Orvieto's unofficial pasta is umbrichelli, simple flour-and-water spaghetti rolled out unevenly by hand and somewhat chewy -- similar to the pici of southern Tuscany, but not as thick.
If you're in a hurry or on a budget and want to skip the restaurants below, try the cafeteria-style Al San Francesco, Via B. Cerretti 10 (tel. 0763-343-302), off Via Maitani near the Duomo. It's hard to imagine, but the 450 seats actually fill up during lunch in summer, perhaps because you can get a full meal with wine for 12€ to 20€ ($16-$26). The restaurant serves pizza in the evening and is open daily from noon to 3pm and 7 to 10:30pm (in winter, it closes Sun evenings).
A Cappuccino Break
On the main drag, Caffè Montanucci, Corso Cavour 21-23 (tel. 0763-341-261), has since 1913 sold excellent local marmalades, chocolates, and homemade pastries against a backdrop of Michelangeli wood reliefs in an area teeming with locals in the morning and during the evening passeggiata. It's open Thursday through Tuesday from 6:30am to midnight and has public computers for Internet access.
The big selling point of Hescanas, Piazza del Duomo 31 (tel. 0763-342-578; www.hescanas.it), is the outside patio of tables directly across from the cathedral's glittering facade. Its self-serve bar and tavola calda inside offer a good variety of panini, hot dishes, and packaged gelato.
Though otherwise an unremarkably normal Italian bar, tiny Bar Duomo, Largo L. Barzini 14 (tel. 0763-341-623), is where locals invariably take me for a coffee break. It has a few tables scattered on the cobbles of its wide spot along Via Duomo, and to just about anyone aside from the unknown tourist who stops by, barrista Mario usually just glances up and asks "The usual?" as he starts preparing the cappuccino or campari and soda; he already knows what his visitor wants. They make a sinful cornetto fritto, fried, sugar-encrusted, cream-stuffed croissant. It's open Tuesday through Sunday from 6am to 9pm.
