Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'italian'.
-
The Dining Guide does not contain an entry for Bonaroti's, so it appears. Yet, here is some of the finest 'burbs Italian around, ranking with Zeffirelli's in Herndon, Da Domenico's in Tysons, and A La Lucia in Old Town. It has the charm and visual appeal of Cafe Renaissance down the street, a deep connection to the community (with "Chris Cooley's Bresaola" and Spaghetti "Chris Cooley" on the dinner menu), walls of pictures of friends and local dignitaries, and a menu that really warms the Italian heart beating in all of us. I had the veal osso buco for lunch yesterday and I was blown away. The large pieces of veal were fall-off-the-bone tender, and it was covered with a thick, brown almost stew-like sauce, and accompanied by risotto that was cooked to perfection. It was delectable. This is a hearty lunch, ruining my New Year's resolution on, like, day 3. I had been here many times in the past and then I sort of forgot about it, but after yesterday, it's going into my rather spare McLean-Tyson's-Vienna-Fairfax Rt. 123 rotation. -
Annnnd... The New Bridge has closed and re-re-opened as "Denim and Pearls", a nominally Italian restaurant. The New Bridge team is out (save for the building owner) and Chef John Payne is in. We stopped by for lunch on Monday, and see very little reason to return, sadly. DnP is not ready for prime time. We ordered fairly simply and were seated to the back of the sparsely populated dining room. Our group ordered a "housemade mozzarella" salad with heriloom tomatoes, basil and balsamic to start, two meatball subs, pasta with meatballs and fettuccine alfredo with flank steak. Our server took our order, brought us drinks, and we waited. And waited. And waited. At the twenty minute mark (for a salad, mind you) we asked our server if the salad would be forthcoming. At this point the lunch could have been rescued by a sympathetic word or an update - basically any interaction. However our server returned about ten minutes later with our full order. One of our group pointed out that we had asked for the salad to start, and was given a shrug in response. That aside, the mains were pretty solid, save the fettuccine. Meatball subs were a generous portion of pretty light meatballs in a bright tomato sauce, and the spaghetti and meatballs were basically the same, sans bread. Nothing groundbreaking, but acceptable. The fettuccine came topped with three slices of flank steak, cooked far beyond the requested medium rare. The alfredo sauce was fine, but the plate had a coating of balsamic vinegar around the rim and under the sauce. I now know why you rarely see alfredo sauce combined with a heavy dose of balsamic vinegar. Blech. The dish was a total failure. Between the overcooked steak, long wait and subpar fettuccine I don't see much reason to return until we hear that the ship has been righted, or this location has yet another iteration. Cafe Torino provides a reliable, if atmosphere-less option for Italian-American cuisine in Warrenton. -
I've been pretty pleased with the pizzas at Cafesano, Marie's replacement. Another place that made a huge step up in terms of atmosphere. -
Since there was no thread for this restaurant on its own - there is now. Apparently the 2nd venture for the Lahlou Restaurant Group, their 1st being Lupo Verde Cucina & Bar. Stopped in late afternoon looking for some decent Italian food - the group of people (management) graciously greeted us and welcomed us to their establishment. We had viewed the menu posted outside and wanted to see if they could accommodate Ghocchi for our kids who wanted tomato-based sauce instead of (GNOCCHI 22,ASPARAGUS, WILD MUSHROOMS, FONDUTA, SPRING PEAS, GELATO AL PARMIGIANO), which in unison, they replied "absolutely, we can make anything the way you want it." It did not disappoint and the Gnocchi was outstanding. We also had a PACCHERI 28 BLUE CRAB, SHRIMP, SQUID, GARLIC, SAFFRON BRODETTO which was excellent and flavorful. The fresh-baked bread that accompanied our meal helped me make sure my plate was clean enough to place back on the shelf without washing 😁. We also ordered the tomato and fresh mozzarella pizza to round out the meal. Staff was accommodating and sincerely friendly. This place is tucked away off the main part of the Wharf on a secondary street but easy to find. The food came out promptly and we felt like they appreciated our visit. If in the area and interested in a moderately-priced, fresh Italian meal, give it a shot.- 3 replies
-
- 3
-
-
- street food
- Italian
- (and 9 more)
-
Located just off Gunston Road in Gunston Plaza next to the US Post Office, this place surprisingly has 13 locations in the area. The pizza is good as are the subs, pasta and daily lunch specials which are typically $8-10. Service is consistently good as well. Atmosphere is typical vinyl green-checkered table clothes and the Italian flag, tacky Italian inspired, framed pictures and wall paper adorn the walls. Kitchen is somewhat open and the place is always clean and pretty busy for lunch - I have probably eaten here 25 times, and oddly just now adding this post. If you happen to be in Lorton and want someplace easy to park and dine, you have found it; very reasonably priced.
-
Rarely have I been this impressed by a new restaurant. My favorites were the fritto misto, fried oysters (daily special), and the squid-ink pasta with seafood. The seafood was fresh, fresh, fresh! My seafood pasta dish was uniquely flavored - I think olives were involved. We also had the pasta with pork sausage and caprese with fruit. Those were good but not great. Good variety of red wine in a wide range of prices. Service was friendly but not very efficient. My fried oysters were sitting at the kitchen counter too long so by the time it was served to me, they were cold. After complaining, they were replaced by a fresh, hot batch and the taste and freshness was stunning. The wait for food was also long. However, it is a new restaurant and the food is great, so I will cut them some slack because the food is so darn delicious.- 6 replies
-
- 1
-
-
- Arlington
- Shirlington
- (and 2 more)
-
I recently had a chance to visit Bottega Louie, a bright, cavernous space in The Brockman Building on South Grand that is both a gourmet market and restaurant. The large open floor and high ceilings plan gives the place a certain vibrancy, with an accompanying noise level that you might expect from such a large room. I took a seat at the 10 stool bar in the front closer to the market and quite enjoyed the Cioppino, which also cost $30. It was a full bowl of succulent seafood, that contained perhaps the most plump mussels I have ever been served. Truly satisfying. -
La Scala in Little Italy, Baltimore was very good. We hit there on a Saturday evening, with a medium-sized party (reservation of course), and were seated promptly. Their shuttle to/from our hotel was a nice touch so we did not have to mess with parking. From the Grilled Caesar salad and garlic bread to the homemade sausage, jumbo shrimp and spinach over penne pasta (made inhouse), everything was served hot and perfectly seasoned. We had Chicken Parm, fettuccine verdi alla Bolognese, Gnocchi, penne with tomato sauce; everything was available in 1/2 portions for children. Their waitstaff was very well informed, courteous but not overbearing. Food came out as ordered, and courses were timed well - they were very busy on a Saturday evening. The drinks were great. We did not enjoy dessert although they all were homemade and sounded good. As a side note, the bocce ball court on the basement level of the restaurant was a good distraction for the kids but they have to be accompanied by an adult - just a head's up. Interior is a little dated, and nothing to write home about, but the food was the focus and it all worked for us.
-
Enjoyed a lovely meal at Etto last night, thrilled to have this restaurant in the neighborhood. It embodies so much of what neighborhood restaurants should be -- run by seasoned, local chefs and restaurateurs (Obelisk, Two Amys, Standard/soon-to-be-called Garden District)... relaxed and friendly... excellent food and drinks. On display at the bar are beautiful antipasti. Last night included: swordfish belly; squash blossoms stuffed with faro, raisins and pine nuts; Roman artichoke bottoms; cauliflower; a rabbit roulade; peas and pancetta; and more. Also on the bar is a big punch bowl of house made "adult" punch. The wood-burning oven for the pizza is going non-stop. We started at the bar (got there about 6:45pm and there was already a wait for tables, they don't take reservations), then were seated at a table for 6 to share with another couple. Not a problem for my friend and me -- spacious and we had enough privacy to enjoy our meal and conversation while making new friends. Peter Pastan was behind the counter all night, and kept a careful and close eye on everything going on, from bar to oven to kitchen to staff to diners. Our meal: Squash blossoms: By far the best of the antipasti we had; a wonderful blend of flavors and textures -- the first time I've enjoyed squash blossoms that weren't fried, scrumptious. Cauliflower: Tasty, but couldn't quite place what made the florets orange-red, very mild in flavor. Roman artichoke bottoms: A favorite, loved this version -- the bottoms were filled with what tasted like a blend of parsley, lemon and something savory, possibly anchovies (?). Pizza ala Romana: Tasty pizza crust, crispy where it should be, lovely and chewy where it should be. I understand they mill their own wheat and mix in spelt. Gives it great texture and taste. As for drinks, we kept things simple. A nice prosecco in retro glasses. We left around 9:30pm and the place was jammed. Noise level might be my only negative, but that's typical of most places now, so it is what it is. Will definitely be going back to Etto and, hopefully becoming a regular if I can get a seat. And I love the idea of having a place within a few easy blocks where I can order delicious and, in some cases, unique antipasti to bring home to enjoy as well. Interested to hear what others think of Etto... -
I've been to Mamma Lucia once. (In Bethesda -- don't know if there's more than one.) I was in a big group that included children not sprung off by me. It seemed like a perfect place for kids. The staff and clientele were tolerant and friendly. And, I might add, my entree was delicious. It was a pasta with a spicy pork sauce -- can't recall the name. But when it was served, the following things occurred: (1) I thought, "Wow, that's big, I'll never finish it"; then (2) I thought, "Wow, that was big, I can't believe I finished it." -
We went to SPQR for dinner last night. It reminds me of a revamped Babbo, right down to the rock-and-roll blasting from the speakers. Sweet corn and quinoa "frittella", smoked trout, roe and red onion crema fresca. I wanted to like SPQR especially since I'd heard so much about it. Style is "nuevo Italiano" and left much to be desired. Also not every day you're served a dish with a sauce that reminds you of Pepto-Bismol. The "frittella" was fine and the goo inoffensive. Sicilian artichoke, romano bean and kohlrabi salad, smoked wagyu beef, pecorino. Take away three ingredients on that plate and you've got a great salad. BTW the artichokes tasted like they were canned. Wild rice stuffed quail, creamed greens, heirloom apple. Their secondi were a bit more imaginative. The quail was perfectly cooked and the greens in keeping with the season. There was some sort of demi-glace-based sauce poured over the quail. Again, too many elements on the plate. Tasty though, for what it's worth....B liked it. Squid ink spaghetti, red wine braised octopus and mussel "puttanesca", black olive crumb. They redeemed themselves somewhat with the pasta. I suppose if I were to return here, I'd start with their primi instead. Chestnut clafoutis, black truffle gelato, honey ($22). Served with a glass of passito moscato from Cosenza, Calabria ($15). This dessert was the best thing I ate all night, and that says something. Very flavorful and everything complemented each other. Meyer lemon goat yogurt, lime honey, grapefruit sorbetto. Was pretty good. Would I return? Maybe, if I didn't have any other options. You can do better in San Francisco. SPQR1911 Fillmore Street (Wilmot Street)Pacific Heights-001.JPG.96ca60a9aa9465cf1fc9428afc62a0ae.JPG)
-001.JPG.5c4e4a218137a72f8cea918c2076c70b.JPG)
-001.JPG.d1181386c12173e7493ef8b05c623726.JPG)
-
- 1
-
-
- Pacific Heights
- Italian
- (and 4 more)
-
Bertucci's declared bankruptcy Chapter 11. Back in the day, and I don't recall which "day" or how far back, I found Bertucci's an acceptable restaurant. As I recall its a chain out of New England that at one time had a fair number of restaurants in the greater DC region. I think that number has been shrinking for years. Expect more shrinkage. -
Guess who's coming to dinner? -
We made a lunch stop at Eataly Los Angeles on Santa Monica Blvd. in the Westfield Century City mall. It compares favorably to the other Eataly locations I have been to (New York and Chicago) if you like that sort of thing - which I do.
-
I finally got around to try Cinghiale near the harbor. It's an Italian restaurant that is part of Cindy Wolf's Charleston group in Baltimore. The place divided into 2 sections, the more casual bistro-like Osteria, and the fancy Enoteca. However, you can order off both menus no matter where you sit. Since we were more slobbed out, we ate in the Osteria, but I ended up ordering off the Enoteca menu, which is like a prix fixe that you can also add wine pairings with each course. The food was really delicious- I started with La Carne Cruda- a raw veal tenderloin topped with poached quail egg. My next course was some boar ravioli with a brown butter sauce. The main dish was amazing - Il Maiale- a roasted Berkshire pork rack with red wine sauce, grilled peaches and an arugula salad. My dining companions had a pretty amazing heirloom tomato salad with gorgonzola. All in all, it's definitely got the impressive food the Charleston group is known for. Pics -
While the food was reliable and capable and decent...But the service and the singing waitstaff (seriously, they sing operatic arias, etc) is what makes this place. The Victor Cafe. Had a blast there last year with friends. -
In the spirit of the Mattaponi River and its tributaries (I'm curious to see if anyone will figure this one out), the folks from Volt are planning to open Aggio near the Inner Harbor in the Power Plant Development. "Bryan Voltaggio To Open Restaurant In Baltimore" by Richard Gorelick on baltimoresun.com "Bryan Voltaggio: 'Baltimore's Restaurant Scene Is Ripe For Growth While D.C. Is Getting 'Saturated''" by Sarah Meehan on bizjournals.com
-
A joint venture between Cava and Mama Lucias in Park Potomac. Was at a preview party tonight.... 800 degree oven,good pizza's.- not quite orso or pupatello...but much better thah matchbox. And no corporate board driving the food. Had some spicy pork sliders, among other tastes. Should do great and a welcome addition to the wasteland of food in Potomac! -
Was able to grab a quick lunch today based on a friend's recommendation. The Espositos is located adjacent to the entrance to Fairfax HS, directly across the street from PJ Skidoos. If you are looking for a very casual approach to fresh Italian food, try it. The owner welcomed me to their restaurant when I arrived and and took a moment to thank me when I left. The server was great and recommended the Chicken Francaise, I got a side of spaghetti with meat sauce so I could try their fresh pasta. The chicken (2 thin breasts) was extremely flavorful, as was the sauce. The side pasta with meat sauce was good by itself. She offered me their house, spicy (but not too much), olive oil with a basket of fresh bread - also another nice complimentary touch. Atmosphere is nothing special, as I mentioned before, it is very casual. The people were nice, food was excellent and I will be back.
-
For $30 pp, Geranio has a 4 course menu offering right now. I recieved a notice via mail, but the dates are confllicting, so I'd call to be sure if you're going after August. The notice states on one side, that the 4 course fixed price menu will be offered throughout the month of August. On the other side it says it's available Aug. 1 thru Sept. 30. Choice of: Loster Bisque with Tarragon Fried Calamari with Lemon Caper Sauce Choice of: Salad of Vine Ripened Tomato and Mozzerella with Prosciutto and Field Greens Field Greens with Herb Mustard Vinaigrette, Gorgonzola and Walnuts Choice of: Veal Scaloppini with Braised Mushrooms, Roasted Garlic Fingerling Potatoes and Marsala Reduction Grilled Atlantic Salmon with Mashed Potatoes, Pancetta and Roasted Garlic and Shallots, Red Wine Sauce Choice of: Tiramisu Homemade Ice Creams and Sherberts http://www.geranio.net -
This place has been changed to Toscana Grill. The organic bent is gone. I was not a fan of the old place so hadn't paid much attention to it to notice the change despite walking past it everyday. It is now more of a red-checkered tablecloth neighborhood Italian place (that is they would be if they had tablecloths). They've had people out on the plaza handing out samples and trying to let people know about the change. I went tonight and it was ok. I had penne with sausage and meatball in marinara sauce. The sauce was good but a tad sweet and the meatball didn't have much flavor and a fluffy texture (yeah, I know fluffy isn't really a meatball description but it is what comes to mind). The sausage was the highlight -- nicely seasoned and not too fatty or too dry. The serving was on the smaller side compared to the oversized portions you see so often, but was definitely enough for me for dinner. I was given a sad looking basket of garlic bread where a few small pieces were lost in a too-large basket. It was made of pizza dough and nicely charred and very garlicky. Made me think it would be worth it to try their pizza. They had a very limited menu of pastas with assorted sauces and you could add your choice of protein and pizza. Online shows a far more extensive menu. The service was attentive with several people checking in on me throughout the meal who seemed genuinely interested in how I was enjoying my meal. They are offering several specials and gave me a $5 discount on my $14 dish. I think they are still working through their opening kinks. I won't be rushing back, but I will go back after they have some time to settle in. -
The chef is Howsoon Cham (originally from the Gambia, from what I recall). He previously headed the short-lived Newtown Grill on U Street, and before that a restaurant (can't remember the name) in Dupont that had been BEDUCI (currently Scion), and before that Red Ginger in Georgetwon. I think there was a thread about Red Ginger on here where Charlie Adler touted his skills. I've never eaten at any of his restaurants, so I can't speak to that, but I hope that this does better than the preceeding three. -
Introducing Roberto's 4 Challenge your palate with 12 or more of Chef's imaginative samplings "Roberto's 4" are four coveted seats at Al Dente Restaurant next to Chef Roberto Donna. He will create a 12+ course tasting menu for those with adventurous spirits in food and drink. It will be offered for $85 with a $45 Wine Pairing. This menu will be available to four guests on evenings designated by Chef, beginning February 20, 2013. There will be one seating at 7:00PM Reservation requests can be made through
-
for date night tonight, we went to The Gold Mirror roasted artichoke hearts, parmigianno-reggiano, olio nuevo avocado stuffed with Dungeness crab meat, lettuce and Thousand Island dressing not the greatest of pictures but it was awesome scallops, shallots, wine sauce, spinach veal sweetbreads, braised veal, porcini and button mushrooms panettone bread pudding, chilled zabaglione not bad; think old school Italian meets New Jersey
-
As usually satisfied regulars to Bebo, I would like to put the pro and con Bebo arguments in perspective by summarizing an experience my wife and I had last night at Murali in Pentagon Row. We ended up there after running a few errands in the mall and expecting to catch the always decent happy hour at Lebanese Taverna. Much to our chagrin, it was closed for a private party. looking for the least bad option in that wasteland, we chose Murali, which we hadn't been to in years. For $92, we got 6 glasses of wine, a crab/avocado salad with brownish avocado and slighly "old" crabmeat and split a $26.50 plate of seafood risotto which was a mixed bag to say the least...the seafood was actually fine in it, but the rice was overccoked, the sauce bland and strangely out of place huge chunks of cold tomato were all over the place! The moral..for less than this "stuff" costs, at Bebo you can get outstanding risotto for $19 bucks, good salads, good ingredients in all dishes and at least decent, sometimes outstanding preparation of most dishes plus of the 20+ pizzas I have had, all have been at least good. most very good to execellent. And service..once you become a regular at the bar, you are treated as such...Chef Donna always says hello to us and the the sous chef Amy came out are last time there to see if we enjoyed the whole wheat spaghetti special..Bebo is not perfect, but we all need perspective after blundering into some the price point competition. Our expectations for a Donna restaurant are indeed high, but essentially at this point, Bebo is the best place of its type in NOVA, albeit with slim to no competition...BTW please people somebody try Cucina Vivace up the street..on our way home last night at 8:00 PM..nobody was in there!
-001.JPG.96ca60a9aa9465cf1fc9428afc62a0ae.JPG)
-001.JPG.5c4e4a218137a72f8cea918c2076c70b.JPG)
-001.JPG.d1181386c12173e7493ef8b05c623726.JPG)
