Carmines - Washington, D.C.

Ok, so my series of Italian food posts in D.C. continues. Last Wednesday, I ventured over to the latest Italian hot spot Carmines in Chinatown. (For those of you familiar, this is the same Carmines in New York.) Unlike my typical dining experiences, I decided to go to Carmines and check out my first D.C. food blogger event. I was so surprised by the talent and the amazing group of diverse individuals that showed up. I learned that I need business cards and fast! It was very inspiring and I have some future ideas for when I take my blog to the next level (pictures will be coming soon). Special shout outs to Johnna from JohnnaKnowsGoodFood and Ms. Putman.

Turns out something cool happens when you decide to pursue food blogging - you get free food! Carmines had a selection of appetizers out for the group. In true form, I sampled all of the fried food - calamari and zucchini were my favorites and quite tasty. I also heard the wings were quite tasty, though I opted not to try those.

For those of you who like family style, Carmines is definitely worth checking out. At first the menu seems expensive, but keep in mind since it is family style, you will likely have leftovers and lots of them! I just had two pet peeves with the Carmines menu - there were not many non tomato dishes (butter and sage sauce is not that complicated, people) and to get a side of pasta cost $9. With that said, after the event, Chris and I decided to get the Chicken Scallopini with Lemon and Butter. We made our own pasta (I am not paying $9 for a side of pasta.) and it was quite delicious. The chicken was nice and moist and the lemon butter sauce was light, but had good flavor. I am definitely looking forward to trying more dishes at Carmines in the future. This would be a great place to try for a birthday party. While I did not try many dishes at Carmines, it was an enjoyable evening and based on what I did have, I would give Carmines 3.5 out of 5 dumplings.

And for my true blog followers/fans out there. I promise my post on Teatro Golidini is coming soon. I am a little behind!

www.carminesnyc.com