When in doubt about things to do, places to go, or food to eat, we have an abundance of locals' advice at our disposal in the Study Center. Most importantly, we have our professoressa who not only guides us through reviewing the differences between passato prossimo and imperfetto tenses, but also gives us tidbits and mini-lessons about Italian culture during our daily three-hour Italian practicum course. Some of our best conversations have come from discussions about the neighborhoods in which each of the seven of us in our class reside, and what local landmarks she recommends we see and what experiences she has had in each quartiere of the city.

During a recent visit to my friends' apartment in Prati, we stumbled across a gastronomia that has been brought up several times by our professoressa. We had just recently wrapped up our vocabulary review about food during which she delved into discussing Italian street food she reckoned would please our palates, and every time she began rambling on about gastronomias versus trattorias and the varying prices from tavola calda to ristorantes, the same name kept popping up: Franchi.

Franchi is a small shop on a corner of one of Rome's most prominent shopping streets Via Cola di Rienzo. At night it is lit up with neon lights blaring out the words Rosticceria, Salsamenteria, and Gastronomia under the retro script of the store name, and the windows glow with displays of ham hanging above wheels of cheese and adorable packaged jams. Inside you can see an L-shaped service area, half dedicated to cheese, fresh cuts and deli meats, while the other half is filled with cucina romana artigianale (artisan Roman cuisine). These wonderful prepared dishes include Roman staples such as carciofi alla romana (Roman-style artichokes -- pictured above), zucchini croquettes, smoked salmon, roast beef, homemade lasagna, lentil soup, and my new favorite discovery, supplì di riso (also pictured above).

On my first trip there I decided upon carciofi alla romana and supplì di riso porta via (to go) to see what all of this excitement was about. Carciofi alla romana is a very simple Roman dish that features a whole artichoke, cleaned of its thorns and steamed. It is served with very little seasoning, just a little bit of what seemed to be parsley, salt, pepper, garlic, and olive oil. The simple preparation really showcased the artichoke, and demonstrates what I have learned is a major Italian mind set regarding using fresh, seasonal ingredients and highlighting their natural culinary beauty. The supplì is what really intrigued me about my takeaway meal here, however, because it is something that Katie Parla (here she is again! I really learned a lot from her lecture.) mentioned as one of the most popular Roman street foods. It is basically a fried ball of either rice or nowadays pasta, in this case rice, that can contain different flavors inside. The supplì di riso at Franchi featured a crunchy outer layer of breading filled with a warm filling of rice and tomato sauce (probably flavored with other fancy things), and in the very center is a melted core of mozzarella cheese. It's basically all of my favorite things combined into a convenient little fried package. I cannot put into words how scrumptious and satisfying the supplì is... Let's just say for something I've only tried once I've been craving it more than a normal human should for the past few days. Honestly if I could eat it every day, I would. I'm glad we found Franchi on our adventure out in Prati and I'm sure I will be back again after visits to my friends' apartment nearby.