Fiola

To celebrate a special event with some friends we splurged on this "modern trattoria" of Fabio Trabocchi's in Penn Quarter and it was sensational. Everything -- decor, drinks, appetizer, pasta, main course, wine, dessert, service, ambiance -- was terrific. It even had the Washington power elite it's famous for, with a Supreme Court justice coming into the restaurant right behind us.

The friend who suggested this outing had done some research and steered us to truly outstanding signature dishes. To start with, as an hors d'oeuvres for the table, we had the veal meatballs, with an egg sunny-side up. These were tender, flavorful concoctions smothered in a delicious garlicky tomato sauce that I mopped up with the slightly toasted delicious bread. We had these with cocktails that I discuss more at length in my wine and spirits blog.

My first course, one of the signature dishes, was the agnolotti of Venetian cod "Baccala" with mussels, cockles and Spanish octopus, and it was stupendously good. The creamy salty cod in the perfectly cooked pasta took you to the sea and the various other ingredients enhanced the fishy ambiance. The octopus, in particular, a baby octopus that had been blanched, was tender and mild in flavor but with enough of that exotic Atlantic taste to give the dish some kick. The broth and flavoring, too, all worked to create a wonderfully balanced and, even the half-portion, very generous serving of seafood. Andrea had the vitello tonnato, made with tuna tartar and a creamy mayonnaise, that also was fabulous from the taste of it I had.

Let me say in passing it was such a relief to go to a restaurant that was not serving small plates. This was a meal, a real meal, that had nothing "precious" or sampling about it. This was great food, served with flourish, but not fussed over. So in that sense, it was truly like a trattoria. No white tablecloths, only some smart finished wood, and a cheerful, bustling air that was not too hectic or noisy.

My main course was Wagyu beef tenderloin with rosemary zabaglione that was beautifully tender and, even at medium rare, a healthy red with a robust beef flavor. Andrea went for the porchetta that was the genuine article, a real stuffed pork loin with the fennel and anise flavors, and extra savory from the homemade sausage used in the stuffing. For dessert, we actually passed up the dark chocolate ganache in favor of the bomboloni -- Sardinian ricotta doughnuts -- that were simply exquisite -- warm, puffy, creamy in the middle and set off perfectly by the burnt honey gelato that accompanied.

We had a moderately priced Super Tuscan that I don't find on the online menu, but which was quite nice. The service was genial, efficient and never intrusive, though the courses did come out somewhat quickly. The manager stopped by twice to check on us and was very personable.

Fiola is definitely in the top rank of DC restaurants, right up there with Komi, Marcel's, Corduroy and the others. Too pricey to go often but definitely one to visit again.