The best meal of the trip cost almost nothing: a house red in an unlabelled bottle, bread, tomatoes and a checkered tablecloth in a garden that belonged to the owner's aunt.
The table first
A cloth, real glasses, a candle even at lunch. None of it costs much and all of it changes how long people stay.
The wine second
Local, young and cheap. Wine made to be drunk with food, not discussed. Ask for whatever the people at the next table are having.
The company always
Invite one person nobody else knows. It is the single best way to keep a table talking until the candle runs out.
