No. 23: Tosca
Cuisine: Ethereal hand-rolled pastas, often imaginatively sauced, and robust but elegant interpretations of Northern Italian cooking. The rotation of dishes rarely changes—but it also rarely misses the mark.
Mood: The dining room is dated and austere, as dull as the cooking is engaging, and the servers look as though they’ve been stuffed into their jackets. It’s a fitting setting for a place where lawyers flock and the talk is of billable hours and stalled negotiations.
Best for: A client lunch.
Best dishes: Roasted scallops with chestnut purée and black-truffle sauce, the epitome of earthy elegance; ravioli filled with chestnut and ricotta; ravioli stuffed with veal, prosciutto, and pistachio mortadella in a red-wine reduction; carrot pappardelle with rabbit ragu.
Insider tips: At the bar you can fashion a fine, affordable meal of half-price, half-size portions of pasta, and the wine list is long on earthy Italian reds.
Service: **½ (two and a half stars).
Open Monday through Friday for lunch and dinner, Saturday for dinner.
See all of 2009's 100 Best Restaurants.
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.
