The Spicy Spatula

This day was a long day but it was also one of my favorite days because we did a 3 hour (and some change) tour of the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill and the Colosseum. It was hot and sunny and the perfect day for this kind of sightseeing.

PLUS, I don’t know if you know this but Rome is kind of the perfect blend of old school and new school because they have these water spouts all over the city where you can refill water bottles, which is environmentally friendly and on a day like this day you can also splash some cold water on your face and arms to cool down and rinse away some of the sweat. I loved this and it came in handy for two thirsty tourists wandering around this ancient city.

When the tour ended we hit up this place, Aromaticus. Great name, isn’t it? Anyway it was a fully vegan bistro with fresh food and pressed juices. After the crowds at the Colosseum I was in desperate need for an immunity boost and I got one with ginger, turmeric, cayenne pepper and lemon. It was the perfect shot and a smidge spicy, gave me just the pep in my step I needed.

Lunch

For lunch we ordered polenta fries which were delicious and not at all as greasy as I thought they would be with a homemade vegan mayo and a curry dipping sauce. He ordered buckwheat noodles with vegetables and sesame oil while I opted for a Pakora burger which was fantastic with pickled red onions and a curry sauce similar to what was used on the polenta fries.

We enjoyed the food after a long day of walking before we did a bit more walking and headed to dinner.

Dinner

Back to Buddy! We rewarded ourselves after such a long day with a nice sorta romantic dinner that started with a bottle of vegan chianti and a vegan cheese board which was absolutely out of this world! The vegan bresaola was unbelievable but the stars of the board were the three different cheeses. They were hard cheese wedges with different flavor profiles–salty, spicy and sweet–that went well with apple slices, apricot preserves and orange slices, all on a bed of arugula.

We took our time tasting everything and talking about it over a bottle of wine. It was all fantastic and I can’t say enough good things about it.

For our main dishes we ordered Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca Vegan and it was incredible. The vegan tuna had a very ocean-y flavor without tasting too much like a formerly breathing fish. The sauce had a hint of spice and it was fantastic. The other pasta dish was called Vegan Gricia which is the white sauce with vegan guanciale and a tangy vegan cheese on top. It was also decadent and delicious, the perfect way to enjoy yet another vegan cheese.

I guess I am a fan of vegan cheese after all!

Day two was exhausting and too people-y for me but I got some nice bronze color on my skin, learned a ton of new stuff and ate some really, truly amazing vegan food so I’d say day two in Rome was another success!

Just in case you think I’m embellishing how much we walked to justify this totally indulgent vegan dinner, think again. My trusty fitness tracker tells no lies!!!