Those who know the Primavalle neighborhood “by hearsay” might twist their mouths, but they would be wrong. Hic, Valentina Malgieri’s place, is the ideal place to spend a very pleasant evening, nibbling on good things and drinking with friends. Iolanda Maggio has been there for us.
You read correctly, I wrote Primavalle. Hic (precisely) right here. Where are we? In a neighborhood on the outskirts of northern Rome, often named for unhappy news, where instead there are several realities that aim to breathe new life into the area. Here, five years ago Valentina Malgieri, after a brilliant career in the film industry, decided to drop everything and devote himself to this project. A kind of redevelopment mission in the form of a bistro.
Nice to see how even through food and wine one can transform a space and spotlight an entire area. Hic is a living room, a bistro without a kitchen but with a great think tank, sharing, musical evenings including live jazz and space for cultural events. Great produce, some quality pre-made to warm in the oven and a not huge but fun selection of wines and beers.
Bistro and aggregation
A place that has been missing like bread in short. A gathering place that when you sit down at one of the small tables, it doesn’t feel like you’re standing next to the funky Torrevecchia Street.
Dim lights, very few tables, a nice social table – of those that you sit down and almost always someone comes along and you find yourself chatting, making friends, sharing ideas and sips. “Hic is a container, the contents are the customers,”” says Valentina determinedly.
Craft beer
Good sips means. A selection of craft beers expertly explained with punctuality, professionalism, a smile on their faces, and a wealth of detail about hops, strengths, and aromas that would fascinate even a layman.
A proper roundup of wines, well reasoned and with mark-ups bordering on the derisory. It is worth noting this aspect, which at a time of great estrangement from good drinking by the famous “middle class” for a purely economic matter (the superfluous is cut out and a good glass of wine is such) makes peace with the aperitif hour.
Aperitifs that stretch to the bitter end between a glass and a chat. Young and somewhat older people return there with pleasure and without the anxiety of the final bill. Watchwords: simplicity and practicality but with care and prudence.
Taste and lightheartedness
The accompanying snacks are also quality. Cheeses and cold cuts from Alchemist Lactis, by Andrea Cillo. A passionate and enthusiastic producer located in Sacrofano, just outside Rome. But also carasau bread and hummus, bread-oil and olives, peanuts with the peel, hot hot popcorn… A popular venue in every sense of the word. Within the reach of the general public but with a selection and style from the ville lumière of literary memory.
I sincerely recommend visiting Valentina and finding time to indulge in a few moments of taste and lightheartedness.
