Rome’s Best Artisanal Food Shops

These artisanal food shops are the best of the best.

By Valerie Waterhouse

For the past four years, Canadian chef Mona Talbott of the American Academy in Rome—and author of the new cookie bible Biscotti (Little Bookroom; $18.95)—has transformed the institution’s dinner table into a model for sustainable dining. For ingredients, Talbott relies on Rome’s best artisanal food shops. Three of her favorites:

Almond Cake

Head to the Jewish Ghetto’s Pasticceria Ebraica–Il Boccione for this addictive Roman classic, filled with sweet almond paste.

Cheese

Baskets of sheep’s ricotta make up the window display at Antica Caciara Trasteverina, in Trastevere.

Bread

The family-run Antico Forno Marco Roscioli sells a savory pizza rossa, topped with freshly made tomato sauce.