With dark wood, vintage black-and-white photos, Sinatra on the speakers, and Southern Italian cooking, Maggiano’s aims for that Little Italy feel. And when you’re sitting amid the large family groups and clusters of friends who frequent the place, it’s easy to feel a whole lotta love.
What to get: Plates such as whole roast chicken marinated in rosemary and garlic, Italian pot roast over noodles, and crisp Vesuvio potatoes hold the most appeal. Pasta tends to be overcooked, and the red sauces don’t have the sweet tanginess you’d expect in a place that wants it to seem as though Mama cooked it all.
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.
