Quick Bites
At Dar Filettaro a Santa Barbara, just off the southeast corner of Campo de' Fiori at Largo dei Librari 88 (tel. 06-6864018), you can join the line of people threading their way to the back of the bare room to order a filet of baccalà (salt cod), fried golden brown and served da portar via (wrapped in paper to eat as you take a passeggiata, or stroll). It costs 3€ to 9€ ($3.60-$11) for to-go service only; the place is closed Sunday.
Lunchtime offers you the perfect opportunity to savor Roman fast food: pizza rustica, by the slice (often called pizza à taglio), half wrapped in waxed paper for easy carrying. Just point to the bubbling, steaming sheet with your preferred toppings behind the counter; 2€ ($2.40) buys a healthy portion of "plain" tomato sauce: basil-and-cheese pizza margherita. Pizza rossa (just sauce) and pizza con patate (with cheese and potatoes) cost even less, as does the exquisitely simple pizza bianca (plain dough brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and sometimes rosemary).
A rosticceria is a pizza à taglio with spits of chickens roasting in the window and a few pasta dishes kept warm in long trays. You can also sit down for a quick pasta or prepared meat dish steaming behind the glass counters at a tavola calda (literally "hot table") for about half the price of a trattoria. A Roman bar, though it does indeed serve liquor, is what we'd call a cafe, a place to grab a cheap panino (flat roll stuffed with meat, cheese, or vegetables) or tramezzino (large triangular sandwiches on white bread with the crusts cut off, like giant tea sandwiches).
