Of course you can enjoy food in Italy in all shapes and forms. We have found it is often more interesting and healthier to an older physique to dine a main meal at lunch rather than dinner. You still have time to enjoy the afternoon and the cost is generally lower than dinner fare with no loss of
quality.
Here is an editted list of some dining possibilities from Reidsitaly.com (http://www.reidsitaly.com/planning/dining/restaurant_types.html)
- Aperitivi/stuzzichini: In brief, in the late evening (usually around 7pm) many bars around town will lay out sumptuous spreads of free finger foods—canapés, cheeses and meats, fried things on sticks, sometimes pastries.
- Bar: An Italian bar, although it does indeed serve liquor, is more what we'd call a cafe. It's where workers pop in for their morning espresso and cornetto (croissant) or brioche (sweet roll) on the way to work, return for a cappuccino at the 10am break, and stop on their way home for a Campari-soda at the end of the work day
- Caffé: Pretty much just another name for a bar, though there may be more of an emphasis on the coffee, and on outdoor tables.
- Tavola calda: A very informal (and sometimes self-serve) eatery where you usually choose from a pre-prepared selection of hot dishes. Great for a quick, light meal.
- —Pizzeria: A casual restaurant where you go to eat pizza. Again, pretty obvious, but here are a few Italian quirks. Traditional pizzerie are open only in the evenings, and they don't serve much beyond pizza.
- Gelateria: An Italian ice cream shop—though calling Italy's thick, creamy, flavorful frozen treat something as banal as "ice cream" is deeply insulting to gelato.
- Osteria or hosteria: Usually an even simpler, down-home local's eatery than a trattoria—though sometimes fancy restaurants use the word to try and evoke a simple, trendy charm.
- Ristorante: Eateries which call themselves "ristorante" usually have pretensions to haute cuisine status—or at least high prices. By far not a hard and fast rule
This brings us to my favorite- The Trattoria
Often a family affair the Trattoria offers a wide variety of choices done with a simple approach. No fancy bites or sculptural cuisine here. This is often just good food by the owner/chef.
This trip introduced us to a memorable trattoria in S_ not far from our first inn.
The owner/chef had run it for 40 years spoke no English and was a delightful host. We sat in the sun of the modest trattoria, enjoying the fence of wine bottles past and sampled whatever he brought out
Watkins Glen 
