Tutto Bene, Owner Orlando Murillo's Italian Mon-Fri, and Bolivian Sat-Sun - N. Glebe Road and 5th Road N. in Ballston - Closed September 26, 2014

[SeanMike]

I've had saltenas from a few places - a place over in Ballston whose name I'm blanking on (my first experience, when doing a gig down at the Pentagon)

(That would be either Tutto Bene or Pike Grill.)

Tutto Bene. Thanks! It was the place that made me say "hey, I want to try more of these..."

I've seen the sign for Pike Grill but never made it there. I will soon, though.

[monavano]

(That would be either Tutto Bene or Pike Grill.)

Tutto Bene. Thanks! It was the place that made me say "hey, I want to try more of these..."

I've seen the sign for Pike Grill but never made it there. I will soon, though.

Both are very good. Tutto has chicken and beef saltenas, and Pike has mixed chicken and beef. Pike slightly beat out Tutto for me.

[Kibbee Nayee]

Lunch for 4 at Tutto Benne was quite an experience yesterday. First, the atmosphere is that of a tired old red-sauce Italian restaurant, which I think is an accurate description of what has been its identity for a few decades. On Saturday there is a guitar player strumming along to a soundtrack that variously played the theme from the Pink Panther, a Buffet medley, Hava Nagila and a few Latin American tunes. The waiter offered two menus -- one of Italian fare and one of Bolivian fare. At my table and most of the other ones around us, the Italian menu wasn't even touched.

For starters, we all had Saltenas, which were doggone good. They offered beef or chicken, so we had both and shared around the table. Inside the slightly sweet and barely crunchy outer shell of pastry, there is a generous amount of meat mixed with sauce, potatoes, peas and carrots. It is quite possible for a nice light meal to be had just with Saltenas.

But no...! The two ladies at our table each had the seafood stew, which had a generous amount of seafood -- mussels, clams, shrimp, squid, fish -- in a rich and aromatic broth. The other two of us had Chicharron (fried pork with sun-dried potatoes and hominy) and Lengua (tongue in a rich sauce with potato, rice and hominy salad). The meats and sauces in both dishes were excellent, and for $9.95 and $10.95 respectively the amount of food for the price was an incredible bargain. But the sides were a little over-carbed and the sun-dried potatoes were declared a mistake. I have to admit, the tongue was one of the better meat dishes I've had in a while.

The guitar strumming continued through the meal, and at times, it rose to a level that made conversation a little difficult at our table. Nonetheless, I would rate the overall experience very good, and while my knowledge of Bolivian cuisine is not vast, I would definitely return.

[DonRocks]

Tutto has chicken and beef saltenas

But only on weekends, as five days a week, the Zagat-led tourists have to suffer through below-average Italian.

It started out with a surly server, who told me they were out of not one (Pacena), not two (Taquina), but three (Quilmes) beers on their menu, so I settled for a Peroni ($4.95). I'm assuming they take delivery of the South American beers for their Bolivian weekends, so no great crime here on a Tuesday night.

Then came a small Pizza Alla Salsiccia ($10.95) with tomato, mozzarella, sausage, and pepperoni which was as bad as any pizza I've had in ... certainly months, perhaps a year or more. The crust was blanched, doughy, undercooked, bland, and topped with Ultra-Salt, Ultra-Nitrate meats which will have me running for the water fountain sometime in the middle of this night.

And the pastas, all of which Grumpo assured me were homemade ("Everything is," he said). Bunkum. The Canneloni alla Bolognese ($10.95) was, however, and was the highlight of the evening - two huge canneloni - one stuffed with ricotta, the other with ground veal (the menu said both were stuffed with veal). Smothered and baked in gobby cheese and heavy tomato-y sauce, this dish was about as good as you'd get at Pulcinella, or Pines of <X>.

My appetizer Pasta Sampler ($8.95, vegetarian) was a failure. Tortellini Pesto, Ravioli Marinara, and Gnocchi alla Panna seemed like an innocent tribute to the Italian flag, but it was all just heavy-handed, Sysco-driven Anyfood that you'd find in Anytown, USA.

There's a reason Beethoven is facing away from the restaurant, looking like he's going to vomit.

[Kibbee Nayee]

But only on weekends, as five days a week, the Zagat-led tourists have to suffer through below-average Italian.

That was about as unappetizing a review as I've read in a while. Here is a restaurant that is worth a detour (towards it) on the weekend and worth a detour (away from it) on the weekdays. Thanks for taking one for the team.

[SeanMike]

Craving Italian food, and it being right around the corner now, I wandered in there tonight.

(As I left, a mom told her son "You want bread with butter, right? It's just like Wonder bread!" and yes, yes it is.)

The bread was...well, Wonder Bread. It was dessert with butter - really sweet.

The chianti was $6.95 a glass and...well, mostly drinkable. I've been craving red wine, and this was...red...eh. They left one glass off the bill.

The garlic bread was overdone IMHO - both in cooking (it wasn't completely desiccated but close to it) and in preparation (good garlic bread, in my opinion, consists of garlic, butter, and bread, and that's it - this had so much other stuff on it that it was an oyster away from being New Orleans style charbroiled oysters).

The lasagna - eh. It was okay. The meatball was okay too. It wasn't HORRIBLE but it wasn't anything good. It was cheap, which was a good thing, but making that level of Italian cooking is well within my remit as a cook, and I can do it for cheaper (and better).

The music was awful and too loud, the service spotty...sigh. It took care of tonight's craving, because now I never want Italian food again.

[DC Deb]

Wow, I totally forgot about them. I went there once about 7 years ago. It was getting late and there were few options. Mediocre red sauced Italian food. The thing I remember most about the meal was the Tony Bennett Christmas music playing in the summer.

[SeanMike]

The thing I remember most about the meal was the Tony Bennett Christmas music playing in the summer.

I thought I heard Christmas music, but thought maybe I just mis-heard...now I guess it probably was!

[monavano]

I'd avoid their Italian and eat at Tutto Bene for the Bolivian on the weekends. They do a decent saltena.

[Kibbee Nayee]

I'd avoid their Italian and eat at Tutto Bene for the Bolivian on the weekends. They do a decent saltena.

Absolutely agree. On weekdays, this is the stereotypical bad Italian restaurant that Gordon Ramsay would have to rescue. On weekends, it's one of the hidden gems of our area.

[DaveO]

Closed 9/29/14

[DonRocks]

Closed 9/29/14

It's remarkable that it remained open as long as it did.

Tutto Bene, lovable mom-n-pop that it was, got too much press from local critics, and was tired and grim (both the Italian and Bolivian sides of the coin).

Points for live music, and I'd much rather see this restaurant than what's likely to replace it (I can't imagine this building won't be demolished - the land is just worth too much not to).