A La Lucia
315 Madison St.
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-836-5123
Neighborhood: Alexandria, Alexandria, Old Town
Cuisines: Italian
Opening Hours:
Open Monday through Thursday 11:30 to 2:30 and 5 to 9:30, Friday 11:30 to 2:30 and 5 to 10, and Sunday 4 to 9.
Nearby Metro Stops: King St., Braddock Road
Price Range: Moderate
Dress: Business Attire
Noise Level: N/A
Reservations: Not Needed
Website: http://www.alalucia.com/
Best Dishes:
Mozzarella and tomato salad; lentil soup; white bean soup; calamari with red pepper and celery; veal canneloni; malfadini; veal stew with polenta; veal paillard; double-cut pork chops; panini.
Price Details:
Appetizers $4.95 to $8.95, entrées $10.95 to $26.99.
At this lively trattoria, it’s easy to imagine you’ve stumbled into Big Night. There’s no timbale, but there’s first-rate house-made cannelloni stuffed with veal, tender chicken marsala strewn with wine-soaked mushrooms, and a very good sausage-and-pepper rigatoni.
This is simple, big-portioned, familiar fare—a truffle-free zone that fills the gap between fine dining and the local spaghetti house. Dishes are presented with care—witness the lemon-spritzed arugula framed in points of Parmesan cheese.
Luscious wines—owner Michael Nayeri spent 18 years as Galileo’s vino guru—arrive in goblet-size glasses, an unspoken invitation to stay and talk.
Except for the refreshing grapefruit-Campari sorbetto, desserts can be skipped—but so what? Louis Prima didn’t show, either.
Open Monday through Friday for lunch and dinner, Saturday and Sunday for dinner.