Grazie Nonna

The most happening restaurant in downtown DC? Sure feels like this Italian American dining room, tucked off the street inside the Midtown Center complex. Bringing in the crowds at lunch and dinner: dirty martinis made with banana-pepper brine (genius!); pizza that’s airy and thin but also saucy and cheesy; and robust, easy-to-like pastas such as bucatini Alfredo, livened up with a dollop of chilies. Bookend your meal with a creamy Caesar or a round of calamari, and then a butterscotch pudding.