Food or beverage, Rome

This is one of those rare shops you walk by
and immediately want to enter. At least I do.

They say they got specialities from all over
the world. But I got carried away by the intence
smell of fresh roasted coffee beans. Wow!
Next thing asking for attention was the
counter filled with chocolates. Italian chocolates.
If you buy those they pack them for you in
a coffee pack. (price , I forgot , chocolates are
never too expensive for me. ;-))

There is just too much to try...
You will have to take a look for yourself.
In the back was a wine bar - and a place to eat
very informal. Crowded and these were
not tourists. A good sign? I guess.

What to buy: Maybe you can check on their website first , to
get some inspiration and calculate how
much place left you got in your luggage.

They also got more then one shop in Rome.

What is in a name : Elite!
It is actually a supermarket. But it is slightly
different from the usual ones.

The decoration of the shop is quit posh...
Wooden shelves , marble floor , paintings on the
ceiling. A lot of common products. BUT of course
also a lot of specialities. Have a look at the
cheese and meat counter. It just looks fab..

Why we stopped here? We saw all these
bottles of limoncello. A divine Italian liquor.
The perfect gift I think.
If you go in , you might get some other ideas as well.
Why not take a little jar of pesto for you mom
in a not so common flavour?

When we walked by the first time I was standing
still and staring inside. This bakery was some
sort of treasure island...
The man behind the counter was making
gestures 'this is really good'.

Since it opens 8 in the morning , we knew
were we would get our breakfast.

A wide range of bread , sweets , pasta fresca...
pizza. Simply delicious......

The display in the window is just mouthwatering!
The place is stuffed with sweet and savory goodies.
My attention got especially caught by the baked
figures , used as a decorative element to make
a present with sweets look better.

All those sorts of crispy sticks with sesamy
seeds. You don't know what to choose.

You can get wine anywhere in Rome, really!! I purchased wine to bring home in a place behind our hotel which seemed to attract tourists more so than locals. The delightful find in this store was the truffle oil. I chose the white truffle oil (in olive oil) for 14 Euro, which I thought was comparable to what I would pay back home at, let's say, Dean&Deluca in NYC.

What to pay: Comparable 10 Euro and up for a bottle of wine.

...And Rome is no exception. To find something unique & renowned at the same time, you should go to Castroni.

At this old-fashioned store, you'll find an amazing array of unusual foodstuffs from around the Mediterranean: herbs from Puglia, pepperoncino oil, cheese from the northern region of Valle d'Aosta.

It is also a place for those longing to eat something North American, which you're
unable to get elsewhere in Italy. The likes of taco shells, corn curls, and peanut butter, in short.

When you are walking around window shopping you will see so many different and amazing things. I took this photo somewhere around Campo d' Fiore.
That's a lot of baloney.

Right near the square of the Pantheon there's a coffee house were they sell the best espresso coffee in the world. You can buy a kilo of coffee to take home as well.