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The GW Hatchet

AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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Officials name senior vice president, chief of staff
By Fiona Riley, Assistant News Editor • March 26, 2024

Family Weekend and Restaurant Guide: Restaurant offers fine Italian cuisine

Every town has a restaurant like Luigi’s. A few families, a few guys on dates and Chianti bottles with candle-wax dripping down the side create a familiar scene.

Although the restaurant’s menu is far from adventurous, the old favorites, like the parmagianas, the pastas, the fried mozzarella, are reminiscent of good old-fashioned Italian cooking.

Luigi’s stands out for the amount of food it offers in every dish. With generous portions of rich Italian food, almost everyone walks out toting a doggie bag.

People should not visit Luigi’s expecting fine service. College students seem to get seated in the back of the restaurant next to the kitchen or the cash register instead of in the open tables near the front. Our waiter did not visit the table aside from taking our order, serving the food and presenting the check.

We started off with a Mozzarella Al Forno, or baked mozzarella. This delicious, heart-warming concoction of melted mozzarella with tomato sauce, olives and a generous amount of garlic hit the spot. Served bubbling hot, the dish would have made the perfect appetizer if it came with a serving spoon. At times the olives overpowered the cheese, but, for the most part, it was a good dish.

The eggplant parmigiana is equally hearty. This standard eggplant dish, breaded and fried in olive oil with cheese and sauce, is served without pasta – an unnecessary compliment considering the amount of food. A hint of basil in the tomato sauce is a nice addition to the dish, giving more of an Italian taste, and making it a little less Americanized.

Luigi’s pizzas are worth sampling. Although the bland crust is reminiscent of pizza kits my mother used to order from local sports teams, the variety of toppings and cheeses make up for it. With over twenty toppings, Luigi’s offers a wide range of unique pizza combinations, including various seafood and vegetable options. The grilled chicken and sun-dried tomato pizza is an old favorite and did not disappoint. The toppings themselves – moist chicken and sun-dried tomatoes bursting with flavor – could have made a meal of their own. The pizza was a mediocre and somewhat superfluous vehicle for the toppings.

Luigi’s is a place to come for a dinner to eat a lot and dine over a long period of time. Its 19th Street location makes Luigi’s a perfect stopping-off point before a night out in Georgetown or Dupont Circle. The ambience makes it a nice place to take a date, although lackadaisical service hurts the experience. The food is classic, making Luigi’s a fine place to eat for diners tired of experimentation with poor Italian food.

Luigi’s is located at 1132 19th St., NW. Reservations are not recommended.

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