My Travel Inspiration

The name and location really were impossible to find at the time and so I went on a personal quest to find this restaurant. It took years. I remember that every time I was in Rome I would go on long walks in the evenings across as many of the piazzas I could cover searching for this dish. Despite my failures, I was still determined. It became a bit of a tradition to search for it on each trip.

On my honeymoon in 2014, we randomly had a drink with one of Scott’s former coworkers that was living in Rome. She had asked if we needed any recommendations for food, but quickly retracted stating that, “You’ve been here so many times, you already know what’s good.” However, at the end of our meeting she casually mentioned her favorite place to get, “this really common dish called Cacio e Pepe.” We wrote down the name and checked it out a few days later, only because we happened to be near the area at lunch time. As soon as I walked into the deserted piazza I knew we were somewhere special. I had finally found it!

The dish is just pasta, pecorino cheese, and fresh cracked black pepper, but this place has found a way to transform it into something so divine by serving it in a bowl made out of pecorino cheese. I share Anthony’s sentiments and I too refuse to divulge the name of the restaurant. We were already planning to revisit on our trip in June of 2018- it was one of the only things we actually planned to do and we kept talking about how excited we were to go eat there again. While we were in Florence, we heard of his passing and it just made the upcoming visit all the more important. The restaurant was actually closed the first two days we were in Rome, but were lucky enough to be able to go on our last night. Not only was it a special night to celebrate our anniversary at one of our favorite places, but it was a nice way to honor the memory of someone that did so much to inspire my love of travel.

I was always moved by Anthony’s gift for speaking so eloquently. His passion for food and travel was infectious and it certainly inspired many of my trips. It makes me sad to think that someone so full of passion could also feel such hopelessness. I hope his passing urges others get the help they need. I’m here for anybody that needs someone to listen, at any hour.

Rest In Peace my snarky friend. You will be greatly missed.