So said one of three older women (one in head-to-toe leopard) who had finished dinner and were heading out past the bar where I was sitting, reading and eating alone. Her two companions turned to gawk at me. Now, despite that, Le Zie is exactly the kind of place where a woman can sit at the bar, read and eat alone, feeling comfortable and divine. The staff and managers couldn't do enough to make me feel more comfortable, including bringing a candle over to give me a bit more light.
Dinner was simple dish of gluten-free penne with meatballs, served piping hot with a well-prepared red sauce; not too sweet, dark and rich. The meatballs were tender and delicious and it all went very well with a smooth and savory glass of Chianti, rich with coarsen tannin and perfectly able to cut through the meatballs and tomato sauce.
The back room, where the bar was, was packed with diners, including a table of eight and a table of four with a woman whose laugh continually pierced the room. What did H.L Mencken say? " How little it takes to make life unbearable: a pebble in the shoe, a cockroach in the spaghetti, a woman's laugh." Happily, a good book and a good glass of Chianti can temper a lot of things.
Le Zie is charming.