“A restaurant can be powerful because it draws raves, or draws developers, or just draws a line of TV-addled tourists. A list of D.C.’s 44 heaviest hitters.

‘Food is the most powerful thing we have in our hands,’ José Andrés said. ‘Not only chefs, but everyone in the food community. The right use of food can end hunger.’”

Read the whole article here (spoiler alert- Posto is #22!): http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/40981/dc-44-most-powerful-restaurants/full/

“One day, a good mimosa died and went to heaven, where everything good about him – the bubbly cheerfulness, the crisp citrus, the redolence of relaxed Sunday mornings, the feel of warm sunshine on your skin – was purified and concentrated into a single small glass. Somehow, the bar at Ristorante Posto manages to tap into heaven and bring back this distilled soul of the good mimosa for the enjoyment of us mere mortals.”

Read the whole article here: http://galtime.com/article/food/44172/14562/brunch-distilled-sampling-digestivos-posto.

“The WHITE HOUSE has always kept black Washington at a safe distance… But under Obama, the nexus of nightlife has shifted to Shaw, a diverse neighborhood along the U Street corridor known as ‘the black Broadway.’ Duke Ellington and Marvin Gaye grew up here, and young Obama-ites are gravitating to… POSTO- Rahm Emanuel, David Axelrod and Eric Holder all sighted at this Italian spot known for thin-crust pizza.”

Read the whole article here: http://www.rollingstone.com/issue1080

“When Congress is in session, members are in Washington Mondays through Thursdays — Fridays on a bad week — and they need a place to be when they’re not actually working. For a lot of members on a lot of nights, that place is a bar or a restaurant within walking distance of the Capitol. Democrats have their spots, and Republicans have theirs. Only occasionally do the two groups converge. Here are the top five in each category.
The Democrats -
POSTO: It’s new and not even on Capitol Hill, but this young restaurant in the trendy Logan Circle area has already seen Emanuel and his good pals Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and her husband, pollster Stanley Greenberg, a couple of times.

Read the whole article here: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/23462.html

“Washington restaurateurs once rubbed their hands in anticipation of multiple visits from Barack Obama, who reportedly spent many date nights with his wife, Michelle, at Chicago’s better eateries. But after 100 days of waiting, the restaurateurs have turned their attention to more junior members of the new administration, as well as to the highly visible new first lady and a guy known simply as Rahm…

While the Obamas are eating at home, members of the new administration — from young staffers to the Cabinet secretaries — are doing their share to keep the city’s economy going. Among them, chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is champion. He has eaten out so often — his wife and family are still in Chicago — that restaurateurs now refer to him by his first name.

“Rahm comes in,” said a manager at Posto, the administration’s hangout of the moment. The sprawling restaurant and bar that accepts no reservations and has no tablecloths is located on up-and-coming 14th Street Northwest, between Logan Circle and the U Street Corridor.

A less-expensive sister to Tosca, it has thin-crust pizzas with lots of delicious toppings, beautifully roasted chicken, a well-crafted assortment of pastas and many wines by the glass or the half-bottle. Its appeal has made fans of White House aides David Axelrod, Jim Messina, Matt Teper, Mona Sutphen and David Medina, as well as Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano…”

Read the whole article: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0409/21534.html

“Little miracles continue to appear on the reinvented 14th Street Northwest corridor bridging Dupont and Logan circles. Posto has been offering the neighborhood first-rate Italian food at moderate prices since December.

No reservations, but there’s no stinting on the food or the service, and no mystery because Posto is the little sister of the elegant Tosca downtown. The menu at Posto was designed by Tosca’s executive chef, Massimo Fabbri, and is carried out with eclat by chef de cuisine Matteo Venini.

What comes to the table at Posto is beautifully prepared and presented, from excellent pizzas with delicious chewy crusts to a delectable rhubarb-and-celery cobbler. Almost everything in between gets high marks…”

Read the whole article here: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/08/little-miracles-continue-to-appear-on-the-reinvent/

“Welcome to the new Italian Renaissance, where fresh fish replaces frescoes and vino supplants da Vinci. The capital has become a hotbed of chic yet affordable pizza-and-pasta spots, from Locanda to Mio to Posto, a new Logan Circle offering from the owners of downtown favorite Tosca.

Posto is housed in a former auto showroom, with high ceilings and simple, cool lighting that draw the eye to several illuminated images of winding Florentine streets mounted on the walls. The dining room is curiously reminiscent of a cafeteria for supermodels – if catwalkers had a taste for tagliatelle, that is.

New arrivals are steered to the hostess station at the front of the restaurant, where one might expect aloof service to match Posto’s high-minded design. But the staff is unfailingly affable, making diners feel at ease even during half-hour waits in a crowded entryway. Since it first opened in the foodie-rich heart of 14th Street NW, Posto has suffered from that most welcome restaurant curse: instant popularity.

And it’s no wonder that the crowds are flocking to Massimo Fabbri’s menu, which blends accessible Italian comfort food such as creamy polenta and spinach tortellini with side dishes so simple they seem revolutionary in this era of trendy eats…”

“ ‘A modern Italian place to meet’ is Posto’s motto, and indeed its Logan Circle neighborhood has been eagerly waiting to meet it. The newest venture from executive chef Massimo Fabbri, of downtown’s lauded Tosca, it replaces Viridian next to Studio Theatre and has already escalated in popularity, evident by the full dining room on a freezing Monday night…”

“Restaurateur Paolo Sacco envisioned Posto as a casual Italian hangout, and he installed a pizza oven to drill the point home. So why is it that this recent addition to Logan Circle frequently brings to mind Sacco’s coolly formal Tosca downtown?

A good wine program prompts the comparison. There are plenty of interesting labels from which to choose, some from lesser-known wine regions such as Campagna and Puglia in Italy and Navarra and Terra Alta in Spain. Sacco tapped Kathy Morgan, his onetime sommelier at Tosca, to compose the list, which includes more than a dozen wines by the four- or six-ounce glass (the larger pours are better values)…”

“Logan Circle has been heating things up lately with new eateries; most recently Posto, an Italian bistro joined the neighborhood. The dynamic team behind Tosca opened this newest venture, located next to The Studio Theatre on 14th St. Floor to ceiling windows, high ceilings, stark furnishing and bright artwork gives a stylish nod to the open space, which once housed the restaurant Viridian. Diners can choose from the 100-seat dining room or lounge at the bar or communal table which divides the two…”