Finemondo

Finemondo brings authentic Italian country-kitchen cuisine to Washington, DC, in a warm, well-lit dining room that recalls the simple hearth of a Tuscan villa. Plunge into Finemondo's menu with hot and cold appetizers, such as the fried calamari ($9.50 for lunch, $10 for dinner), pan-roasted sea scallops ($11.50/$12.50), or mozzarella with melon and prosciutto ($8.50/$9.50). Traditional pasta dishes include gnocchi in a creamy tomato-porcini sauce ($17.50/$18.50), spaghetti and meatballs ($17.50/$18.50), and lasagna ($18.50/$19.50). Meat-eaters can whirl through the carnivortex with the braciola ($19.50/$24.50), beef rolled with prosciutto, pecorino cheese, and pinenuts; the bocconcini di vitello's ($19.50/$24.50) veal bites braised with white wine, cream, oven-dried tomatoes, and chili peppers; or a classic chicken parmigiana ($19.50/$24.50). For a captivating conclusion to these elegant exercises in Italian eats, Finemondo deals in decadent desserts, including the frutti di bosco ($8.50), which coats mixed berries with balsamic vinegar and is served with vanilla ice cream, and a crème brûlée ($7.50) with a Giuseppe Arcimboldo painting's worth of seasonal fruit.