In my last post I shared with you that I spent Columbus Day weekend in Washington D.C., my first trip there in over six years! Though I was excited to be back in our nation's capital, it rained for my entire visit. As such, we spent a lot of time shopping and dining out. Or rather, ducking in and out of buildings.
On my second night in town we had dinner at an Italian restaurant called Alba Osteria. It was a short walk from the Chinatown Metro station. From the street you could see the pops of orange from the banquettes and chairs inside.
Alba Osteria has a ton of bar seating, including seats right in front of the pizza oven. I absolutely love the way they store the firewood on the wall.
As I mentioned, the whole restaurant is bursting with orange furniture and decor. On a rainy night, we definitely needed that pick me up!
Our waiter arrived to the table to deliver us menus and right away it was clear he really didn't know anything about the menu items or the way things were prepared. Do you ever get that feeling within five or ten minutes of sitting down somewhere, where you just know the experience is going to be a nightmare?
Yeah, that happened.
To begin, we were treated to a basket of flatbread crisps with a curious side of something green. It looked like face cream, so I asked the waiter what exactly we had been served. He explained, "This is our house made dip. It's a blend of ricotta cheese, olive oil, garlic and lime."
Each of the flatbread crisps were toasted perfectly and dotted with just the right amount of salt.
The house made ricotta dip was the best thing we ate all night. It was so creamy and smooth. The waiter had to bring us a second jar and we even requested a third jar to take home!
As we devoured the crisps (purely as a vehicle for consuming the dip) we then discovered there were crostini and breadsticks at the bottom of that basket!
To wash down the ricotta dip, we ordered cocktails. Across from me, my friend ordered the Fragola, which was Bombay Sapphire, Campari, strawberry, basil and lime juice. She was hoping for a delicate balance of flavors, but only tasted basil with every sip.
I went with the Paola's Berry Punch, which was painfully fruity and sugary. I took a few sips and couldn't continue to drink it.
Though the cocktails were lackluster, the next thing to arrive was our cheese plate, which was super yummy. We had two kinds of cheese, a Toma and a Taleggio, with a side of hazelnut and honey dipping sauce. The honey dipping sauce was the best part of the dish!
The cheese plate was also meant to come with breadsticks, but when the server arrived to our table to deliver them, he dropped the entire basket and the breadsticks flew across our table. Yikes!
When we received a fresh batch of breadsticks we were happy to discover they tasted like churros! Perfect with the honey sauce.
We were only a bite or two into our cheese plate when our entrees arrived. I hate when a restaurant doesn't pace your courses and all of a sudden you have six to eight dishes on a tiny table. Worst!
Straight across for me, my friend was making room for the vegetariana pizza which was grilled vegetables, garlic, tomato, parmesan and smoked mozzarella.
She felt the pizza was over salted - the sauce and the veggies. She also said, "With this style of pizza, thin crust, it really shouldn't be as chewy as it was. It should have had some crunch, but it just didn't."
Next to her, her fiance ordered one of the evening's specials, the chicken ravioli. He said, "Honestly, when is roast chicken and rosemary ever a bad idea?"
After a few bites he shared, "I would have preferred the pasta to be a bit more cooked, it was quite al dente. The sauce was really buttery. Because of both of those things, I don't think I would order it again."
I decided on the gnocchi with gorgonzola cheese and pistachios. When the server brought over the dish he was calling it by another name (an incorrect name) so none of us thought it was what we ordered. Our waiter had to resurface to ensure us it was actually my dish.
The gnocchi was one note - one texture, one flavor. They tried to add crunch with the nuts, but there just weren't enough to make a difference. I was beyond underwhelmed. My friend's fiance took a bite and said, "Oh Mol, you definitely got the worst dish at the table. For sure."
Lastly, we decided to share a side of spinach. Unfortunately it was wilted and swimming in a sea of broth.
After multiple courses, the best thing we ate all night was the free thing - the crackers and dip!
I absolutely hate writing a negative review, but our meal at Alba Osteria was a true disappointment.
Thankfully the next two D.C. meals I plan to share with you were total home runs! More to come, friends!
