Back to basics

For my birthday dinner, I decided to go to Potenza in D.C. with la familia. Weeks earlier, I had been waffling between Brasserie Beck and Potenza. I had dined at Potenza's cafe bakery several times and eaten lunch there, so knew it was a solid win. And after going out to BB's sister restaurant Mussel Bar the week before, I decided to go with Potenza for my dinner. And it sure didn't disappoint!

My brother and mother split the pan-seared Bronzino with ravioli. It looked tasty, but I zeroed in on more classic italian food.

My younger brother tried out the pizza with spicy sopresatta. I stole a couple pieces of the sopresatta and thoroughly enjoyed.

 

And for moi? Spaghetti and meatballs! I can say without a doubt in my mind that Potenza's meatballs are the best I've ever had at a restaurant. Ever. I've had the meatballs in a meatball sub once for lunch and loved them. But what made them so good was how delicate they were. There was a good amount of meat (pork, veal, beef) in them, but they were packed so lightly that they just fell apart with a fork. The sauce was a perfect complement and the spaghetti was also probably the best spaghetti I've ever eaten at a restaurant.

At the fancier Italian joints, they use handmade, fresh pasta. For some reason, I've never been a fan of the fresh pasta due to its consistency. More commercial Italian restaurants, such as Maggiano's and Carmine's have decent pasta, but it's clearly the straight-out-of-the-box kind. If I wanted that, I'd make it myself. So whatever Potenza did with their spaghetti is the perfect medium. They deserve a high five and a fist pump for their efforts. And if you haven't already been to Potenza, I strongly encourage you to check it out!