Paolo's, Georgetown - Long-Time Italian with Good Breadsticks on Wisconsin Avenue and N Street in Georgetown

[vsky]

(Full disclosure #1 - my +1 was directly affliated with Paolo's a while ago, and is still with CRC...) Have eaten here a bazillion times, but I have to say my favorite dish I had late night (11:27... ) last night and was unbelievably good, it's the Minestrone and for 5.95 wow (oh and you can get half orders too).

Starting - it could be a full meal, I mean huge!, but more importantly the flavor, I was full, but the flavor was so good I had to keep eating. First off it's truely a made to order dish. Second everything is little tiny bites, zuch, pot, mini tubes of pasta etc, except the spinach and cheese that you swirl around. What I really loved was the broth, chicken stock base so not entirely vegetarian...(my +1 said the broth has sometimes been "richer") whatever it was awesome, I know there is some chili oil in it, the broth packs a bit of heat. (Full disclosure #2, my +1 may have, okay did, "had a hand" in this recipe, but that is not why I recommend it, actually you might realize I am p** this was the first time in 1 1/2 years I tried it!)

Anyway if you are in georgetown, I'd definitely give this minestrone a try.

[DonRocks]

(Full disclosure #1 - my +1 was directly affliated with Paolo's a while ago, and is still with CRC...) Have eaten here a bazillion times, but I have to say my favorite dish I had late night (11:27... ) last night and was unbelievably good, it's the Minestrone and for 5.95 wow (oh and you can get half orders too).

Starting - it could be a full meal, I mean huge!, but more importantly the flavor, I was full, but the flavor was so good I had to keep eating. First off it's truely a made to order dish. Second everything is little tiny bites, zuch, pot, mini tubes of pasta etc, except the spinach and cheese that you swirl around. What I really loved was the broth, chicken stock base so not entirely vegetarian...(my +1 said the broth has sometimes been "richer") whatever it was awesome, I know there is some chili oil in it, the broth packs a bit of heat. (Full disclosure #2, my +1 may have, okay did, "had a hand" in this recipe, but that is not why I recommend it, actually you might realize I am p** this was the first time in 1 1/2 years I tried it!)

Anyway if you are in georgetown, I'd definitely give this minestrone a try.

 
I've been going to the Georgetown Paolo's for twenty years, and one thing I've consistently enjoyed is the breadsticks and tapenade, last night being no exception. In terms of pre-meal freebies, this is one of my favorite things, and always has been.

And vsky, that Made To Order Minestrone ($10) you rave about is very good, although they're using orecchiette now rather than the mini-tubes (perhaps a bit too much of it). They happily split the order into two portions, each of which was a full-sized bowl of soup. Ten dollars into the meal, both of us were pretty full.

Despite the wood-burning oven, pizzas aren't a strength here, although they're not bad either. An otherwise-pleasant Pizza Angelo ($13) was overtoned by nitrate-ridden pepperoni, and a special Italian Sausage and Provolone ($13) was mild enough where you could taste the onions, peppers, and quattro formaggi which also came on the pie - for me, that's not necessarily a good thing since I'm not a huge fan of gorgonzola on my pizza unless it's utilized with the utmost restraint.

The house-specialty Tiramisu ($7.00) was an enormous wedge, a decent version done in the "typical" tiramisu style, and big enough where two of us couldn't finish it.

Service ranged from delightful (the charming hostess, who doubled as our server) to baffling (the well-meaning, but ultimately stilted-and-robotic busser).

It had been quite awhile since I'd been back to Paolo's, and I was not disappointed, although I'll steer clear of the pizza next time around. A diner can do very well here sitting at the bar, ordering a draft of Peroni, pigging out on breadsticks and tapenade, and ordering a bowl of minestrone (which serves as a fine dunking target for the breadsticks).

Cheers,
Rocks.

[dwt]

Agree. Have been going with the family to Paolo's maybe twice annually for many years and find it a consistently pleasing and reasonably priced. We've visited all 3 locations (Georgetown, Reston, Towson) with equally good results (is the one in B'more's inner harbor gone? It's not on their web site.). The bread sticks/tapenade and minestrone are indeed winners. For years they had a grilled rockfish entree, served with a tomato-asparagus salsa and buttered tagliolini, that I could not resist. Unfortunately, that dish has gone by the wayside, replaced by the ubiquitous Atlantic salmon. When ordering pizza, keep it simple -- stick with the margherita and I think you'll be happy.

[DonRocks]

The Reston Paolo's has closed, leaving Georgetown as the only Washington, DC area location. There is another branch in Towson, MD.

Agree. Have been going with the family to Paolo's maybe twice annually for many years and find it a consistently pleasing and reasonably priced. We've visited all 3 locations (Georgetown, Reston, Towson) with equally good results (is the one in B'more's inner harbor gone? It's not on their web site.). The bread sticks/tapenade and minestrone are indeed winners. For years they had a grilled rockfish entree, served with a tomato-asparagus salsa and buttered tagliolini, that I could not resist. Unfortunately, that dish has gone by the wayside, replaced by the ubiquitous Atlantic salmon. When ordering pizza, keep it simple -- stick with the margherita and I think you'll be happy.

dwt, yes, I believe the Inner Harbor location has closed, leaving only Towson in the Baltimore region.

[dwt]

dwt, yes, I believe the Inner Harbor location has closed, leaving only Towson in the Baltimore region.

I think Towson is closed too.

[dcs]

Paolo’s Ristorante Closes, by Robert Devaney, August 23,2018, on georgetowner.com.

[DonRocks]

On 8/28/2018 at 2:05 PM, dcs said:

Paolo’s Ristorante Closes, by Robert Devaney, August 23,2018, on georgetowner.com.

Did you know:

That Paolo's opened in 1987?

That Paolo's used to be Maison des Crêpes?

That Maison des Crêpes was the brainchild of Jacques Vivien, and opened in 1967 as "La Crêpe?"

Sep 27, 2016 - "Now and a Long Time Ago: Maison des Crepes"

That Jacques Vivien opened a branch of Whisky à Go-Go in Georgetown in 1966? 

That Whisky à Go-Go was (I think) in the J. Paul's space at 3218 M St NW? (I pieced that together using this and this.)

That Milton Kronheim opened a liquor store at that same address in 1902?