Entering this little alimentari feels like crossing the doorstep of an Italian home. Not only for the “Ciao, Ragazza!” when entering, not only for the Italian musical vibes or the colourful and slightly rustic interior, but mainly for the passion for food and the cordial atmosphere found here. Imagine the cheerful vibes this place has to offer!
Monte Ofelio offers delicacies chosen with love from the region the two shop/café-owning brothers are from. And pasta in a variety of shapes and sizes is only the beginning. Thanks to their affinity for vegetables, you find quite a spectrum of jarred greens, partly grown on formerly expropriated Mafia-grounds which now due to the vendetta-tendencies of burning crops are highly unpopular for farming.
You’ll find extra-long-aged parmiggiano, organic oil in supersized cans from hand-picked olives, freshly harvested hazelnuts, fish sauces from the Costa de Amalfi and oranges and lemons from Sicily for the quality of which – I quote – they guarantee with their faces: if you don’t like their taste, they’ll accept you smashing the oranges into theirs.
The cheerfully and generously-shared knowledge the shop owners offer when it comes to talking about the broad variety of broccoli in their region, about the endangerment of the red and white-haired cows in Northern Italy or the heart-warming meaning of their artichoke emblem (their mother’s enchantment by a grilled artichoke served by their father) transmit their passion for their project: sustainability, diversity, quality, familiarity and the preservation of what’s too good to be forgotten.
