Reading the fine print pays, and not just at the auto dealership or law office: The menu at this Silver Spring hole in the wall touts more than a dozen pastas, but look closely at the descriptions and you’ll discern a clear hierarchy of freshness. “Fresh house-made” means made that day; “house-made” means made in-house but frozen. The majority of pastas come with no description, which means they come from a box. Stick with the fresh house-mades—including a fettuccine tossed with bits of pancetta and onion in a fresh-tasting tomato sauce ($15) and another sauced with porcini mushrooms and crushed garlic ($16)—and you’ve got the framework for a cheap, rewarding takeout dinner. Crispy fried polenta slices with marinara ($7) make a good start, a filled-to-order cannoli ($6) a fine finish.
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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.
