I've been carrying around a business card for Le Mani in Pasta for months on a good friend's recommendation and we finally took the tram ride across the river to Trastevere (which of course actually means across the river, or Tiber (il Tevere), in this case) and wow, this meal was long overdue. Along with friendly staff, this osteria has a small dining area with attentive waiters who seemed to anticipate our needs - which consisted mainly of food & more food (and some well-chilled Prosecco).
We split an antipasto of Carpaccio di Spigola (seabass) con tartufo (topped with shaved truffles) which was happily place on buttered toast wedges and just simply mouth-wateringly good. I would have loved to order a secondo (second course) but we made a pact to sacrifice a meat dish for dessert (I've got my mind set on their steak with peppercorns for the return visit...). We decided to order off the menu of the day, and opted for Spaghetti alla Pescatore which is meant to be shared by 2 or 3 people...
And, as it turned out, saving room for dessert was an absolute must and we treated ourselves to a (warm!) Chocolate Tartine; I would have imagined this dolce as an ungraded version of chocolate cake, but check out the presentation on this wonder; complete with meringue swirl, vanilla ice cream and berries...heavenly..
And for the final touch, as perhaps the waiters sensed our unwillingness to leave, a hand swooped down and deposited a napkin-full of hot, roasted chestnuts. Oh Mani in Pasta, where have you been all my life?
