I like to organize dinners on my own. This is how I do it. I think first. I organize it all in my head, quietly, without telling anyone anything. I think about who I want to go to dinner with, when, and where. The where is easy because it works out well to go to the restaurant near my house called Condominio Marconi, which is on a little street off viale Marconi.
I walk there. I know everyone. I know the menu and I know exactly what I want to order. Appetizer, pasta, and dessert. For appetizer I get supplì and croquettes. Pasta with tomato sauce. Sometimes calzone with prosciutto and mozzarella. Dessert is easy. They make gelato with chocolate just for me. My friend who works there asks in the kitchen. It's not on the menu. Every time they ask if I want a hamburger but I say no. Sometimes I've had meatballs in tomato sauce with roasted potatoes. It depends. They bring water first—cold water—and I fill my glass to the top right away. I always ask for the menu even though I know it by heart and already know what I'm getting. But it's nice when they give you the menu. And then I like to give it back.
I always decide who to go with and who to invite. I call or send a voice message on my phone. And I organize it for a day that works. The time is always eight o'clock and I'm always on time. I always arrive first. Just now I went to dinner with Gaia and Cetty. Then I make more calls and invite whoever I want.
This is something nice about Rome, especially after summer ends but before the cold comes at Christmas. You can go out in the evening and it feels good. Even just in a t-shirt.
When you're at dinner it's nice because you can talk, tell stories, and ask questions. I always start the conversation by saying, "How are you, what have you been up to?" And I can't help but smile because it's really nice to talk with people. You feel good together and meanwhile you're eating and you never get bored talking.
And I really like to talk with the waitresses because I'm a colleague too. If you know them, you become friends and that's another really nice thing. So at dinner you're always with friends and you laugh, you joke around, and you feel good together.
You can eat at home. But going out is nicer because you're with other people.