Cucina Morini

Caruso’s Grocery chef Matt Adler leans into bold, spicy Southern Italian flavors at this Mount Vernon Triangle dining room. We never skip his Sicilian zuppa di pesce, a fragrant seafood-loaded pot that easily feeds four. Half portions of pasta—tagliolini gilded with chili butter, rigatoni with lamb ragu—allow for plenty of sampling. Kick off the coastal feast with bright crudos and smooth gin-and-vodka martinis. At the moodily lit bar, they’re our favorite drink deal in town at $7.