Cucina Romana

Few cookbooks allow readers to dine truly as the Romans do, but city native Manuelli has written a masterful culinary survey that doubles as a valuable travel guide. Cleverly organized according to city sections, the cuisine tour starts in the Campo dei Fiori neighborhood, home to the city's celebrated fruit, vegetable and flower market by day, and to ""beautiful, tanned Romans ... with a chilled glass of Prosecco"" by night. Manuelli leads readers from the upscale Piazza Navona district, Campo Marzio and the Spanish Steps region to the restaurant-rich Trastevere, home to the ""Romani di Roma""-real Romans, with a flair for storytelling.. Manuelli also includes culinary treasures beyond city limits, one of which-La Briciola,a restaurant in the village of Grottaferrata-is strategically located along the route to the Pope's summer villa. Manuelli shares all the recipes that form the cornerstone of her city's famed cuisine, and provides readers with a ""food lovers' address book"" for each of the city's neighborhoods that covers bakeries, delis, wine shops and ristoranti usually missed by the casual tourist. Color photographs by Linder make the streets of the Eternal City come to life.