Open Hand

We’re serving up our seasonal Minestrone made with the best the region has to offer right now: local veggies, grains, beans, herbs, and slow-simmered goodness in every bowl. We keep it vegetarian - but if you’re feeling creative, stop by and get some shrimp, halibut, or even some clams to take it up a notch.

As always, we have limited supply — so get while you can!

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There’s pasta, and then there’s this. 🍝

Our shrimp bucatini starts with something most people never get to taste — fresh squid ink bucatini. Thick, hollow, perfectly chewy. The kind of pasta that holds onto every drop of sauce like it was born to do it.

Toss it with sweet, tender shrimp, our marinara sauce, Calabrian chilies, and fresh herbs — and you have a bowl that feels like a coastal Italian grandmother made it just for you.

Find us this weekend and bring one home. Your dinner table deserves it. ✨

ShrimpPasta ArtisanPasta MarketFresh PastaFromScratch SmallBatchFood FarmersMarketFood EatLocal PastaNight FoodieFinds HomemadePasta WeekendMarket

🍝 Some pasta dishes are good. This one is unforgettable.

Mafalde Sorrentino — the wavy pasta that holds every drop of sauce — tossed with our rich marinara, pools of melted fresh mozzarella, and fragrant basil. Ready in the time it takes to boil water.

✨ The secret? Two tablespoons of pasta water and a gentle stir. That’s all it takes to turn simple ingredients into something extraordinary.

Gnocchetti with a PA hog maw on top. For this, we cooked the gnocchetti with the veg and a little water instead of it’s own pasta water, like a risotto. The water reduces and becomes the sauce.

Our country gold loaf is based on on the tradional bread from and , and really the entire Puglia region of Italy. Supposedly Apicius wrote about this bread about 2000 years ago. We changed the size and look….and added some local grains, but it is still keeping true to it’s origen. Like all of our breads, we mix and knead the dough entirely by hand. More importantly, we have some new items coming soon - jams and spreads to eat with our bread. Starting this Saturday, at the Old Town Farmer’s Market, we will be offering shenandoah pear preserves, strawberry and long pepper jam, and chestnut spread.

You can find us at the Old Town Alexandria Farmer’s Market by the mood lighting, every Saturday from 7-12.