It's Saturday morning and I just checked the online headlines in the "La Repubblica" newspaper. As was to be feared, the Senate is deadlocked over the election of a new President, the second highest office in the Italian Republic. Will it be Franco Marini? Will it be Giulio Andreotti? Voting continues today.

Only last Wednesday, I was outside Palazzo Madama in Rome, the seat of the Italian Senate, near the Piazza Navona and across from the church of San Luigi dei Francesi, which has several dramatic Caravaggio paintings.

A couple of tips for eating well and not too expensively in Italy's capital.

Delicious Italian Jewish food (which is basically local Italian food, only kosher) is to be had in the former ghetto, between Via Arenula and the Teatro di Marcello, where the modern Synagogue is located on the Lungotevere dei Cenci. At 30 Piazza delle Cinque Scole an unassuming anonymous door (i.e., without a sign or a name) admits you to the tiny trattoria of Sora Margherita. It is so small, it was closed down as few years ago by the health inspectors, not for sanitary reasons but because the space was considered inadequate.

Their answer was to reopen the restaurant as a private club, so the first thing visitors must do is to sign up for free membership! Then they can order. As a "primo", I ordered meat-filled "agnolotti con sugo di coda" (a kind of ravioli topped with the gravy from the specialty dish, "coda alla vaccinara" (stewed oxtail). As a "secondo", I went for the"coda alla vaccinara" itself. Both were fantastic. As I sidedish, I tried a "carciofo alla giudia" (Jewish style artichoke), an incredibly light deep-fried artichoke that is another speciality of this district of Rome. Naturally, succulent roast lamb also figures high on the menu. Whatever you order, you can't go wrong! And the price is right too. It appears that Sora Margherita, however, is only open for lunch.

For dinner you might try the Taverna del Ghetto in nearly Via Portico d'Ottavia. The food is excellent, but it's an internationally "in" destination and the prices are consequently higher. The bottle of local kosher white wine I ordered had a label that said it had been imported into the USA by a New York wine merchant, but I figured it was from a case that was due to cross the Altantic. I don't think it had made the round trip!

Another outstanding quality-price venue is Da Sergio at 27 Vicolo delle Grotte (a "vicolo" is a narrow alley), just down the street from the Palazzo or Galleria Spada, which stands next to the French Embassy in the enormous Renaissance Palazzo Farnese. At Sergio's, on another day, I tried "tonnarelli [a form of long pasta whose name comes from the adjective "tondo" meaning "round"] cacio e pepe" (with cheese and pepper), another Roman speciality. As a second course, I asked for "trippa alla romana", but it wasn't the day for tripe, so I settled for scrumptious "calamari con piselli" (sliced squid with green peas). Again, the whole menu is great. Be adventurous.

Finally, if you are looking for good food really cheap, I would heartily recommend Mario's at 56 Via del Moro in Trastevere, just across the Ponte Garibaldi between Piazza Belli and Piazza Trilussa, two squares named for famous Roman dialect poets. Mario's (that's the way they spell it on the sign, with the apostrophe, in the right place for once!) is a few doors down from the Almost Corner Bookshop, which specializes in English-language books. You can eat a full menu of fine Roman food at Mario's for twenty euros or less.