The first time I lived in Rome, not as a student I mean, was from age 21 to age 25.  The first year, I made 6 euros an hour and took the subway from my Blues Brothers apartment overlooking the train tracks in South Rome up to the posh Prati neighborhood to the language school that treated me poorly but for which I was so grateful.  I was living in the most beautiful city on earth but my days were spent between my Mussolini-era apartment with the broken stove, underground going to work, a language school that looked like a hospital, and back again.   I was broke, so to save money, I remember eating tuna out of a can for dinner and washing it down with tap water.  Plus, it was a very rainy and cold fall and winter.  My oasis in the middle of this was Castroni. It was a food store and bar (friends, that’s not an American bar.  That’s what they call a cafe’ here) right by the language school.  I would open the door, and the entire color palate of the day would change from gray and white to yellow, russet, and brown.  The smell of coffee and the sounds of milk frothing and the sight of shiny boxes displaying words like “Oreo” totally intoxicated me and I wanted to work there and live in an attic above the store like some fairy tale shopkeeper. Now, years later, I am living in Rome again. The situation is different.  I’m a lawyer and I live in a gorgeous place by the Vatican.  The only thing that hasn’t changed is my hairstyle.  Before moving back a few months ago, I got excited about Castroni.  I “liked” it on Facebook while still packing up and settling things in Texas.  I discussed it with old friends in Rome, like, “Is that apartment near Castroni?”  It was like the anticipation of meeting an old flame.

I want to draw little hearts around this

Years later, Castroni does not disappoint. There seem to be more locations now, but not all of them have bars inside the store.  The bar has the best cornetto selection (I like cornetti with a little something extra, like cream or nutella or raisins and nuts, and more than anything I’m a girl who likes to have options) I’ve seen, and the coffee is delicious.  It is also the only store I know of that sells American must-haves like peanut butter, brownie mix, taco shells and barbecue sauce.  You are thinking, “She is in the Land of Good Food and she wants peanut butter?”  The answer is “Yes, and you probably would, too.” They’ve also got Lucky Charms, and they are calling me like a Greek Siren, but I am tying myself to the mast for now and resisting.

I’m always embarrassed to take pictures in stores. The results are usually blurry.

They’ve also got glorious Italian foods – things like candy, chocolates, pastas, liquors – and it’s my go-to place when I need a gift for someone.  Oh, Castroni.  Delicious breakfast, American snacks, and gifts as well. You are like a gorgeous guy who also has a job and takes out the trash.The location on Via Cola di Rienzo (map) is probably the biggest, has a bar inside, and NEXT DOOR there is a meat and cheese section with international (i.e. not Italian) cheeses.  For example, this is the only place in Italy I’ve ever seen cheddar cheese, which is a necessary ingredient in about 50% of the recipes I know (which means, like, 2 dishes).  This may or may not be affiliated with Castroni. You’ve got to go outside and in another door to get in there, but once you’re in there it looks like part of the same place.  Don’t know, don’t care.  If you happen by another location while roaming around, go in, but if you want the Castroni experience that made me fall in love when I was 21, go to the one on Via Cola di Rienzo in Prati (close to the Vatican).

Castroni, to quote Braveheart, “I love you. I always have.”