Faccia Luna
Since moving to Clarendon five years ago, I’ve admittedly viewed Faccia Luna as just a ‘pizza place.’ Their pizza is considered the best by many Clarendonians, and if you walk past the restaurant when people are eating pizza, you can’t help but do a double take. There’s no question they make good pizza. But… did you also know that their pasta dishes are incredible? We went to Faccia Luna for dinner Saturday night, and left asking ourselves, “how have we lived here for this long, and NOT known about this little gem?”
The modern light fixtures at Faccia Luna give the restaurant a more “new-American” look than Italian, but the food is a different story all-together - it’s wonderfully authentic Italian.
My husband had the mushroom ravioli pasta, and I had the fettuccine bolognese. I think we were both expecting dishes that would merely satisfy our Italian itch. What we got, however, ranked up there as some of the best pasta we’ve had in Arlington. Every part of the meal tasted hand-made.
The bolognese was just incredible. The ground lamb was minced so finely that every part of my twirled pasta was laced with it. Bolognese at Faccia Luna is not any ole’ meat sauce. The bolognese at Faccia Luna makes me understand why this sauce’s popularity has lasted centuries.
We also ordered a side of sauteed spinach. Freshly sauteed spinach is a staple in our home, so I know fresh spinach (vs. frozen) when I see/taste it. Faccia Luna’s spinach was fresh, and sauteed with olive oil, whole chunks of garlic, diced tomatoes, and Parmesan cheese. It was a heaping portion, too.
Before the end of our meal, the manager came by to check on us and make sure we were having an enjoyable meal. All around - Faccia Luna was an excellent dinner. I still can’t believe it took me that long to find that bolognese. I’m already craving it again.
To top it off, we spotted this beautiful moon on our walk back home:
