While nothing quite compares with eating big plates of pasta at an al fresco table with the Pantheon in the background, we remain eternally grateful to the chefs at Ristorante-Caffe di Rienzo (Piazza del Pantheon 8/9, 06-686-9097, www.ristorantedirienzo.it) for teaching us two of the basic Roman dishes made with dried pasta. They are both in the photo at right—bucatini all’amatriciana in the foreground, and cacio e pepe behind it. In fact, we can almost hear the light jazz of the street musicians on the Piazza del Pantheon. If you’d like the recipes for the two dishes as the DiRienzo chefs taught us, see these two posts: hungrytravelers.com/learning-roman-pastas-1/ and hungrytravelers.com/and-then-there-was-amatriciana/. Both dishes remain among our favorites that we turn to when need a delicious but quick and easy meal. Italy has re-opened its borders to European travelers, but those of us stuck across the ocean will have to make do with memories a little while longer.