Many Paulistas love Italian food, and one of the city's most beloved Italian restaurants is the bustling Famiglia Mancini, a noisy cantina downtown with checkered tablecloths that always draws a crowd. What keeps bringing me back isn't the excellent pasta, risotto, or lasagna—it's the antipasto buffet laden with more than 100 different items, including grilled vegetables, cheeses, at least 10 different types of olives, artichokes, cold cuts, grilled octopus, salads, and much more. It's a delectable feast that takes up an entire room. Guests serve themselves and then weigh their plate. At R$9.90 per 100 grams, this spread doesn't come cheap, but the quality and selection are worth every centavo. For your main course, first choose your pasta, such as penne, linguini, farfalle, fusilli, ravioli, cappelletti, cannelloni, or spaghetti. Then select the sauce, for example, olive and garlic, pesto, sugo (tomato), carbonara, or four cheese. Main courses typically serve two people, especially if you have a few helpings of antipasto. After dinner, stretch your legs with a short stroll down Rua Anhandava. This charming cobblestone street is home to several other restaurants owned by the Mancini family, including the more formal Ristorante Walter Mancini as well as Pizzaria Mancini and seafood restaurant Madreperola.