Gastronomically, Lucca is famous above all for its divine extra-virgin olive oil, a light-green elixir with a fresh olive taste that's drizzled on just about every dish in these parts. The most typically Luccan dish is the creamy, filling zuppa di farro, a soup made with spelt, an emmer or barleylike wheaty grain cooked al dente. The Lucca area is also known for its asparagus, strawberries, and honey. Accompany any dish with Lucca's excellent and little-known DOC wines, Rosso delle Colline Lucchesi and Montecarlo.
A fairly economical place to try some of those wines and taste some local specialties, such as Puccini's favorite, spaghetti in eel sauce, is Gli Orti di Via Elisa, Via Elisa 17 (tel. 0583 491-241; www.ristorantegliorti.it). Call ahead for a table in their glassed-in garden.
If you just want to grab a slice and a Coke for 5€ ($6.50), try the Pizzeria da Felice, Via Buia 12 (tel. 0583-494-986; Tues-Sat 9:30am-2pm and 4-8:30pm, Mon 11am-2pm and 4-8:30pm), which serves generous slices of real wood-oven pizza and where you can also sample two Lucchese specialties: cecina (a flat bread made of ceci beans) and castagnaccio (a sort of chestnut-flour pita, split with each half wrapped around sweetened fresh ricotta).
People line up to wait for the bakery Amadeo Giusti, Via Santa Lucia 18-20 (tel. 0583-496-285), to reopen at 4:30pm (it's open daily 7am-1pm and 4:30-7:45pm, but closed Sat afternoons), and the shop has installed a window on the street just to distribute its immensely popular focaccia, which is used by many local restaurants in their bread baskets.
