A La Lucia
A short drive from Old Town’s iconic King St. with its brick sidewalks and facades, sits A La Lucia in the north end of town. Housed in a store front-like building and surrounded by mid-rise condos, business buildings and hotels, A La Lucia has been a local’s favorite for many years, flying just under the radar despite consistently favorable mentions by local food critics. Witness the server chatting happily with regulars at a table behind us, and the owner, Michael Nayeri, who paces the service floor giving knowing glances to the ‘regulars’ and checking out unfamiliar faces like mine. I’m not a first timer, but I’m not a regular either.
In the big scheme of things, Frank and I do most of our eating at home,choosing to spend much of our discretionary food income at the farmers markets, particularly in the summer. And when we do eat out, we usually do so locally, typically sticking to our provincial favorites in Old Town and Del Ray. Hank’s, Chadwick’s (with a dog), and Taqueria Poblano are our regular haunts. We’ve sampled La Strada and Evening Star Cafe recently with much enjoyment, but have not strayed far past the main thoroughfares of King Street and Mount Vernon Avenue.
That was until we wanted to dine out before going to the Kennedy Center to see The Lion King with my mom, who is visiting from Philadelphia. She was in the mood for Italian; pizza or spaghetti. Surprisingly, she got both when we decided to have our dinner at A La Lucia.
Inside A La Lucia, comfortable and familiar Italian dishes are served on contemporary white plates and placed on tables covered with crisp white cloths. I would call it somewhat elegant, yet casual, and approachable most of all. Two dining rooms contain tables and deeply cushioned booths. A bar area has additional seating and a bar menu.
We were seated in front in a booth next to a large window (as I sat there regretting not bringing my camera). As we perused the menu which emphasises Southern Italian, tomato-based cooking, we were brought a large basket of fresh sliced bread, accompanied by a fruity olive oil for dipping. The regular dinner menu included soups, salads, antipasti and entrees. A prosciutto based white bean soup, meatballs with polenta, fried calamari, and rigatoni with spicy sausage sounded delicious. About a dozen or so daily specials were also offered in addition to the regular menu.
As we were enjoying our bread dipped in olive oil, we were offered a gift of 3 pizza slices from the kitchen. One look at the thin crust pieces, each dressed with just the right amount of red sauce and mozzarella, and I put the bread aside in order to enjoy the hot pizza right out of the oven.
“Wonderful, just like home”, I said to Frank.
“Yeah, I like how we make it at home too”, he responded, not realizing that I was referring to home as in PA and NJ, where we’re from.
“No”, I said, “like getting a slice where we grew up”.
He nodded in agreement. Even my mom thought it was something special.
I asked our server when the pizza can be ordered, since I did not see it on the dinner menu. He told us that it is available during lunch and at the bar. Frank and I are definitely going to the bar for a pie. Soon.
For starters, Frank and my mom had the mixed salad which looked fresh and was simply dressed with balsamic and olive oil. I ordered the Caesar salad, which truly impressed me. Whole crisp leaves of romaine lettuce came with a halved hard boiled egg and 2 anchovies. The dressing was pungent with garlic and anchovies and placed over the greens just before serving. Big points. I hate getting a Caesar salad that has been chopped and dressed, just languishing while waiting for someone to order it. Having a chilled plate would have put the salads over the top.
I ordered a daily special for my entree: margherita veal with in a sage wine sauce with tomato and mozzarella. It came with broccoli rabe that was cooked perfectly with garlic and red pepper flakes. The veal- 3 generous pieces, pounded thin, floured and pan fried. On top of the tender veal sat sliced field tomatoes and melted fresh mozzarella cheese. At the height of summer, this combination is quintesential with the tasty tomato and velvety just-melted cheese. Dredging both the veal and rabe in the sauce made two good things even better.
Frank ordered the hand made manicotti which was stuffed with cheese and spinach, and covered with melted cheese. Two large manicotti came in a bowl with red sauce. The pasta was delicate and cooked perfectly, while the filling had a nice texture that stayed together as the pasta was sliced. This was no factory frozen stuffed pasta, baked to order, place on the table and pawned off as made in house- it’s happened to me before (not here). I bake frozen stuffed pasta at home (from The Italian Store) and I like it. It’s one of my ‘go-to’ meals when I’m in a pinch. I just do not want to be paying triple for it in a restaurant.
Mom ordered exactly what she had been craving; spaghetti with meat sauce, and it did not disappoint. A large bowl filled with al dente pasta came smothered with sauced meat. Note, I didn’t say sauce with meat. Fragrant, seasoned meat was the mainstay of the topping. My Italian husband cringed visibly when my mom cut the pasta to pieces with her knife (many Italians think pasta has nerve endings), but she enjoyed it thoroughly, but not completely-she boxed her leftovers up in a doggy bag and savored the rest the next day.
To make someone who is used to the wonderful Italian food in Philly so happy here outside of Washington DC is a special thing. In fact, that goes for all three of us. Mr. Nayeri, you’ll be getting to know our faces in the future.
A La Lucia
315 Madison Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 836-5123
http://www.alalucia.com/index.htm
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