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Written by Sherry
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Thursday, 15 November 2007 17:16 |
Trattoria degli Amici is a little Roman restaurant that is getting great reviews but there is alot of great stuff going on behind the scenes besides food:
This restaurant is a ministry of the Friends Movement of the Sant'Egidio.community that works to find ways to best use the talents and gifts of the disabled.
"The handicapped need to know that they are not condemned to a life alone but can contribute to change the world, says Stefano Capparucci, a member of the Catholic lay Community of Sant'Egidio."
"In the heart of touristy Trastevere, the restaurant blends in with the many other eateries. It provides opportunities for the handicapped, through jobs as support staff, and by featuring the paintings of disabled artists year round.
The restaurant's wait staff is all-volunteer, with only the chefs and the handicapped employees taking wages. The profits also go directly to the DREAM program.*
Not just helping those with disabilities, Capparucci affirmed, "the Friends Movement also explains to people who are a little afraid of the handicapped world: It is not a world of sadness but a world of great joy."
Trattoria degli Amici is getting good reviews from the like of Concierge.Com:
"This small, unpretentious trattoria has won the hearts of many Romans, and not just because it serves better food than most places in tourist-clogged Trastevere. The restaurant also offers jobs to mentally handicapped youth, who work both as waiters and in the kitchen. The menu features simple, consistently good dishes such as sea bass carpaccio, Tunisian-style couscous, chickpea soup, and fresh cassata and cannoli from Sicily."
Open Mondays through Saturdays 7:30 to 11 pm, September through July.
Sounds great! Dinner anyone?
(Sherry's note: the DREAM project is a remarkable Sant'Egidio ministry to AIDS mothers and children in Africa. It has an astonishing 90% success rate in preventing infected mother from passing the virus onto their children.)
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