Offer....

So I've put a tentative offer in on the house we viewed yesterday evening. We really do like it and it'll be great for our growing family as it's got lots of garden space and it's well fenced. Looks a bit bigger on the outside than it feels inside but it does have 3 bedrooms, two loos and a nice kitchen with perhaps the most important thing for me.................a 6 ring gas range :-)




If we get it then it'll mean tightening those purse strings or getting another job to give us a bit of a comfort zone but what needs to be done will be done and it's not as if I'm exactly lacking in opportunities and ideas at the moment.

So following on from yesterday when I mentioned that after their wonderful demo on Saturday I thought I've give the Strada riverside restaurant a try.



I first went to Strada a few years back, just after I'd returned from my 6 month stint working away in Rome. Whilst living in Rome I was treated to some of the most wonderful Italian cuisine but I was also very much aware of the absolute dross that you can get there too......Yes! Believe it or not some restaurants in Italy are dire too.

The hotel I stayed in for 5 months of my stay is on Via Cavour. This road leads directly from the central Termini station right down to where the Forum meets the Colloseum. It's a tourists thoroughfare and it's lined with very mediocre restaurants with very mediocre food and not so mediocre prices. The exception to this being my hotel the Massimo D'Azeglio which has a superb restaurant and is indeed where I ate the most. I actually did a full review on the hotel for Tripadvisor which I'll paste to the end of this blog.

Anyway back to the review..........

It's these mediocre restaurants that the vast majority of non fussy eaters will go to. They are easy access, no need to dip off into the small side roads to find a hidden gem, after all a pizza is just a pizza innit Eh? And who can resist the temptation of a reheated Spag Bol and half a litre of the house white after a day of walking around the cobbled streets of Rome?

During my initial days these were just the places I was eating and those images I had in my head from reading Elizabeth David's book Italian Food we're just shattered. Where were these wonderful dishes that were passionately created using only the freshest produce available? Well after a while I worked out that they were just around the corner down those small side roads and certainly not along these tourist filled routes.

This kind of fayre was exactly what I was expecting that first time I went to Strada as it's big company with restaurants all over the UK but I was very pleasantly surprised. The first two things that stuck out for me on the menu then were the listings of Spaghetti, aglio, olio é peperoncino & Salati di Parmigiano e Rucola.

I'd never seen the first dish on any UK menu before and although I'd seen the Rocket & Parmesan salad it had never been shaved Parmesan, just grated which no doubt mean't it wasn't authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano at all, it probably wasn't even Grand Padano but more likely that horrid pre-grated stuff you get in shakers that smells of sweaty feet.

I went in, had a marvellous meal, the proper 4 courses as one must at a minimum in Italy. I definitely started with Carpaccio di manzo and followed that with the Spaghetti but it was such a long time ago that I cannot remember the meat course, I certainly had a side of salati di Parmigiano e Rucola and the dessert I forget too.....as I often do. It was washed done with a light white wine, probably a Frascati but again it was a long time ago.

So from that low expectancy I was more than pleasantly pleased and continued to use the restaurant for a while. I'm not sure why I stopped going, it certainly wasn't because of any bad experience.

When Jamie's Italian opened just a few yards away I thought that it might prove to be too much competition for Strada but a packed restaurant and having to wait for a table for two on a Saturday evening showed me that if anything it's made their business better.

The food hasn't changed in style or quality either, it's just as good now as I remember it from my first visit. Again I started with the Carpaccio di manzo this time followed up with their fish of the day and rather than dessert I finished off with a large shot of Frangelico. Having been munching away all day at Eat Reading Live I really couldn't stretch to the full 4 courses.

Head chef Tom was unfazed when I commented after his demo that I'd be going there after the days festivities and that I'd be reviewing it. He said he had full confidence in his staff both in the kitchen and front of house and that in no way did he think it was at all necessary for them to be extra vigilant as they are that way anyway.

Such good belief comes from good management and good staff. I think it's safe to say that Strada in Reading has this in abundance and it shines through in their food and in the service.

At the end of the day Strada is what you would consider a high street restaurant. It's never going to win any Michelin stars and it doesn't pretend that it's ever going too. What it does offer is an authentic taste of Italy, cooked well, served well and at a price everybody can afford at least once in a while.

Does it provide competition for it's bigger named rival just a few steps away? Yes it most certainly does. Is it better? At the moment I'd say definitely. Will it stay that way? It will until the rival starts getting itself back on track and with these two competing with each other then the real winners are going to be the people of Reading.

Tooodlepip xxx (unless you want to read my Roman hotel review below)

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OK and for my Massimo D'Azeglio hotel report from 2005 -

I'm just coming to an end of what will be a 5 month stay at this Hotel, working in Rome.

I've read through some of the reviews and some I find quite unfair, OK the rooms adjacent to the surrounding roads can be noisy and sometimes you do feel like Michael Flatterly is doing a river dance in the room above but this hotel is over 120 years old, built long before buses and coaches rumbled up and down via Cavour and when wooden flooring was all the rage.

They have tried as best they can to eliminate noise but I feel that if they did anymore then the beauty and character of the hotel would diminish.

Rooms can be small but as I overheard one American tour guide explain to her party "Each room is different, some big some small".

The best advice I can offer would be to try and get a room on the top floor on the innerside of the building but if noise isn't a problem then I'd go for a room alongside via Cavour, lots of things happen along this road such and it's nice to people watch out of the MASSIVE windows.

Firstly I must say that I think the Hotel is a bit understaffed but having said that the staff that they have are wonderful, friendly and extremely hard working, the latter being something very rare in Rome as anybody who has spent enough time here will know only too well !!!!

The bar is very nicely decorated and well stocked. Giuliano & Angellino are a couple of cheeky chappies who'll look after you at the bar, they are very friendly, always willing to chat.

During the Summer months residents are encouraged to go over the road to the sister hotel "The Meditterano" and make use of their 10th floor roof garden, it's the highest panoramic viewing point in the whole of Rome and simply a beautiful place to relax and have drinks in the evening.

The food in the Restaurant is some of, if not the best I have had in Rome (certainly in the area) as is the (silver) service. They have an a la Carte menu as well as a daily menu, and they use the freshed and best ingredients. It's maybe a little bit more pricier than some of the surrounding eateries it is certainly excellent value for money. Plenty of class.

Yes the Breakfast is basic but that is the same for any other Hotel that I have spent time in during my stay in Rome, also when the Hotel is full the staff in the breakfast rooms seem to be rushed off their feet and you may need to wait a while why a table is cleared for you, not too much a hardship I think.

The location is brilliant, right by Termini Station and all sights are very easily to get to. The area however is a bit grotty, like most of Rome there is Graffiti all over the place and not even good Graffiti, if there is such a thing, for a city so rich in art and culture you'd expect a bit to rub off on the vandals.

Should I ever return to Rome on business or pleasure would I stay here? Absolutely, without question.

Feel free to email me if you require anymore information, I can point you in the right direction for some nice restaurants, wine bars and pubs.

Last piece of advice for anybody travelling to Rome - Only get in a Taxi that has the red "Commue di Roma" sticker on the outside, these are governed Taxi's, the name of the driver and the number of the taxi should be on a small plaque on the inside of the passenger doors, you should also find some information in the taxi detailing the payment structure, once inside the GIR (Roman Ring Road) the tariff should always be on option 1, let the driver know that you are aware of this and save yourself plenty of Euros.
Stayed February 2005, travelled on business