Casual red-sauce Italian joints are a dime a dozen around New York and Philadelphia, but D.C. has struggled to do them right. That’s why Caruso’s Grocery felt like a breath of fresh air when it opened on Capitol Hill in 2021. Now, Matt Adler and his team are still dishing out comforting classics like penne a la vodka, affordable cocktails, and damn good cannoli, with a second location now in Maryland. What to order Start with a truly special rendition of garlic bread, crusty and served with a rich four-cheese sauce. Balance it with something green: split the antipasto for two among a group, or go with the bracing tricolor salad, a balanced combination of bitter greens, citrus, and pistachio. I’m usually debating between the kitchen’s lemon-accented options: there’s shrimp scampi plum with shrimp, and a chicken picatta is flecked with capers and served over textbook linguine aglio e olio. My favorite is the veal francaise, which gets an airy lightness from its egg-based batter, served with toothsome vegetables. For vegetarians, the gnocchi a la genovese is the move, with pillowy ricotta dumplings and a pesto cream sauce with personality. What to drink Caruso’s went semi-viral for its antipasto martini, with a caprese garnish and punched up with olive brine. They also make a mean Manhattan. At $13.75, the drinks are a relative steal for D.C. Non-drinkers have plenty of options, like pomegranate lemonade, mocktails, and homemade cherry vanilla soda.  Finish with an espresso martini taken up a notch with homemade liqueurs and infused vodka. Insider tip Follow Adler on Instagram to get a window into off-menu dishes. Chicken parmigiana with vodka sauce started as an off-menu hack but graduated to a regular special. He’s now playing around with homemade mozzarella sticks, and they’re worth ordering (though the garlic bread wins for best cheesy starter).  ...read more read less