Pompeii - Themopolium of Lucius Vetutius Placidus

Themopolium of Lucius Vetutius Placidus: I know very little about this place other than the fact that it was the Roman equivalent of a fast food restaurant. There are quite a number throughout Pompeii, but most not as well preserved as this. It has a rather famous painting at one end of the bar. At least famous enough to have ended up in a number of books on Pompeii and Roman painting. The big terracotta jars set into the counter would have held foodstuffs and wine (the wine most likely mixed with honey and or spices, Roman wine was a bit more “Night Train” than “Chateauneuf-du-Pape”).

If you are interesting in trying out a few ancient Roman recipes there is an English translation of Apicius (Apicius: Cookery and Dining in Ancient Rome) which one can (with a little guessing on the quantities) create some authentic ancient Roman cuisine. I have been playing with this on and off for twenty years and once went as far as to serve a dinner of over 30 dishes recreated from this book. It was a heck of an undertaking, and I cannot state that every dish was as ambrosia to the Gods, but some were excellent!

There were dozens of shops like this all over Pompeii, with a high concentration towards the north west portion of the city towards the