Rione XIII Redux, with a Table for Much More Than One

Carciofi alla Giudia is one of the popular starters at the restaurant. The fried artichokes are done with pangrattato (toasted breadcrumbs) and served with aïoli, but are great even without the aïoli.

This plate of Puntarelle alla Romana was one of my favorite dishes. It’s a type of winter chicory, deliciously bitter, that’s dressed with anchovy, chili, garlic, and parmesan.

Tuna and Corona Beans. Simple, and simply good.

Veal Sweetbread Piccata: fried sweetbreads with artichokes, capers, and lemon. The sweetbreads were still nice and fluffy, complemented by the citrusy, briny notes of the accompanying ingredients.

The Roman-style pizza at Rione XIII is cracker-like, often with relatively delicate toppings.

Another pizza, with beautifully thin slices of zucchini, mozzarella, and shaved tuna heart.

Bucatini Amatriciana: Found primarily in Rome, this “little hole” pasta features guanciale, chili, and tomato.

Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe is another Roman pasta (like a “square spaghetti”) made simply with black pepper and pecorino romano. Some call it a spicy macaroni and cheese.

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As a non-anonymous food writer, I receive numerous invitations to media meals at restaurants both new and old. Recently, I ate lunch at Rione XIII in Capitol Hill. In contrast to fellow SunBreaker Michael van Baker’s experience, my hosted meal was—no surprise—without incident, so this short report will focus on the food.

Rione XIII is the newest of Ethan Stowell’s restaurants, a Roman-style trattoria sharing space with Heather Earnhardt’s southern-influenced café, The Wandering Goose. Stowell has a formula of serving food that’s straightforward and fresh, and you can count on the usual categories of small plates (including salads), pizzas, pastas, and some large plates—many meaty.

Highlights of the lunch included mozzarella (there’s an entire menu section of fresh mozzarella options), puntarelle (a winter chicory), two pasta dishes (Stowell knows how to do noodles), and veal sweetbreads. Check the slideshow above for photos from the meal.