Sette, Washington, D.C.

After an afternoon at the Phillip Collection Galleries, my friend Joel and I wandered around the corner to Sette for a late lunch. We sat out on the patio underneath a big canvas canopy and watched the Connecticut Avenue pedestrians walking by. I've been wanting to make to Sette, since it's one of the few restaurants open late in the area, but the reviews I'd read were mixed, so we never prioritized the trip. It's a modern Italian-themed restaurant with a rather small menu, but the service was ample and well trained. We had a rather ecclectic meal that was much more of a nosh than a lunch.

We split a bottle of prosecco that turned out to be a pleasant afternoon sipping wine. The waiter (he said he was Tunisian, and not Italian) also brought us bottles of Italian sparking water. We started with a plate of five very large pieces of grilled squid served amid a mound of dressed mixed greens and quartered cherry tomatoes. Next we had the Italian meat and cheese board, which featured five exotic Italian meats in paper-thin slices and five Italian cheeses cut in different shapes, with four big slices of grilled Italian country bread. We were chatting and lingering so long during these two courses, we should have been at a tapas bar!

About this time, the wind came up and we thought we were going to get a big downpour, so the waiters moved us all inside before we could order a third appetizer. We ended up at the end of the bar, so instead of more food, we moved to espressos and Joel was drinking crema di limoncellos. Eventually, we had a ricotta cheesecake that was ok, but the barmaid had microwaved it before serving, which, of course, I always think devastates all breads and pastries, plus the ricotta was actually hot in places, which made it feel "thin" on the tongue. It improved once it cooled back to room temperature, but the crust naturally was ruined by the nuking.

I suppose I shall have to go back to Sette sometime to try out their pastas and meat courses, but at least the noshing was fun. Joel was such a charming conversationalist, I really didn't pay that much attention to the food, anyway.