"GO HERE: for a rotating mix of all-day handmade pastas and Healthyish options that you could eat for lunch and still manage to go back to work afterward. Plus, an impressive-yet-unintimidating wine menu that breaks down wines into simple descriptors like "bigger, bolder reds" and "full and round whites.” ORDER THE: trio of pastas, served family style, for a “surprise me” situation. There are new hand-rolled specials daily, but mainstays are the carbonara-style spaghetti chitarra; translucent, tender pappardelle with a simple butter and Parm sauce—and optional shaved truffles in season—and inventively-filled tortellini. Also look out for "not pasta" options like 72-hour braised short ribs over polenta with tender, sweet onions agrodolce or whole fish. There are also gluten-free options for those friends who usually can’t do Italian with you. FOR A LITTLE MORE BALANCE: At lunch, “Maria’s Menu” offers a two-course healthyish Mediterranean menu (from grilled cod and chickpeas to summer gazpacho), giving you a nice excuse to end the meal with house-made soft-serve gelato. THE VIBE IS: bright and spacious by day, cozy and homey by night. As casual or as formal as you’d like—you could just as easily come from work or take a date here. Sit at the bar and watch pasta fed through the extruder into dozens of shapes, or lean into comfortable pillows at a wooden booth in the back. In the warmer months, pick a table in the covered veranda or outdoors on the patio. It’d be excellent for a birthday party. PRACTICAL STUFF: Reservations available via Reserve or by phone at at 202-350-1312. Open 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Fridays, 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Saturdays, and 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays. (Brunch served until 2:30 p.m. on weekends.)" - Condé Nast
