"Craving a good, old-fashioned Italian dinner on Monday, family-style Carmine’s in Penn Quarter was calling my name. The curved wooden bar up front felt right for date night (a couple next to us had the same idea). Here you can order lunch portions any time, which are still huge and doubled well as leftovers. The namesake salad bursting with flavor comes packed with generous toppings like huge pepperoncini and cubed salami, mortadella, and provolone. Another oblong white plate of rigatoni and meatballs hit the spot. And you can never go wrong with its lightly fried calamari or espresso martini. A Frank Sinatra soundtrack set to an ideal noise level was a perfect pairing with the NY Yankees World Series game aired above. Don’t forget to grab from a gold mine of wrapped mints before heading out the door." - Eater Staff
