il Canale

before good buddy of BOOF, toochi, shipped off to China for the summer we knew that we had to get together. we are always trying to find time in our hectic schedules to hang out but it is always tough to get us in the same place at the same time. i had a livingsocial deal to a new italian restaurant in georgetown, so we finally made a date and a time and we were on the books for dinner.

il canale is located on 31st in georgetown between M and K overlooking the canal. apparently before il canale came in, there was a pretty bad italian restaurant in the same location but let me tell you, il canale is definitely not the same place. il canale is traditional italian food highlighted by Neapolitan style pizzas (told you i was eating a lot of pizza!) and classic flavors. il canale is marked by its very warm and well lit interior but it also features a nice covered roof top deck which overlooks the "canale", perfect for a nice summer evening. the interior is modern with simple colors to not withdraw your attention from the food as it is nothing too spectacular.

we started off with the frittura di calamari e zucchine which is crispy tender calamari served with a spicy marinara sauce. the seasoning and flavor of these bad boys was quite delicious. the calamari essentially stood on its own, not necessarily needing the sauce because the seasoning was quite perfect...not too much but not bland. the zucchini was also a nice touch because as all of you may know, i'm a sucker for some seafood and veggies. especially, when they are fried. :-)

tn originally ordered the Pacch eri di Gragnano which is an artisan large tube pasta with classic neapolitan meat sauce, and a touch of imported bufala ricotta and mozzarella. unfortunately, tn was not quite in the mood for what she ordered so she ended up sending it back. however, it looked super delicious...i'm sure if the sauce did not have meat in it, i would have ate it and loved it. because this restaurant is very traditional, do not expect to find an alfredo sauce on the menu. as our moroccan (random, i know) waiter explained to us, alfredo sauce is not italian at all. so only expect true italian flavors and dishes to come out of il canale. the presentation was also still lovely, and the large tube pasta is not something that i am accustomed to seeing but it was also a pleasant surprise. additionally, be a little prepared for this to be cooked al dente, unless you ask them otherwise.

i ordered the Parmigana which is a neapolitan style pizza topped with a tomato sauce, parmesan shavings and the staple imported bufala mozzarella. the pizza was really good the parmesan added the perfect amount of sharp flavor to the pizza and the crust was cooked very well. if I were to do a little crust comparison from my most recent pizza ventures i would say il canale= 2 amys > Vapianos. however, they have all been tasty, the ingredients have all been fresh and I have been very pleased.

as a substitute for her pasta, tn switched to pizza and ordered La Regina which was just like my pizza accept minus the parmesan and plus proscuitto. she was much more pleased with this option and enjoyed it greatly. the flavors were simple but classically done so there were no complaints from our end.

il canale was good. was it the best italian meal i have ever had? probably not but it was definitely really tasty, well prepared, fresh and traditional italian food. the location is really great and with enough word of mouth, this place can definitely be put on the dc map for a really great authentic italian meal. supposedly, for happy hour from 4-7, you can get a pizza and a glass of red/white wine for $9.99. I think that is a steal and without even that deal, I would definitely come back here for a nice dinner.

Grade: B+

Additional: There is plenty to do in the Georgetown area. You can shop, walk around georgetown and up the canal/down the river. You can also catch a movie which makes for a really great date night. I would definitely leave the kids or large groups at home because this restaurant definitely has more of the feel of a dinner with a good friend or couple of friends, or a date night with your schnookums.

2 Amys

good buddy of BOOF, eh and I had been trying to get together for some time now. we finally found a saturday when both of us were free, so I threw out the idea of grabbing lunch and she agreed.

being a new yorker, i am very picky about my pizza to say the least. being that pizza is my favorite food (group), i am once again very picky about my pizza. so when people tell me, that these restaurants in DC have "GREAT" pizza, i politely nod my head but really i am thinking "these people have no idea what GREAT pizza is". needless to say, it is common knowledge to DC foodies that 2 Amys serves up some of the best pizza in DC, so I was a little excited to check out what all the rave is about. eh agreed to meeting at 2 Amys for lunch as she also had never been there before.

2 Amys is Washington Top 100 restaurant along with a Washingtonian Top 100 Cheap Eats, so you know that you are supposed to be getting a lot of bang for your buck. It is located a little up from the national Cathedral so Kinda Tenleytown/Glover Park area. So the neighborhood is pretty lovely and perfect for a nice sunny afternoon stroll after lunch.

It is not located right on Wisconsin which I think adds a little bit of more character to the restaurant. it is filled with large windows, pretty open seating and it also features some outdoor seating out back. the decor is simple with just nice clean hardwood floors and tables giving it a very warm feeling when you walk in. you are automatically met with the wondrous scent of brick oven pizza when you walk in and you know you are definitely in for something tasty.

we started with the bruschetta with tomato fondattu which was absolutely delicious. although you might say well, bruschetta is super easy to make...which it is but this was more than just bruschetta. under the bruschetta was perfectly toast garlic bread with butter and it appeared that the bruschetta was place on right at the perfect moment that the bread wasn't too soggy but just the flavor had permeated through the bread the right amount. so good. get the bruschetta with tomato when you go. you won't be dissapointed.

another side comment is that i ordered the lemonade as my drink and man o man, it was so good. i didn't realize how long it had been since i had a nice tasty glass of lemonade but you can tell that this was freshly squeezed, perfectly tart with a nice sweet undertone. so good.

for our meals, eh ordered the marinara which is just simply topped with marinara tomato sauce, garlic and oregano. she also added onions and anchovies to the mix.

i ordered the simple marghertia which is topped with a tomato sauce, mozzarella di bufala, and basil.

we were both extremely pleased with our pizzas. the ingredients were super fresh and the crust was so delicious. eh was pleasantly surprised how much flavor her pizza had despite having no cheese and i was just happy to have a well made pizza with a crust that has some taste and doesn't taste like cardboard. the pizza is neapolitan style so it is very distinct from NY pizza, if DC wants to be the experts on neapolitan style, i definitely think they are on their way with 2 Amys and Il Canale (post soon to come). although it is not the most amazing pizza i have ever had, 2 Amys did a really great job. the flavors were spot on, the ingredients were good and the crust was delectable which all in all makes for a good pizza. the restaurant is also a really nice and warm set up, so you can definitely go with either a large group, a good friend or a sig other. it is definitely bustling on weekends but they get people in and out pretty quickly, so you should not have to wait too long if there is a wait.

the restaurant also features a winebar with meats and cheese accompaniments but i think that would have to be its own special trip.

Grade: A-

Things to do: 1) you should go right across the street for dessert at Something Sweet. 2) Take a stroll to the National Cathedral, sit in on a mass or just visit. it is beautiful. Some of the embassy row is also in the same area so you can also take a gander at many of those.