Carbonara: hold the cream. I'm beggin' ya.

A few years ago we went to Italy for the first time.  Needless to say, we had a lot of memorable meals.  One dish, though, stood out.  It's the one we talk about the most.  It was spaghetti carbonara at a little unassuming place in Rome called Ai Tre Scalini.

Sitting in the shadow of the Coliseum we really didn't expect much (not that a bad meal in Italy isn't excellent by most barometers).  In fact, we only stopped in because the restaurant that we had planned on visiting had a line out the door, which was probably a bad sign anyway. Boy did we make the right choice.   The carbonara was so pure, and simple, and perfect.  Al dente pasta (obviously), crunchy yet soft and luscious pieces of guanciale that burst with flavor when chewed.  It was like no carbonara I'd ever eaten.  We liked it so much that we walked, literally, 5 miles in the rain later in the week just to order it for lunch again (you'd do the same).  This time it was fettuccini.

I've tried several times to duplicate this dish, with just OK results.  I think I'm actually getting close.  Finally.