Tavola Calda

In Italy, a tavola calda is a kind of buffet caffeteria: a long and inviting display of seasonal vegetables that have been braised, sautéed, tossed through the pan with garlic and chilli, cut into zesty salads, roasted, stuffed and otherwise made extra-delicious.

Expect the late-summer/early autumn likes of trays of grilled and marinated eggplant, zucchini alla scapece (or alla concia, as they call it in Rome's Jewish Quarter), stuffed tomatoes and peppers, tomato, baked eggplant and peppers, tomatoes in pomegranate sauce, and pumpkin with spiced chickpeas, all with piles of focaccia and cous cous.

Taste your way through the way inspiration and ingredients crisscross and cross-pollinate around the Mediterranean, taking the vegetables (and pulses!) so beloved at Very Good Falafel and giving them a direct infusion of Roman style from Alice Adams Carosi from Latteria Studio.

It's Borghese meets Brunswick.