Espresso Granita with Whipped Cream -Granita di Espresso con Panna

 If there is anything I can’t stand it is when family, friends or food bloggers go to Paris or Rome (or Prague) and then come back home with tons of  “Paris this” and “Rome that” (or “Prague this and that!”.  They  go on and on relating their experiences with the certainty that we who have not been there cannot possibly relate –but they will tell us, won’t they?

Of course I find this especially annoying when it is also true.

To me it is the culinary equivalent of that time my college room mate sported a slight British accent after having just returned from only a 6 week government class taught at Cambridge .  (Please note that I said “taught at Cambridge” as the class was not an actual Cambridge University offering — a distinction he somehow always forgot to acknowledge.)   Nevertheless, after his return “from across The Pond” (ugh!) he would remind me endlessly of the many experiences I missed out on that summer…with every vowel he uttered.  Literally.

But this post is supposed to be about food, isn’t it?

Just two weeks, upon returning from France, my mom’s friend Suzanne exclaimed:

“Oh Trevor you have never tasted anything like the veal we had that night at La Tige D’or!”    

Having never dined at La Tige D’or I had to take her word for it, wouldn’t I?  (Were you eating the scraps of veal I have been leaving on my plate all these years?  How else would you know?)

“It was the most amaaazing bottle of wine we have ever had and it cost only 2 Euros. Can you believe that?  You just can’t find wine as good as that here in *this country*. I would put that bottle up against anything in Wine Spectator.”

Of course when one has spent ten grand on a summer vacation that has them picnicking in the hills of Tuscany there is a certain confirmation bias to consider. I’m sure all of that had nothing to do with your impression of the wine that day, right?    I’m quite sure I would say the same thing about that 2 Euro Chuck had I been there with you and my wallet that much lighter.

And then there is that quite common, but worst offender:

“We had street-food from the friendliest vendor and I have to tell you that this dinner was as good as anything you can get from the finest restaurants here in ‘The States'”.

Blech.

Sometimes people won’t shut up about their trip for weeks or even months. Years even.

I once briefly dated a fellow  who six years prior had spent barely 4 months in Australia doing nothing particularly productive other than taking note of the many things that were different so he could parrot them back annoyingly when he got home.  You know, the beaches, the clubs, the attitude.  Six years later and he still felt the need to make it known 3 times a day he had once lived “outside this country” and referring to something that isn’t the same.

Enough already.

Which brings me to Rome where I was just three short weeks ago where we had the most fantastic Espresso Granita you would ever had tasted if you had only been there. I’m sure the ancient surroundings of the city had nothing to do with this opinion at all. In case you were wondering.

I know you are thinking we must have gone to the famous Cremeria Monteforte on the Via della Rotonda, (preferred by David Lebovitz), but you would be wrong.   No sirree.  I wasn’t even at the Tazza d’Oro on the other side of the Pantheon.   Nope. But not very far from there, tucked just behind the Piazza Navona (with its gorgeous Bernini fountains incapable of affecting taste buds) at the Campo de’ Fiori Square our ex-pat friend Rick  introduced us to the Sant’Eustachio Il Caffè, an ancient coffee shop and roaster established in the nineteen thirties.

The first thing you notice about the shop is that unlike the 1930’s coffee roasting houses in The States, this one actually was established in the ’30’s — not  only decorated to look like it.   Take that Coffee Bean!  I knew we were in for a special treat when I saw that the granita at the Sant’Eustachio Il Caffè was so well thought of that real Romans were lining up at its counters in the middle of one hot-as-blazes Roman summer.

“Trust me when I say that you have never tasted anything as good as this particular granita! You just can’t find espresso granita as good in The States.”  

Perhaps not.  Granita isn’t something you find a lot here in this country anyway unless you make it yourself. And try as you might you will never find it sold next to a Bernini fountain or a short walk from The Pantheon.  It really does seem to make a difference.

It hardly matters truthfully as it is so incredibly easy to make at home. Certainly any “I made it myself” enthusiasm will serve to counter the “I’m eating this in Italy” factor.

Of the many culinary inspirations I came home with, the espresso granita is by far the easiest to recreate.

Its perfect for a 105 degree end of summer day and a DVD of  The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone don’t you think?   I did.

(Yes, I plan on being insufferable for quite awhile. Its my turn. Have I told you yet about the pizza?)

Granita di Caffè con Panna

(Espresso Granita with Whipped Cream)