Cal-Italian trailblazer Wolfgang Puck may have just opened a restaurant in Washington, but this airy trattoria chain has been pushing feta-topped pizzas here since the 1980s. The late-night hours and fruity cocktails attract a Euro crowd, especially at the original Georgetown location. Our favorite part? The free bowl of green-olive tapenade that kicks off every meal.
What to get: Tortellini Rose, Gorgonzola-stuffed pasta in a prosciutto-flecked tomato-cream sauce; bruschetta with tomatoes and goat cheese; watermelon-and-feta salad; grilled espresso-rubbed steak salad with Gorgonzola and crunchy haricots verts; frozen peach Bellini with fresh mint.
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.
