Why go: You might be greeted by a lineup of freshly fired Neapolitan-style pizzas at this clanging, kid-crazy Cleveland Park dining room, but it’s the blackboard specials, masterful Italian small plates, and desserts that deserve the spotlight.
What to get: Deviled eggs with a green sauce; prosciutto-filled potato croquettes; Sicilian-style salad of blood oranges, tiny olives, and red onions; eggplant Parmesan, a special; salty Vongole pizza with cockles and chilies; piquant Norcia pizza with salami and grana padano cheese; house-made ice creams in flavors such as caramel and vanilla; cannoli; fresh goat cheese with fig jam.
Best for: Sharing small plates at the bar or on the patio; early dinners with the little ones; late-night meals after the kiddie crowd thins out.
Insider tip: There’s not much of a separate brunch menu, but the warm, sugar-rolled doughnuts served weekend mornings are alone reason to come.
>> See all 2010 Cheap Eats restaurants here.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
