I EAT: Chowing Down in Roma (More Pasta & Gelato)

I wouldn't be doing my trip to Italy justice if I didn't post "I EAT" posts on every single city, so without further ado, another nom nom post is here! Restaurant first, gelateria later.

A friend recommended L'Archetto for its quaint ambiance, relative affordability, and pasta dishes. When the menu arrived, I was a little taken aback. There were easily 15 pages of pasta options. Granted many dishes differed by only a single ingredient, that's still a heck of a lot of variety. Luckily for you indecisive eaters, they have a "tasting plate" option available; three people chose three different dishes and each get a plate loaded with a portion of all three pastas. Plus, how cute is the whole 'dark shutters, overgrown vines, and tables outside in a small cobbled alley' decoration scheme? 

Enjoy the pictures (and my thoughts on the gelateria) after the jump! 

Giolitti, the gelateria featured in this post, is one of the more famous ones in Rome. And rightfully so. A helpful tip for deciding which of the plethora of gelaterias to dip into is to look at the banana-flavored gelato. It might be counterintuitive to some of you, but if it's brownish in color, shelf your confusion and order up; if the gelato's brilliantly yellow, artificial coloring and/or flavoring has been used and you should move on to a better option. My order at Giolitti is my go-to combination: nocciola (hazelnut), fragola (strawberry), and crema.