| Address | 5100 MacArthur Blvd., Washington, DC 20016 |
|---|---|
| Phone | (202) 363-0619 |
| Website | http://www.listranis.com/ |
Soggy sausage, terrible raviolis, terrible calimari, and terrible sauces. Need I say more?
Listrani's best quality is its red sauce dishes. The sauce is robust and not overwhelmingly sweet or loaded with spices to hide its rich tomato flavor. But, stick with the simple pasta dishes such as spaghetti with meatballs. Anything complex with multiple layers of cheeses or fried is probably not worth it. The pizza also worth a try if you like doughier crust and lots of sauce.
This Palisades fixture serves an incredible variety of pizza and pasta in well-lit, family-friendly dining rooms that don't look to have changed in the 18 years the place has been open. Why mess with what ain't broken? And if nobody's complaining about the Patrick Nagel-style '80s-ladies artwork, surely nobody minds the stuck-in-the-'70s create-your-own pasta dishes--four kinds of noodles and nine kinds of sauces--which supplement a long list of standard "specialty" pastas. The most unusual, Pappardelle del Bosco, is a satisfying tangle of broad noodles buried under a mountain of sauteed shiitake, portobello, and button mushrooms and lapped in a rich, but not greasy, white-wine sauce. There are also plenty of traditional Italian-style meat dishes and sandwiches. Appetizers are mostly of the fried-and true sort (mozzarella sticks, calamari) but also include mussels and marinated eggplant. Salads lean toward the heavy, with the usual embellished Caesars joined by various other meat-topped greens and even a panzanella. The pizzas, in three sizes and with an enviable number of "classic" and "gourmet" toppings, are soft-crusted, with a thick layer of tomatoey sauce and a decorous amount of mozzarella and provolone. Many flat white boxes move out the door to a neighborhood that must surely be grateful.
A big disappointment. We had eaten here some years ago and enjoyed it very much. On the spur of the moment, we decided to drop in for dinner and it was a real mistake. New management perhaps??
Has a great reputation for Italian, it is better then average, but only okay. The place is loud and service is sub-par. Food is high quality and portions are large. Overall a good place for quality food.
