Trastevere has experienced something of revival in recent decades. As elsewhere in Europe, it's gentrification and reinvention as a "hot" boho chic locale for dining and drinking doesn't always sit comfortably with its traditionally working class inhabitants.
But, unlike elsewhere in Europe, the clubbers and in-the-know international gastronomy tourists have not pushed aside its traditional family values. Trastevere, it seems, remains child-friendly, especially when it comes to food.
Trastevere actually has a history pretty much as old as Rome itself. Yet, the enduring notion of it is as the rough 'n tumble warren of cobbled streets that formed the main part of the medieval city before the grandeurs of Ancient Rome on the other side of the Tiber were reembraced during the Renaissance.
Like others, I got to know it as a grown-up pleasure; wonderfully relaxed dining on traditional Roman dishes with friends, rewarding adventures with my partner that revealed great bars with enticing "aperitivi hour" deals and the perfect way to spend a few hours of downtime on busy business trips without feeling at all obtrusive for being alone.
So, some years ago when I was art directing a photo shoot with photographer Rob Streeter for an international travel operator and one of the talent, then still a young boy, nosedived into a downward spiral after some pretty intensive shoot activity, I almost crapped a proverbial mattone. Trastevere did not strike me as the obvious place that would provide sustenance appealing to a pre-adolescent kid fast heading into a moody "hangry" tailspin.
His mother and pretend dad, also in the shoot, did their best to contain his understandable displeasure and irritation and we all ran in every direction to find something that might appeal to him and that could be served up fast.
At first I thought all of my fears about Trastevere were being confirmed. Firstly, this is a neighbourhood that has allegedly prevented international fast food chains from establishing outlets on their patch for nearly forty years. Secondly, there were all those waiters standing with folded arms at the entrances to eateries, tut-tutting: we were there at the wrong time of day, too late for lunch and too early for the evening sitting. I confess that I mumbled curses under my breath about how this was no time to haughtily cite Italian dining protocols to me from the doorway on an establishment where covering the cost of the recent refurbishment had a lot to do with tourism. And tourism, as we know, is open all day...
But, then, quite uninvited, this fairly young waiter came over to me and asked what was going on. I explained. He had a chat with the old geezer inside who was running the show and said that they would be happy to accommodate.
There was a tense moment as Laurie Apollo (yep, I kid you not) made a decisive decision that he was in the mood for pasta not pizza. And his mood made it clear that his decision was going to be final.
Sheepishly I went back to the waiter and explained, having noticed that the Good Samaritan had emerged from a door over which the sign "pizzeria" was about an hour away from flashing in neon. He grinned at me sardonically. "We're Roman: of course we have pasta!"
The diminutive child star was soon on the path to Roman nutrition-led recovery, just in time for Rob and his assistant to loop back and get some of the best "candid" shots of the day's shoot.
So, people, the moral of the story is that if Trastevere can accommodate the unexpected needs of a depleted child model, bending over backwards to help us out, chances are it's a pretty good spot to plan your early evening family dining if you're ever in Rome with hungry nippers.
Laurie never submitted his review of the Trastevere carbonara in writing—it wasn't covered in his contract—but from the photos, he seemed very satisfied.
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