Although it was recently awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand, L’Osteria della Trippa still remains under the radar of most tourists toting their lists of usual suspects. At the helm of this cozy tripe-centric spot deep in Trastevere with wooden tables and mustard-hued walls, is feisty chef-owner, signora Alessandra Ruggeri. Here she urges her customers to try, say, a fruity red Cesanese from Lazio along with a daily special of snails stewed with tomato, chiles, and sage.  

A self-taught cook who left another profession to open her restaurant in 2019, Ruggeri draws on the flavors she grew up with in Lazio’s Viterbo region north of the capital. “Not only tripe!” she’s the first to insist, but also such cucina povera regional staples as zuppa di pane, a hearty, soupy first course of curly chicory cooked until tender with bread and potatoes, then garnished with grated hard boiled egg. 

The quinto quarto selection here is almost encyclopedic, ranging from several tripe preparations— crisp-fried, stewed alla romana, slow-cooked with beans and guanciale—to fried brains, to a stew of pajata (suckling calves intestines) to sauce rigatoni. Ruggeri cooks offal with such a light touch and finesse, even the squeamish will love the surprisingly elegant carpaccio of beef heart marinated in salt, sugar, and spices, and presented in an aromatic puddle of olive oil. Or what might be the city’s best coratella—that’s lamb heart, lungs, and spleen, folks—here cut into dainty cubes and stewed Viterbo style with sweet-tangy red peppers to cut through the richness.