rustico

rustico
827 slaters lane, alexandria, VA 22314
tel: 703) 224-5051
hours: monday 4pm-10pm, tuesday-thursday 11:30am-10pm, friday-saturday 11:30am-11pm, sunday 11:30am-10pm

what was consumed: pei mussels fra diavolo (grilled bread, chorizo), home-made thick-cut fries (tossed in your choice of caesar or ranch dressing), creamy marscapone polenta (wild mushroom ragù, truffle oil), salt roasted beet salad (goat cheese fondue, blood orange vinaigrette, pistachio dust), duck confit & cracklins pizza (brie & sautéed onions pizza with chick pea crust), roasted mushroom pizza (mushroom cream, goat cheese, sauteed spinach pizza), bbq pizza (bbq braised pork, caramelized onions, cheddar)

there is never a dearth of eating options in old town alexandria. there are lots of different kinds of food, in a number of various locations, with a slew of clientele to suit your fancy. BUT, if you're ever in the old town alexandria area and in the mood for some yummy woodfire grilled pizza and a nice cold brew to wash it all down, i recommend visiting rustico. a bunch of us headed out to old town on a cold wintery day to see friends play a little concert. so, after the little usaf chamber group (?) performance at the masonic temple, a group of us head out to rustico for bites to eat.

rustico is known for their pizza and their great beer selection. for those reasons enough, i am enticed to visit rustico time and time again. for those who like options, not to fret! rustico also has a number of other options on their menu. delicious mussels, a most definitely creamy polenta plate, salads, antipastas, etc. they also have the option to select from their cheese/cured meat plates (there's a fancy name for this and for the life of me i can neither remember nor look it up - argh!). i haven't tried it yet, but it looks really good and can't wait to taste for myself.

friends in the group ordered a slew of things, so i got to try a variety of different things. the creamy polenta was definitely one of my favorites and something i'll have a super hard time not ordering the next time i'm at rustico. and the mussels! delicious. i could take bread and dip it into mussels broth all day long. yum.

and, of course, pizza.

with the slew of other things that friends ordered, by the time my pizza came, i was less than my usual voracious. nonetheless, the beautiful pizza pies places before me incited my salivary glands. they have a number of different pre-set topping options as well as the option to create your own (which is always fun as well). while the crust isn't anything out of the ordinary, sometimes that's just what you need to highlight the combination of the crust with the toppings. yum.

on the menu, i saw the option for the gluten free chick pea crust. intrigued! for some reason, i thought it'd be more chick pea-y, but it just felt like another crust (probably made with chick pea flour as opposed to anything else. i don't really know why i thought it'd look any different, but i did. i don't know what i was thinking). my pizza, unfortunately, was a little overdone, so the crust was a little dry and almost burnt. luckily, the duck confit and cracklin's toppings saved the pizza (i pretty much just ate the toppings ... which is what i often do regardless of the pizza crust). despite the chick pea crust disappointment, the meal was delicious and the group left with full bellies AND leftovers for the next day's lunch (yay doggie bags!).

pizza is getting fancier and fancier. and while i will periodically enjoy the quick delivery and convenience of fast(er) food joints that delivery right to my door, i will still fondly and often think of delicious options at places like rustico. just until i can visit to enjoy again. yay!

online: http://www.rusticorestaurant.com/