Neighborhood pizza

Via Dionigi, Rome, Nov. 22—

Le Cupole, via Lucrezio Caro 21/c, Rome; tel. 06.3614114

Dining room, Le Cupole

We'd booked for dinner Saturday night, so lunch had to be something light, and after a morning shopping over near the Pantheon we were tired and a little hungry but wanted to drop things off back at the hotel. Why not a neighborhood pizzeria? The first one we came to was Le Cupole, whose sidewalk menu promised a full range of pizzas. I had napoletano: tomatoes cheese and anchovies. Lindsey had margherita: tomato and cheese. Nice thin shells, beautifully flavored tomatoes, and what a pleasure finally to have a bit of garlic! With the pizza, a mixed salad.
Le Cupole is pretty fancy inside, all gilt and polish; you sit in armchairs; the cupolas of the name are domes in the ceiling, with Venetian chandeliers. But it was late in the afternoon; only one other table was active, a Japanese-Italian family with two charming children… et O ces voix d'enfants, chantent dans la coupole…

Castelli Romani red, Fabi & Co.

…and then back to da Lucia in Trastevere for dinner. It was our third trip this month; they know us now. There were five of us at dinner, and we had the standbys, spaghetti cacio e pepe and alla gricia, and then some of us went on to secondi, rabbit or, in my case, bononcini (little cubes) of veal with peas; and puntarelle of course, and a fine plate of pecorini da Pienza with honey… delicious, all of it…

Bianco da tavola; Grignolino del Monferrato Casalese "Michele Chiario" 2007; rosso da tavola