Dupont Italian Kitchen, 17th Street Corridor

Dupont Italian Kitchen, on the 17th Street corridor, is frequently referred to as “DIK.” Even by its staff.

Monkey and I discovered this place some months back (April?) and have made it our “neighborhood Italian” place. Back in SoFla, Monkey and his parents had a neighborhood Italian place where they’d go for the earlybird special, and get a soup/salad, meal and spumoni for ridiculously cheap. They even had entertainment, if you want to count old people and karaoke. Both were entertaining in their own way. So, when we came to DC, we were a little sad that default Italian was something we had to give up. For a while, we went to Café Odeon, but the waiters were snotty, especially when you ordered tap water instead of bottled. A few of the other places in DC are a little on the expensive side to eat at regularly, so we had resigned to eating where we could get pseudo-italian. Happily, one of my best friends, a local to the core, introduced me to DIK one afternoon after a hard day on the mall. I was smitten and took Monkey back the next night.

Since that day, we’ve almost become regulars (not as of late though, just because one can get burned out on Italian). This summer, our favorite waiter was a young guy named Luigi, who looked mostly like Secret-Window-Johnny-Depp, had a thick accent, and accompanied every gesture with “Cheers!”, only it came out more like “chrrs’.” We liked him a lot, so we were sad when we found out he was leaving for Berlin. The current lament, while waiting for the bread to arrive, goes a little like this:
Monkey: “Where’s LUIGI!?”
Ophelia: *Almost wistful* “…Berlin.”

So, I should probably make a mention of the food and drink. Notice I say “drink.” Most meals are accompanied by at least a half-carafe, if not a whole carafe of red wine. (White gives me migraines.) Monkey’s old stand-by is the calamari on linguini, and mine is the meat ravioli alfredo. Usually, though, they have some tasty specials, and we try and order from that when applicable. In particular, I enjoy things with a saffron-cream or sun-dried-tomato-cream sauce -- especially, but not necessarily in conjunction with crabmeat. The thing to be careful of though, is to carefully note the presence of the word “CREAM.” I once ordered the grilled chicken with the sun-tom sauce and was reduced to tears when I saw that through my bad, I had ordered a red sauce with sun-dried tomatoes that ALSO included the over-abundance of olives. (Ophelia WILL NOT abide olives.) So be careful.

Their caesar almost never disappoints, as they do you proud on the romaine. The dressing they tend to overdo, though, and we always ask them to go easy on it, but they never do. (For a while, we asked for “light dressing” as in “go light on the dressing,” until I pointed out that that might mean something totally different to them.)

Even if it did, I don’t think we ever got a “lite” dressing or a low-cal anything. During the summer, the proscuitto and melon appetizer is pretty good – I’m a huge fan of salty-and-sweet, and this is an especially good appetizer for eating alfresco. I should probably mention that you have the option of dining alfresco from late spring through late fall.

Dessert-wise, we have never tried anything but the tiramisu, and it is among the better tiramisu that I have had in DC. Better than I Ricchi, and better than Vaccaro’s, at least. (It does not, however, stack up to RFD’s Bieramisu, but then, that’s just not fair.) I should probably find out if they make it on site or outsource it.*

Things of note:
1) DIK has drink specials most every day, but we rarely get there before they are over.
2) Also, DIK hosts some ear-splitting karaoke. I don’t remember what night this is, but if you go early, you are usually lucky enough to miss most of it.
3) Finally, plan to potty before or after. I mentioned that they host karaoke, and I have mentioned the location. You can figure out the clientele. All I’m saying is, if the plumbing still WORKS like a man, don’t usurp the women’s toilet. That’s just messy and rude. And, as I’m sure Monkey will appreciate this being said, if you use the men’s toilet, don’t be a loathsome slob.

---

* If you are at all familiar with the grocery chain Publix, then you will know that they also make a tiramisu. While I can’t be sure because I haven’t had it in a while**, I think Pubmisu beats out DIK any day. But then, bakery items and deli subs from Publix are never fair to the competition.

** If you are going to be visiting Florida, you are morally obliged to bring me either tiramisu or sheet cake with buttercream icing from Publix. Comment me for dropoff and money exchange locations, or the bagel gets it. Get it?