Icy wind blowing off the river. So cold. In the kitchen testing recipes, thinking that even in this weather, it's great to be home.

Farotto with broccoli, cauliflower and cheese, at Verdure in Eataly. Truly delicious.

Found this puntarelle at Eataly too.  The first sign of Spring in Rome.  A bite of hope.

But the meal I can't forget was at Il Buco Alimentari, which just never lets me down.

We started with razor clam ceviche, went on to the fantastic seppia with beans (above), one of their always satisfying salads, and a shared bowl of spaghetti cacio e pepe.  Then a grilled branzino, the flesh soft, almost velvety, in a shower of caramelized lemon juice.  And finally, this balsamic-drizzled panna cotta, the vinegar edging along the sweetness of the custard to send us out the door with the flavor still singing in our mouths.