On our fourth day we sought out a truly great culinary experience. We had spent the previous night looking for places to eat online, and we settled on a seafood restaurant called Crispi 19. We marked it's general location (near the top of the Spanish Steps) on our map (which wasn't very good), and decided we'd wander around and find it the next day.
When we began our trek to find Crispi 19 we immediately realized our mistake. Our map had a big icon of the Spanish Steps that covered a lot of small streets in the area. This made finding the restaurant really difficult. We wandered for a while, and since we were already really hungry, we almost gave up. Just when we were discussing where else we'd like to eat we happened to see a street sign for Crispi street. It was then that Lauren had an epiphany that saved our day. Guess what? The restaurant name was also its address. Problem solved.......we went in an got ourselves a table.
Unbeknownst to us, Crispi 19 was acctually a fine dining establishment. We looked totally out of place in our jeans and t-shirts. The saving grace was that being a fine dining restaurant, Crispi 19 didn't really serve much lunch.....sure they were open, but we were the only ones there. Plus we were tourists, so no one really cared.
We shared a bunch of food, and passed the plates back and forth.....probably a no-no, but being tourists eating when no one else was there, we didn't have to be embarrased. I got a prix fixe meal (tuna tartare, crab and shrimp ravioli, and a dessert), and Lauren got a pasta with fried squid. The tuna tartare was interesting. I'd never had something like this before. It felt overly fancy for my tastes at first, but when I mixed the tuna, the onion, the salt, the egg, and the pesto sauce together (and made everything look really messy) and ate it with the orange, it was really good. It was rich and salty, and the citrus cut it perfectly. Lauren thought it was okay, which is saying a lot because she doesn't really like raw fish.
Lauren's pasta was also very good. I think the sauce was some kind of seafood stock with olive oil, tomatoes and basil. It was a bit salty, but it as also thin, so it fit nicely at first. When you got towards the bottom of the bowl you got more and more sauce, and it got too salty for Lauren. I hapily finished her bowl.
The shrimp and crab ravioli was excellent. It was rich, but the portion was small so it wasn't overpowering. It came in a creamy seafood tomato sauce.
I don't remember much about the fish, other than that it was fish, that it was cooked perfectly. I think it was halibut, but I'm not sure. Lauren really liked it!
I don't remember what the dessert was called, but it was also good. There was a chocolate cake that was moist and had lots of fresh whipped cream on top. There was also a soooth and creamy panna cotta. Its kind of like creme brulee, except without the brulee. The texture is a little different though since panna cotta is thickened with gelatin instead of just eggs. We both enjoied it....especially Lauren.
We spent the rest of the day......you guessed it......eating. We went to a sicilian pastry shop. There were a bunch of awards displayed on their door. Lauren was so impressed that she took a picture.
The pastries looked beautiful. We had an exremely difficutl time picking out what to eat. We finally setteled on an asortment of goodies, and ate them outside. We both decided that italian pastries are a little too sweet for us.
I don't remember exactly where we went, or what we ate there, but we also made it to a gelateria before the end of the afternoon. When something's good, you just have to stick with it. We had a lot of gelato throughout the rest of the trip.
When we began our trek to find Crispi 19 we immediately realized our mistake. Our map had a big icon of the Spanish Steps that covered a lot of small streets in the area. This made finding the restaurant really difficult. We wandered for a while, and since we were already really hungry, we almost gave up. Just when we were discussing where else we'd like to eat we happened to see a street sign for Crispi street. It was then that Lauren had an epiphany that saved our day. Guess what? The restaurant name was also its address. Problem solved.......we went in an got ourselves a table. 
Unbeknownst to us, Crispi 19 was acctually a fine dining establishment. We looked totally out of place in our jeans and t-shirts. The saving grace was that being a fine dining restaurant, Crispi 19 didn't really serve much lunch.....sure they were open, but we were the only ones there. Plus we were tourists, so no one really cared. 
We shared a bunch of food, and passed the plates back and forth.....probably a no-no, but being tourists eating when no one else was there, we didn't have to be embarrased. I got a prix fixe meal (tuna tartare, crab and shrimp ravioli, and a dessert), and Lauren got a pasta with fried squid. The tuna tartare was interesting. I'd never had something like this before. It felt overly fancy for my tastes at first, but when I mixed the tuna, the onion, the salt, the egg, and the pesto sauce together (and made everything look really messy) and ate it with the orange, it was really good. It was rich and salty, and the citrus cut it perfectly. Lauren thought it was okay, which is saying a lot because she doesn't really like raw fish. 
Lauren's pasta was also very good. I think the sauce was some kind of seafood stock with olive oil, tomatoes and basil. It was a bit salty, but it as also thin, so it fit nicely at first. When you got towards the bottom of the bowl you got more and more sauce, and it got too salty for Lauren. I hapily finished her bowl. 
The shrimp and crab ravioli was excellent. It was rich, but the portion was small so it wasn't overpowering. It came in a creamy seafood tomato sauce. 
I don't remember much about the fish, other than that it was fish, that it was cooked perfectly. I think it was halibut, but I'm not sure. Lauren really liked it! 
I don't remember what the dessert was called, but it was also good. There was a chocolate cake that was moist and had lots of fresh whipped cream on top. There was also a soooth and creamy panna cotta. Its kind of like creme brulee, except without the brulee. The texture is a little different though since panna cotta is thickened with gelatin instead of just eggs. We both enjoied it....especially Lauren. 
We spent the rest of the day......you guessed it......eating. We went to a sicilian pastry shop. There were a bunch of awards displayed on their door. Lauren was so impressed that she took a picture. 
The pastries looked beautiful. We had an exremely difficutl time picking out what to eat. We finally setteled on an asortment of goodies, and ate them outside. We both decided that italian pastries are a little too sweet for us. 
I don't remember exactly where we went, or what we ate there, but we also made it to a gelateria before the end of the afternoon. When something's good, you just have to stick with it. We had a lot of gelato throughout the rest of the trip. 
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The sicilian pasticceria was a good pic it is famous for its cannoli and has even very good granita of almonds or mulberry
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