Lunch can be a good time to hook up with your dates at the bar.
It's certainly much more low-key than dinner. On one occasion not long after noon, I joined several other solo diners, and even though the house filled up not long after, I enjoyed a leisurely hour-and-a-half at the bar wending my way through Memoirs of Hadrian
For my pasta, the offal added a rich accent to pennette con trippa alla Romana (first photo below, $12), which had a peppery tone that rose, then leveled off. Since I'm so familiar with the veal version, I didn't note at first that the saltimbocca (next photo, $17) was prepared with pork. Very rich, very satisfying.
"Those are almonds, not pits," the bartender noted as I scraped my dessert plate otherwise clean of Apician spiced dates with mascarpone (photo above, $8). Follow-up web research revealed that Apicius was the name of at least three Roman epicures who predated Hadrian (and who, I'll wager, didn't abide pits).
Also shown: chicory with an oxtail terrine; handmade tagliatelle with slow-cooked pork; skate with sweet corn and treviso (a Venetian radicchio); ricotta with honey.
Lupa
170 Thompson St. (Houston-Bleecker Sts.), Manhattan
212-982-5089
www.LupaRestaurant.com
