Provided that there’s the promise of amazing daily specials and a fully stocked cooler filled with Italian sodas, we will continue to patronize La Piazza more than once a week.

For awhile, it was the penne alla vodka, with its smoky pancetta and sweet, creamy pink vodka sauce. And the tremendously delicious, tender homemade meatballs. We even dabbled a bit in the decadent deep-fried olives.

But more recently (Friday), it was the eggplant parmigiana and the bottles of limonata that drew us back to this great little dine-in and carryout located near the Braddock Road Metro station. On Friday, we went for the straight-up entrée, served with spaghetti marinara. Unlike many of the eggplant parmigianas or melanzanes that we’ve enjoyed (and, yes, there have been many), this dish featured one very thick slice of tender, fleshy eggplant, as opposed to several thin slices or a brick of layered slices. This slab was lightly fried, and slathered in La Piazza’s signature sweet, tangy marinara sauce. Their deceptively simple marinara is among the best in town. It’s sufficiently chunky, with bits of freshly stewed tomatoes, and is not overseasoned, thereby allowing the tomato to reveal its true character. We always order an extra side of it for dipping and, well, eating it straight.