Pasta and Pastries From the Old World
Euro got you down? Head to Baltimore for a wallet-friendly taste of Italy.
(By Ellen Mccarthy -- The Washington Post)
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Those exchange rates aren't doing us any favors in the European-vacation department.
So forget security lines and eight-hour flights that have you squeezed between Chatty McChats-a-Lot and Crying Toddler No. 12.
For an easy taste of the Old World, zip up Interstate 95 to Baltimore's Little Italy, where you might not catch a glimpse of the pope, but you can find great penne pasta. (And lasagna, ravioli, gnocchi . . . you get the idea.)
Packed into this tight neighborhood just past the Inner Harbor are 16 Italian restaurants offering culinary styles from every region of Italy. Red-white-and-green flags fly outside almost every storefront while residents of the Italian enclave sip wine and greet neighbors from the stoops of their snug rowhouses.
Head to Velleggia's Italian Seafood Restaurant (829 E. Pratt St.; 410-986-4445) for delicious, reasonably priced lasagna -- and ambiance that includes a soundtrack playing only Sinatra and friends. Germano's Trattoria (300 S. High St.; 410-752-4515) specializes in Tuscan fare. Aldo's Ristorante Italiano (306 S. High St.; 410-727-0700) is an upscale option.
Don't miss Vaccaro's Italian Pastry Shop (222 Albemarle St.; 410-685-4905) for tiramisu or a tin of cookies that might not make it home.
Hit the neighborhood while the sun is up and you're likely to see a bocce ball tournament or two. Go tonight to catch the final installment of the outdoor summer movie fest. On the marquee is "Cinema Paradiso," the Italian classic that nabbed the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1990.
It should be a bella notte.
· Outdoor movie, Friday at 9 p.m. High and Stiles streets, Baltimore.http:/
Dancing at the French Embassy
You'll get a double dose of international flavor at tonight's Dance Soiree at the French Embassy. There is, obviously, the embassy itself. Then there's the dancing: The International Club of DC, which is hosting the event, is bringing Latin dance instructors to teach guests the tango and merengue. That should just about fill your social and cultural quotas for the evening.
· Tonight, beginning at 6:45. La Maison Française, 4101 Reservoir Rd. NW. 202-944-6090 .http:/
