Part of your Roman experience should be dining well. No matter your budget, a memorable meal is always on the menu for the discerning traveler. I’ve found it in eateries ranging from the humble neighborhood trattoria to a family-style feast al fresco. And tonight we’ve settled into a venerable restaurant with some longtime friends for a celebration of our favorite Roman restaurant moments.

My goal: to favor regional specialties, to eat with the season, and to dine surrounded by Romans.

First up, my favorite course, the antipasti. Its diversity of choices makes it great for sharing family style.

We’re starting with a selection of local salami…

Waiter: That's a mix of salami.

and the regional specialty, pecorino cheese.

Waiter: All pecorino cheese. But it's different aged and different region.
Rick: I love a cheese board.

And then some seasonal favorites of fried zucchini flowers and grilled artichoke hearts. The next course is the primi piatti, which typically means…pasta. And Rome has four classics: cacio e pepe…amatriciana…gricia…and carbonara — and lucky for us, truffles are in season too. With just three or four ingredients each, it’s all very simple, and very Roman.

I often fill up on the first two courses, skip the main course, or secondi, and go straight to the dolce, or dessert. The Italian word for four spoons? Quattro cucchiai. Sorry, it tastes even better than it looks.