Dishin': Food Bowl 1: Cantinetta

We've been from Spiga to Spinasse, Bizzarro to Barolo. Good Italian eats, all.

But we found our favorite bowl of pasta at Cantinetta.

We didn't choose it ourselves. Chef Brian Cartenuto was sending out samplings from the menu, per our request. That's the perfect way to go when you're commitment-phobic, and allows you to discover dishes you'd never considered eating before.

For this round of Dishin', we were ready to rave about the antipasti of avocado, grapefruit, cured olives, and chilies ($7). Bold, bright, and briny. But Dishin' is about to bring you a series of food bowls, and we start with Cantinetta's Carleton Farms pork tortellini, charred ramps, and brodo ($17), which simply bowled us over.

We loved the pasta and the earthiness of the ramps (and some other grilled vegetables), but it's the broth that made this course a real winner. Cartenuto says the dish is an homage to his mother, who always made tortellini from scratch and served it in a simple soup base. We say it's simply delicious, and endlessly drinkable--even at the tail end of a filling, fabulous meal.