We are food lovers, food enthusiasts, foodies — whatever you want to call us. Basically we like to eat (good food). Alongside our enthusiasm comes the difficult task of trying to restrain ourselves from ordering everything off the menu when dining out. It’s not because we’re that hungry, but because we want to sample all that the chef has to offer. This is one reason tasting menus are so fun. You get to try multiple courses of small bites, but unfortunately the last course is always a big fat bill. If you’re like us and want to excite your palate with different options while sticking to your budget, you have to find alternatives. A good way to do this is to seek out one of the many restaurants that offer up tapas and small plates.
Recently, we were enjoying a glass of wine at the bar in Sette Bello restaurant, on Wilson Boulevard in Clarendon. While scrolling through the menu, just to see what they offered, we were thrilled to see a page titled “Piattini – Italian Tapas.” The list included both cold and hot items such as orange marinated and cured salmon with fennel, watermelon with air-dried ricotta salad, and seared scallops wrapped in pancetta with artichoke ragu. Prices ranged from only $4 to $7. The rest of the menu is divided into antipasti selections, salads, gourmet pizzas, pastas and then entrées, which are all reasonably priced. Unfortunately, the wine menu is over-priced.
We fianlly decided to go with the fiori alla trasteverina ($6) and the crocchette Emiliane ($4). The “fiori” were delicious fried zucchini blossoms stuffed with ricotta cheese and prosciutto. As an added touch to the presentation, batonnets of zucchini were fried and laid beside the salad. We would have done this for Eating In, except we did not want to send you all on the dubious mission of trying to buy squash blossoms. So, this week we will be making Potato and Prosciutto Croquettes with a tomato dipping sauce. We used our deep fryer for these, but if you do not have one, you can use a small pot filled with oil. This recipe can easily be doubled to serve at your next party.
Sette Bello enticed us with its “chic” bar feel and impressed us with their small plates. If you can’t make it out to Clarendon you can stop by their other two restaurants, Café Milano on Prospect Street in Georgetown and the bustling Sette Osteria in Dupont Circle. Chef Domenico Cornacchia oversees all three restaurants.
