Full disclaimer: Carbonara is a no more deserving subject for this article than amatriciana or cacio e pepe, both of which you should absolutely order in Rome (do Da Francesco for amatriciana, and Flavio Valevodetto for cacio e pepe). But carbonara's popularity Stateside—plus an American-slanted back story—makes it the one dish you never want to miss. That, and the fact that it is pretty much the perfect plate of comfort food.

Local lore suggests that this dish, comprised of just guanciale, pecorino, egg, pasta and pepper, was concocted during the Allied occupation of Italy post-World War Two. The U.S. servicemen were hungry for the bacon and eggs they were raised on back home, and a local restaurant had the sense to combine those ingredients, mix them with hot pasta, and finish it all with a few cracks of pepper, to please the troops' homesick tastebuds.