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In article <1AUG199412505860@lando.hns.com>,
Carle <henson@lando.hns.com> wrote:
>In article <HUNTER.94Jul28094411@work.nlm.nih.gov>, Hunter@nlm.nih.gov writes...
>> 
>>  I'm looking for a reasonable but good Italian resto in NW DC or Bethesda.
>>  Any recommendations.
>> 
>>My favorite cheap Italian place is Pines of Rome, by the UA Bethesda theater
>>and the Metro stop.  It's a loud, family kind of place that serves their
>>wine in jelly glasses.  A typical dinner there for me includes white pizza,
>>roasted peppers & anchoivies, and osso bucco.  Good, peasant-y fare. Main
>>courses in the $10 range.
>> 
>
>I second the motion! Their white pizza is outstanding. They have had some
>specials over the years that were really memorable. Liver (yes, liver) and 
>octopus are examples of dishes they don't have every day but are superb
>and not the kind of thing every Italian joint in town will have. I also
>recommend their Roast Veal. It's a veal rib roasted with garlic.
>
>I have never had anything there I didn't like. The only complaint 
>I ever got about Pines of Rome was from a fellow from Sicilian heritage 
>who complained that the tomato sauce "looked like what his family 
>started from to make tomato sauce." The tomato sauce is light and tasty 
>but has not been cooked to death like my friend seemed to want.
>
>Carle
 
Two comment. First, the restaurant is getting even more variable than
in the past. The usually excellent white pizza was served burned the last
2 times I stopped there. Second, you don;t have to be Sicilian to criticize
the tomato suace. In fact, "tomato sauce" is exactly what it's like--
whole tomatoes out of the can, with a few shakes of thyme.

Their prices are reasonable, but not for great Italian food. I'm sorry
to detect a move in the direction of the old A.V. (which I've been
going to since the 1950s-- less and less.