Sette Osteria

[cjsadler]

I'd say it's been up and running for a week or two now. I live right around the corner and finally popped in today on the way home to have a look at the menu. Mostly pastas and wood-oven pizzas, all around $12 or so. Very nice inside, with high ceilings, the wood oven and the big windows.... Morela said it was run by the Cafe Milano people (don't really know much about that place, though).

Lotsa open real estate in that area. City Lights is moving to the old Viareggio spot and it looks like the Greek place run by the La Tomate people (had some really poor gnocchi there the other day) is set to open in the old Peter's Passion spot finally.

[JennyUptown]

Do you have the address/phone number?

[cjsadler]

It's at the corner of Q and Connecticut. Don't know the number, though.

[Mark Sommelier]

I stopped by Sette last night after work with a friend. They are open late for food, which is a big plus. Attractive space. We grabbed the corner of the bar. The bartenders were very attentive and gracious. I enjoyed the calamari fritti with its simple pure marinara ; simple thin crust pizza with basil, mozzarella and sausage; excellent quality cured meat selection. Finished with an absolutely AWESOME chocolate cannoli.

[liamdc]

You stole my seat, Mark! Mazman and I stopped in around 7 and sat at the corner of the bar as well. It is an attractive space with plenty of space to look out. And it's certainly in a convenient location.

We shared a plate of prosciutto--which was merely OK--and I had a glass of the '98 Conti Costanti Vermiglio, a Tuscan red. A really smooth, not harsh, sangiovese. Apparently, the restaurant was about to run out and were not planning to purchase the '99 because the price went up more than 2 1/2 times.

The food smelled good, but we didn't eat there.

[John W.]

Have been four times in as many days. What gets me at first is the staff...very friendly, very welcoming. Pizzas are of high to very high quality, as is every thing else I've eaten. Wine list is interesting and fairly priced.

I did not want to go the first night (due to the Milano connection/lack of Armani in my wardrobe) but Slater twisted my arm. Something intangible about this place makes me want to return again and again, just like BDC. And for anyone worrying about my allegiance to the BDC being in danger, I've had lunch the last two days with Michel.

I couldn't be happier to have two places like this on (nearly) the same block. Now I just need to decide if it's a Reggiano night or a Gruyere night.

[JennyUptown]

The menu looks good, and reasonably priced too.

[KHT20]

I went a little over a week ago and had a so-so experience. We got a salad on special - grilled calamari and octopus tossed with a light citrus vinegrette over field greens. It was awesome - by far the best part of the meal. (That, and our waiter Guiseppe who told me stories of how his mother back in Italy used to beat octopus before cooking it to make it tender.) Then, the house salad came instead of the caprese; we sent it back but never got the caprese, which is just as well since winter tomatoes aren't exactly my favorite thing in the world. Finally, we split a pizza with capers, olives, anchovies, and escorole, which I remember as being fairly tasty at the time but nothing terribly special. And it certainly didn't survive a reheat the next morning.

Would I go back? Maybe if I was with a big group of friends - the tables were waaaay too close together for any intimate conversation. There are better places for pizza. But if I had known about the cannoli before I went, maybe that would be a different story

[morela]

On Your MarkS,

Get Sette,

Go-Gavi!

I am going to have to agree with Mark Sommelier about the chocolate cannoli. AWESOME.

Also, if you're a thin crust pizza person, you'll be quite content here...and if you're not, continue to favor Two Amy's. Funny though, is that the dude making pizza at Sette now came from making pizza at Two Amy's (or so I was told). Maybe if you pull the right strings he'll add some extra D'OH.

I liked this pizza a lot 'cause it was nice and spicy (but the simpler pizzas with little to nothing atop are great too):

Sei di Denari - fresh mozzarella, broccoli rabe, pork sausage and calabrese chili peppers $11

Oh, I liked this thing too ---------------------->Gatto’ di Patate - potato cake with grana, dry salami and smoked mozzarella

Food is consistent, prices are fair, most everything I've eaten is better than fair.

Plus, the place only closes between like 3 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. (no lunch and dinner hours; simply open straight through); who else does good pizza for so many hours w/o stopping?

You can do a 4 o'clock lunch on a Monday or 2:29 a.m. dessert on a Sunday or coffee then cheese, meats, pizza, more meat, wine, more pizza... almost anytime between 11:30 in the morn and legal bar closing time, any day of the week. Nice!

The people who work there are as friendly as can be, big smiles, big pours, access to remote control so you can do away with infomercials and ESPN car shows. What if they let me watch the Simpsons!?

The only bad thing is that there's this wooden lip under the bar that hurts your knee when you keep bumping it, and there aren't hooks anywhere for your bag or your coat...which means you have to hang them on the back of your flimsy bar chair. And I won't lie, the chair will fall backwards due to unbalanced weight, and the whole place will look and think: 'what a drunk'...

But really it was just your bag on the chair. I think it happened twice.

Edited March 16, 2004 by morela (log)

[John W.]

And I won't lie, the chair will fall backwards due to unbalanced weight, and the whole place will look and think: 'what a drunk'...

But really it was just your bag on the chair.  I think it happened twice.

Combination of the two?

[JennyUptown]

And I won't lie, the chair will fall backwards due to unbalanced weight, and the whole place will look and think: 'what a drunk'...

But really it was just your bag on the chair.  I think it happened twice.

Combination of the two?

Ah, that happened to me at 2 Amy's on Saturday. Mid-afternoon so I looked only clumsy and careless, not drunk. The couple nearby our table was NOT amused. Like I did it on purpose.

Bummer, Sette doesn't take reservations. I just called.

[JennyUptown]

My lame-o friend just canceled so no Sette for me tonight.

hillvalley? Al_Dente? JPW? Rocks? Other DCers - Who's up for going next week after work one night?

[John W.]

My lame-o friend just canceled so no Sette for me tonight. 

hillvalley?  Al_Dente?  JPW?  Rocks?  Other DCers - Who's up for going next week after work one night?

After my work or your work. That's the big question.

[JennyUptown]

My bad. I was thinking 6:30/7:00 pm.

When does Firefly's kitchen close anyway?

[John W.]

Too late for that.

Go on Sundays. Watch basketball. Drink Gavi. Have your chair fall backwards.

[DonRocks]

A friend and I had dinner at Sette Osteria last night (Wednesday). At 7 PM, there were a couple of tables left; at 7:10 PM there was about a 15-minute wait but still seats at the bar; at 7:30 the bar seats were taken. The crowd at that time was definitely an after-work coat-and-tie scene which is distinctly not the impression I get from JohnW and his late-night/weekend antics. The hostess and bartender were both professional and friendly, and as it turns out, the glass of wine they served my friend before I arrived ended up being comped on the bill. We ordered a bottle of Calabrian Aglanico del Vulture for $35 which, along with other well-priced offerings on their list, represented fair value for intelligently chosen selections. The winelist is impressively listed roughly north-to-south by region within Italy, and if you’re not familiar with this minefield of selections, then give your server a color (red/white), a price-point, and ask them to serve you something imported by Leonardo LoCascio who is a very reliable importer – it’s a layman’s cheat to getting an interesting wine at a fair price, and there’s nothing wrong with asking for your wine in this way rather than playing Russian roulette. The wines are impressive, and so are the pizzas which, based on my one visit, rank as peers or superiors to Pizzeria Paradiso as best thin-crust options in the city, at least for the time being. Add the late-night hours, hip waitstaff and prime location, and the place instantly becomes a monster on the DC dining scene. Point-by-point, Washington is sloowwly acquiring more little jewels that make it seem more-and-more like New York: Ginger Cove (try any fruit-based drink!), E-Street Cinema (run, do not walk, to see Les Triplettes de Belleville which is simply not of this earth), and now we have Sette Osteria as a legitimate, fun, serious late-night killer pizza and wine bistro – times are good here.

Cheers!

Rocks.

Edited March 19, 2004 by DonRocks (log)

[John W.]

Antics?

I forgot to mention that I went back for a fifth consecutive time on Tuesday. Had the baked gnocchi (wonderful), quatre fromage pizza, cutting board o' porc (calling for Tony Soprano eating right off the parchment style), and penne with pancetta and pecorino (a bit of a snooze). Bottle of $29 orvieto (can't remember producer) and a $55 Nebbiolo d'Alba from Giacosa, I was pleased yet again. Desserts - Chocolate cannoli (can't eat it but others said it was great) and a kind of beignet stuffed with Nutella special that makes you think bad thoughts.

There might be better representations of like dishes in DC, and the suits might take over at one point. But for right now, after a long shift, I can't think of a better place for a pizza and a whole bunch of wine. And people smiling at you when you walk in late.

Edited March 19, 2004 by John W. (log)

[morela]

And soon they'll have their 50 seat patio open, so you better make your good connections now because pretty soon it will be Milano-fied. I mean that in postive way; they'll be friggin' busy.

(I shouldn't say FUCK)

Edited March 19, 2004 by morela (log)

[DonRocks]

And soon they'll have their 50 seat patio open, so you better make your good connections now because pretty soon it will be Milano-fied. I mean that in postive way; they'll be friggin' busy.

My friend and I were discussing Buca di Beppo last night, and at what seemed like the exact same moment, we decided that Washington DC is a better place because that restaurant exists. Why? Because when you see a busload of 16-year-old tourists looking for a place to eat, you can steer them directly towards Buca di Beppo, which will subsequently funnel off traffic from places like Sette Osteria. Do not underestimate the importance of this, especially considering its proximity to the gargantuan Washington Hilton, the largest single hotel in the city.

[JPW]

My lame-o friend just canceled so no Sette for me tonight.

hillvalley? Al_Dente? JPW? Rocks? Other DCers - Who's up for going next week after work one night?

Sorry JU, next week's party budget has already been claimed for a boys night out with a buddy of mine at Ray's. He lives in one of the towers nearby and it's a favorite of his.

Let me check the calendar with the boss (aka Mrs. JPW) and maybe we can schedule something at Sette before it gets too warm and everyone starts crawling out of their caves. After dinner we can head down to Firefly and terrorize John!

Any word on when the patio is opening? Anyone?

When we lived in Shirlington, 4 PM - whenever snacks/dinner and drinks at the patio of Cap City was a regular Saturday date for me and Mrs. JPW. Perhaps we'll find a nice weekend day before too long and can monopolize a corner of Sette's patio.

[iamthestretch]

Ha. Interesting. I was there last night too, with the better half. And we both agreed it was probably the start of a beautiful friendship.

We sat at the handsome stone bar and were ably attended to by Sarah. Kicked off with a Caprese salad -- very nice Buffalo Mozzarella though served a little cold for my liking -- and the (very ample) cured meat sample platter. I particularly liked the Mortadella. Followed that up with the simple tomato, buffalo mozz, basil pizza, which I also think is straight up there onto the top 5 in DC list. If you want to split hairs, the crust is maybe just a little bland tasting, but it's also thin, nicely crispy and decked with good cheese and an excellent tomato sauce with a real deep, roasted flavor. Finished off with a Zeppoli, which was OK but not the high point of the evening.

We drank Prosecco, an excellent $35 Sicilian Cerasuolo and some Vin Santo/Moscato d'Asti. Service was excellent, as evinced by this exchange with my wife: "Another Moscato?" "Yes, please, and could you possibly open another bottle, this one was a little flat?" "I'm sorry. Certainly. And that one was on me." "You don't have to do that, I'm quite happy." "No, I want to. Here you go. Cheers."

A really pleasant spot. But for sure go early. It was jammed by the time we left at eight.

[John W.]

Slater: "Wabeck, Sette in 15."

Me: "I can't. I'm closing."

Slater: "We'll be at your place in 15, then Sette."

Me: "OK."

6 in 7 days.

[JennyUptown]

Next week could be an extra-busy one for me so I have made an executive decision to suggest that anyone who is interested in meeting up at Sette do so on Wednesday, March 31 at 7 pm.

Does this sound interesting? Chat amongst yourselves and if it sounds like people want to go, we'll set it up.

[bilrus]

I might be interested in making the trek in from the 'burbs.

[hillvalley]

Next week could be an extra-busy one for me so I have made an executive decision to suggest that anyone who is interested in meeting up at Sette do so on Wednesday, March 31 at 7 pm.

Does this sound interesting? Chat amongst yourselves and if it sounds like people want to go, we'll set it up.

So for once I don't read every single DC thread and looks what happens! We finally get a DC event planned. Thanks JU for updating me.

Count me in. John, if went on a Friday or Saturday we could go when you get off of work. Or should we come to you? Egullet takes over, I kind of like it!

I'll start saving now