Pasta Mia

After all the times we tried to go, finally getting in was a bit of an anti-climax. We were lucky, in our timing- pretty much as soon as we sat down, a line formed to go out the door. I just don’t get it.

The service is flaky- all of the servers are guys, friends of the owners’ son- and unhurried. This is a bit of a surprise, as you’d think turning over tables would be a priority. Get me my water, already! The space is tiny- tables are shifted to let people in and out, and the olive oil is a bit of a community thing. That’s ok- where I was seated, I was in arm’s reach of at least three tables. [Hrmm, may I dip my bread in that sauce?]

The bread is crusty, but could use more body. The house wine is an ok red; not too tannic or sweet, and can be ordered by the half-litre or the litre. The ceasar salad was actually really good. I don’t really dig on salads, and yet I kept stealing bits of the one shields ordered. Good thing it was entree-sized. Not an anchovy in sight, thank god. And whoever made it was not shy about the garlic- pretty sure no vampire would have survived crossing the threshold of my apartment last night ;-)

Like the salads, the pasta portions are huge. Really huge. My pasta was nicely al dente, and the sauce was pleasantly spicy. Yet the sausage that was part of the dish, while tasty, was sweet and anise-flavoured. It did not go well.

Dessert was a staggeringly large piece of tiramisu. Yummy, and it was a good thing we only ordered one.

For under $50 for two people, we had wine, salad, reasonably decent pasta [enough to feed at least three hungry people], and dessert. It was pleasant, but not exciting- certainly I wouldn’t stand out in the cold for a half hour just to eat there, as many people were. I guess some people really just have to have Italian? Ah, well.

Italian restaurant in Adams Morgan. This place has several very enthusiastic reviews elsewhere on the web, and there is always a long line, so my expectations were fairly high.

Well, in a nutshell, the food is good, but it’s not amazing. The service is ok, but not good. The menu is comprehensive, but completely unsurprising. I think most of the appeal is in the very reasonable prices and large portions.

And visting is just a hassle; they are closed for lunch, they don’t open for dinner until 6:30, they don’t take reservations, and by 7:00 (even on weekdays) the line is out the door. It took four visits before I was actually able to try the place; they were always closed for some imaginary holiday like the Saturday after Thanksgiving, or because it snowed yesterday, or because it’s dark I suppose.

Basically, I can recommend Pasta Mia if you are near Adams Morgan, and it is between 6:30 and 7:00 pm on a weekday, and you want Italian, and your party is two to six people, and you are not in a hurry. Otherwise, other restaurants beckon.