Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2008

6. Pizza al Taglio

By now you're hungry. If you have a lot of ground to cover and don't have time for a sit-down lunch, try some of the best stand-up pizza of your life. Rome is filled with these pizzerie al taglio (sliced), where ordering what you want is as easy as pointing through the glass toward the variety you like, nodding your approval for the width of the serving, then digging in. Feel free to ask for smaller portions of two or three different types. Beside the standard margherita (tomato sauce and mozzarella), most pizzerie will make a mean potato or zucchini pizza, as well as fresh cherry tomatoes and mozzarella.

Two of my favorite places are near the Trevi Fountain. Da Michele serves kosher pizza (meat, but no cheese) cooked to crisp perfection with endless varieties. Try sausage and broccoli, or mushrooms and arugula. My other favorite pizzeria is so small it doesn't have a name. It is on Via del Piè di Marmo, near the corner of Via del Gesù. Try the eggplant. Buonissima!