finding vegan food outside of Bucharest and a grocery store? Next to impossible. There are a few good places here and there but it’s not that easy.

In Rome? Easier than I anticipated.

Like any good vegan we did our homework before we arrived so we had a list of half a dozen places where we could eat each day. Today’s post is what we ate on day one.

Arriving

We arrived in Rome in early afternoon. The sun was shining bright and as soon as we checked into the hotel, I strapped on my Chuck Taylor’s and we hit the cobblestoned streets of Rome and did some sightseeing. We walked around the city, starting with St. Peter’s Basilica, Castle Sant Angelo, Piazza Navona and the Tiber River before we hit up our first vegan restaurant.

Buddy Veggy in Rome is fantastic. You’ll see in the days to come that we ate here a few times because the food was delicious and very little of it was made from frozen food. The atmosphere was chill and relaxed, the staff was incredibly friendly and it was an enjoyable dining experience.

Lunch Day One

At Buddy Veggy we both found what we were looking for right away. My husband zeroed in on the Vegan Carbonara and I went for the mushroom truffle pizza. Both were incredible, so flavorful and well made.

This place has quite a few vegan cheese options, including mozzarella and grand padano which only enhanced the dishes. The vegan speck (bacon) was on point, just bacon-y enough to give you a carbonara flavor without making it too carbonara-y.

For lunch dessert–is that a thing?–we decided to go traditional. He drank an espresso and I didn’t because I just can’t have coffee after noon or I will never get to sleep. But I did enjoy a few bites of delicious vegan tiramisu made in-house. The whipped oat & coconut cream was superb, slightly sweet, light and fluffy while they used a chocolate Oreo-style cookie instead of ladyfingers which actually tasted pretty good and that’s from someone who isn’t a fan of Oreo cookies.

They finished us off with limoncello on the house and it was sweet and lemon-y and very much appreciated.

Dinner Day One

For dinner we decided to go to a restaurant called Origano. There were plenty of vegan and vegetarian options. The food was delicious but the atmosphere was chaotic and loud, not the best after a long day in the sun. Service was…meh.

For an appetizer we ordered a vegan artichoke carpaccio which was pretty good, but could use a bit more seasoning and less oil. This is always the problem with restaurants that aren’t fully vegan, they skimp on the seasonings because who needs extra flavor when you have cheese and other fatty brain-crack foods? I would try it again but with more citrus.

But the lentil and lentil vegan lasagna was good, as was the Rigatoni all’amatriciana. The lasagna was thick and creamy, very sumptuous. the rigatoni was flavorful and hugged the pasta beautifully. Both dishes were simple yet delicious and didn’t require any additional seasonings.

My Manhattan cocktail was okay, nice and cold but pretty tame, then again I prefer my cocktails to pack a punch.

Overall the first day eating vegan in Rome was a hit. All the dishes were delicious and set the stage for a solid week of sightseeing, Italian culture and incredible vegan food.