Trattoria Da Alvero Di Bianchi Armando

"if you can go to Da Alvero let it be a Sunday lunch. Just make sure you called in advance and reserved the table because Da Alvero is always full on Sunday. I had been to Da Alvero many, many times and I had never been presented with a menu., so listen carefully. To begin with there is an antipasto. It is a buffet style and there is always something incredible to have: baked onions, grilled courgettes, baked olives (speciality of the Sabina: baked olives, mixed with garlic and lemon or orange peel and covered with local olive oil), baked peppers, marinated anchovies, pieces of frittata, mozzarella (yes, Sabina makes good mozzarella), local pecorino. For the primi there is always homemade pasta with the sauces and, in the winter months, outstanding pasta fagioli, thick soup of beans and pasta. And for secondi delicious Roman specialty l'abbacchio al forno (roasted lamb) with rosemary and garlic or il pollo all cacciatore, the chicken hunters style. The pollo all cacciatore is done the local way, without tomatoes, but with some bay leaves and few drops of the vinegar. It might sound strange but it is delicious. To go with the meat Da Alvero serves roasted potatoes (they do like their potatoes in Latium) and local ciccoria cooked with the chilli and the garlic. The ciccoria is slightly bitter but sprinkled with the local oil and the lemon juice makes wonderful veggie dish. Deserts are standard: a crostata, panna cotta, biscotti. Prices are low, wines decent. And there is the Easter Sunday lunch. It is a fixed menu but the food is delicious and plentiful, and consists of the Sabina Easter classics: meat broth, risotto with wild aspargus (if in season), coratella d'agnelo (the fifth cut chopped very finely, sauted with onions, chilli and garlic) one of the best I had ever eaten, and I had eaten it many times in different restaurant in the region, and finally la pièce de résistance crispy breaded lamb chops. It is a long time since I had been to Da Alvero's for the Easter Sunday lunch, but I still remember the price, we paid 35 euro per person, wine included. Prices might have risen since then but I still think Da Alvero is an outstanding value for your money."