Simple pizza and pasta

I was trying to figure out where to grab lunch with my new office neighbor when she suggested CIAK - In the Kitchen.  It's been a while since I was last there, and somehow the place has gotten themselves a little macaron... So we decided to try our luck and showed up without a reservation.  Luckily for us there were still seats available at the counter facing the open kitchen.

Both of us just wanted a real simple lunch, so we agreed to share a pizza and a bowl of pasta.  Since they allow diners to order 2 different types of pizza on one pie, we were able to have a little more variety.

Tagliolini carbonara - one of my favorite dishes to order for lunch at 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana is the off-menu spaghetti carbonara, since it comes in a viscous sauce made with egg yolk rather than being drenched in runny cream.  I was curious to see how the CIAK version measured up.

Well, it wasn't the same as what I would get at Otto e Mezzo, but it certainly beats most other versions in town.  The fresh, home made pasta had a nice bite to it, and the sauce was indeed yolk-based, even if it were a little more runny and cheesy than I'd prefer.

Marinara / Margherita pizza - this was good.  The pizza crust was thin but still strong enough to support the sauce and toppings... without being soaked and going limp.  The anchovies on the marinara were delicious, and the garlic really made the difference.  Yum.

Simple stuff yet very satisfying.