potenza1430 H street NW (between 14th street & 15th street), washington, DC 20005
tel: 202) 638-4444
hours: monday-thursday 11:30am-10pm, friday-saturday 11:30am-11pm, sunday brunch 10am-3pm, sunday dinner 3pm-10pm
what was consumed: arancini alla salsiccia di cinghiale (fried risotto balls stuffed with wild boar sausage and provolone), gnocchi al pesto (pesto sauce, toasted walnuts), funghi pizza (portabello, oyster and domestic mushrooms, tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmesan)
ah, potenza.
i kept seeing potenza on a number of different lists and places. what was it being written up for? i don't remember. no matter - when friend wanted to go to dinner and suggested potenza, i was all about it.
we met at the restaurant on a pretty quiet weekday evening. on the map, potenza didn't seem too far away from work, so i decided to take a nice leisurely walk to its location. of course, as i often do, i neglected a few things - the humid summers (even though it wasn't too humid, it was still warm and it was still summer ... and i'm super adverse to heat and humidity!), the DC blocks that looked so short and doable on the map but seemed so very long when i was walking, and my heavy, heavy, HEAVY bag. i was glad to make it to the restaurant - it couldn't have be soon enough! i will take the bus (or some sort of transportation) next time.
anyway, we made reservations, though it wasn't really necessary in that they had quite a large dining area and not too many patrons, which we wondered about (too bad!).
we started our meal with a nice appetizer of fried risotto balls. delicious! friend claims that the lavender overpowered the dish a bit. i thought it was delicious (so there!). we then proceeded to our entrees. friend ordered the mushroom pizza (using laymen's terms). delicious! the crust was thin, but not too thin, and its flavor was delicious. on top of that, the combination of cheeses with the different kinds of mushrooms made the pizza delectable. there are a number of other pizzas that, i think, are worthy of future exploration. i, on the other hand, could not resist my pasta loves and ordered the gnocci. and i'm glad i did! the soft gnocci came in a delicious pesto, topped with cheese. really? really? so so so delicious. everyone has an indicator of what makes a good restaurant (e.g. some people will try the pad thai at a new thai restaurant to see how that thai restaurant rates) - mine is gnocci at italian restaurants. now, i can't say that i'm an expert when it comes to food (outside of me totally loving food) nor can i say that i'm an expert when it comes to gnocci. however, i do know what i like, and potenza (as far as i'm concerned) did a great job! good food coupled with good wine (i had a nice rose - it was still summer); i couldn't get enough.note: potenza makes all of their pastas and breads in-house. turns out, they have their own bakery (of sorts). in fact, you can go to their bakery and purchase goods (predominantly bread and pasta, i imagine) for your consumption outside of the restaurant.
a great wine list and a great menu! i'm glad to have visited potenza and look forward to seeing what else is on the menu. friends, let's do this again!
online: http://potenzadc.com/
i had only heard about d'acqua in passing and new it was in that area in penn quarter with all those other restaurants. i have to admit, though, that it hadn't occurred to be to visit any time before RW. anyway, our meal began with some nice bread and then our appetizers. the bread with the tomato on it is my favorite! i love tomatoes. i thought it odd that they only brought out 3 of each when there were 4 at our table. maybe that's just how they do it, i don't know. i just felt bad that one of our group (i don't remember who) didn't get to have a bread with a tomato. and if she didn't want it, i was sad that i couldn't eat it for her (hee hee - oink oink). but that's ok. our appetizers slowly came out after that and my pancetta wrapped scallop was de-licious! the bed of spinach it came on was deliciously seasoned, making a great addition to the seafood and pork combination (i wish scallops were bigger - sometimes i feel like i could eat dozens of them that have been well prepared. dozens.). and, of course, there's nothing like a good arugula salad. combined with the cheese, fennel, and dressing, it was a light way to begin. myrna said she couldn't eat it all, so the rest of us polished it off for her (after our initial taste, of course).
our entrees slowly came out after that. i saw the seafood pasta on the menu and was immediately sold. while not a fan of the type of pasta that was served, it was nice to fill my belly with carb-y goodness. the pasta was a little overcooked on the outside and a bit undercooked on the inside (one of the difficulties with cooking that sort of pasta), so while much of my pasta was left over, there was quite a bit of seafood in my dish that filled me right up. the grilled rockfish, though, was delicious, as were the mashed potatoes it came with (but myrna got that, so i got something else). d'acqua is supposed to be known for their seafood (italian style?), so i imagine that they are the preferred dishes. the beef was nicely cooked in a good sauce, but others felt that the sauce was a bit bland. i thought it was fine and enjoyed the shared bits that came my way. and my love of polenta was fed as others were not so keen, so i ate the yummy polenta in the yummy sauce for them ^_^ thanks, ladies! hee hee. so, per usual, i "looked forward" to dessert with an already full stomach.
dessert! yum. it's restaurant week, so i thought they'd come out with "tasting" desserts. but no, not these italians! they brought out large slices of their dessert deliciousness. i opted for the chocolate cheesecake (as did pam), but after a few of the rich rich bites, i had to stop (pam took the rest home - i hope she enjoyed!). the pear and custard mousse cake was also quick light, fluffy, and moist. myrna (uncharacteristically) ate the entire thing - good job!
our meal continued with our appetizers. i was sorta torn between the crab soup and the turtle soup. our server even did mention that the creamy crab soup was her favorite (though she did also mention that the turtle soup was super popular and definitely worth the try if i hadn't ever had it). i succumbed to my intrigue and ordered the turtle soup ... and i'm glad i did! turtle (my first time) had the consistency and flavor of beef, but a bit more chewy. the soup had a sort of reminded me of dishes with okra in that it was sort of ... slimy? not in that gross way, but yeah, slimy. also, i have to admit, it was a little salty for me, but that did not prevent me from eating all of it, every last drop. delicious. the turtle soup also came with a splash of sherry. our server told me that i was to add it to my liking. what did i do? eat the turtle soup and down the sherry as a sort of 'after.' hahaha ... i also got to try dave's deviled eggs and gregg's gumbo - both delicious. i wish i had a bigger stomach to eat all of their selections as well, but silly me - i shouldn't be so selfish. haha ... 
next, entrees! i had the shrimp and grits. when my dish arrived, i was sort of glad that i didn't get the crab soup earlier because the shrimp and grits were in a cream based sauce. my shrimp were nicely grilled/cooked and the grits - oh joy! they were cooked, then packed into a nice triangle, then fried. who doesn't like that? also, the grits were really really smooth, more like polenta (which i love as well). i can't really say if i knew whether the grits were actually polenta and not grits (usually grits are more ... gritty?). no matter, both are corn based and i love them both. the combination of the shrimp, grits, and the cajun cream sauce was ... delicious. and filling. and rich. yum ... oh yeah - dave's fried fish were light and crispy and gregg's salad was big, filled with seafood, and so fresh. please see aforementioned comment about larger stomachs and selfishness (haha).
dessert, dessert, dessert! i'll admit, i didn't finish my dessert, per usual (dave did for me - thanks!). i had the chocolate cake and it was chocolate-y and rich without the raspberry and even more rich with the raspberry. bread pudding? creme brule? rich. sweet. and oh so delicious. even for a non-dessert person like me.
after the 3 different breads that filled our baskets, we started on our appetizers. grilled squid, seafood soup ... YUM. what is with pesto on things that make them so good? pesto on grilled squid? totally lovely. and why doesn't the poleta that i or c make ever come out like the polenta that appeared on my plate? creamy and delicious. no fair. must try again. and the seafood soup? don't think it is anything even remotely close to campbell's chucky soup clam chowder. while campbell's version is tasty in its own way, it does not even compare to kinkead's seafood chowder. creamy and delicious, not overpowering in that often strong seafood smell (which i actually enjoy - leave me alone!). do you think the servers were alarmed that not only did c & i inhale our food, we practically licked our plates because it was so delicious? ok, we didn't lick our plates, but i can tell you we were totally tempted. yikes.
entrees! i went in wanting to order the pistachio crusted salmon. c was easily swayed to get the cod. i don't know a whole lot about fish outside of thinking that they're delicious. but when they're cooked properly, crusted, and with some delicious sauces, you really can't go wrong. the accompanying sides were also quite delicious. a comment about the artichoke purree on the cod - DELICIOUS. i'm not a big sauce person, but there was just something about this puree that made me want to slather it onto everything and lap it up. yum. overall, the combination of flavors between the fish, the side vegetables, the included starches, the sauces ... fabulous. fresh, delicious, totally appetizing. i need another stomach so i can eat more ... 
we ended our meals with dessert (of course). they had a cheese plate on the menu which i sort of wish i had gotten. but as i get older (notice older, not OLD >.< ...), my body seems less able to digest lactose (which is also in cheese). -sigh- ... and i love cheese. so maybe it was good that we opted for other options. funny, though, how it didn't deter me (and c) from ordering other desserts that are filled with cream, butter, and other dairy products. we win! and the stomach is good - so far so good, anyway. point is, we're not really dessert people, but we ordered desserts anyway. talk about rich is flavor! not sweet as in sugary; rather, sweet as in super chocolaty, super vanilla creamy. and what delicious biscotti! there's something about the almost flavor/scent that makes them so delicious. and, of course, like the rest of the meal, we ate all of it. and we even finished before the couple before us (who had ordered the same thing for their entrees as well as their desserts! but they were at kinkead's way earlier than us and started way earlier than us as well. whoops. oh well - as the woman told us, we must have good taste ^_~).
4 of us decided to participate in the restaurant week menu while one of us decided to get the mushroom and veal ravioli (which was tasty, but not a part of the restaurant week special. shucks). anyway, we started with a cold beet soup (c was working at domku and i imagine i had recently left my position there; we couldn't help but make comparisons. our conclusion? both are delicious in their own way. yay for diplomatic answers! haha), a poached egg with clams (i ordered this one!), and a mixed green salad (i'm sure there were fancy names for all of these things, but i have since forgotten). can you ever really go wrong with clams? there were also bits of bacon/ham in the mix and everyone knows that everything is better with bacon.
for our entrees, we had an assortment of things: grilled chicken and rice (2 of us, one of whom was me ordered this), mini angus burgers, and skate. the burgers were fantastic, as was the skate. even mr. i-don't-like-burgers (who is also the same mr. i-don't-make-reservations) even said the burgers were delicious! and oh, wow, the onion rings. deep fried onions? delicious. the grilled chicken and rice was cooked "oaxaca style" (i don't really know what that means) was tasty as well, but a bit salty for my liking. yes, even me who prefers the savory over the sweet. it was just a bit salty. of course, that didn't prevent me from eating the whole thing because it was still so freakin' delicious.
and then, dessert. the dessert lovers always fight for whatever they love and i usually get what's left over (for tasting). since there were 4 of us and 2 options, we got 2 of each. a tart lemon flan like custard thing and chocolate cake. the lemon dessert was quite tart, causes faces to pucker just a bit. but, you know, some people really like it. once you get past that sourness, though, it's such a refreshing (albeit on the sweet side) dessert. the chocolate cake was good too, but i think it was a german cake (i'm not so much a fan). of course, that didn't prevent all of the people in our party from polishing off all of the desserts - ha!
all of us finally met up at central and i (at least) was STARVING. and everything on the menu looked absolutely delicious. madonna (cousin) suggested oysters (who doesn't like oysters?!?!), cheese puff balls were recommended, and you know me and fries - always on the menu. totally get the cheese puff balls - light and airy, with a lovely cheese in the middle (don't know what kind of cheese, don't really care. totally delicious).
we all decided on getting different entrees (i got the cassoulet - remember? starving - despite it being more of a stew because who doesn't like a stew-y combination of a gillion meats?!). not only were the dishes so pretty in their presentation, but the flavor combinations were absolutely delicious. fresh, seasoned well, and most definitely pleasing to the palate. i was thinking that stuffing my face with the appetizers and bread would diminish some of my thoughts about the entrees, but that was not the case. i had a bite of the others' dishes (which were all delicious) and proceeded to finish off my dish as well. and for those of you who have ordered cassoulet before, even a small bowl is deceivingly filling (but my bowl was large). all gone, and totally delicious.
our meals continued with entrees. so many options, but diminishing space in my stomach (sadly). i opted for the mushroom raviolis not only because mushroom ravioli is always delicious, but also because it was with crushed pistachios (and who doesn't love pistachios?). friends had the quail and the seafood spaghetti, both which were delicious. i'm glad we all shared (because sharing is caring!). 
