Assaggi Mozarrella Bar and Restaurant (****)

Assaggi used to be Centro, but a year or so ago changed its name. The chef is Domenico Cornacchia and he has a restaurant to be proud of. This is a happening place, but that doesn't detract from the food and the wines. The wines by the glass are well chosen and cover the spectrum, including some good choices for under $10, which seems to be the new medium price point for a glass of wine these days. The menu highlights the mozzarella bar, which we did not try, but there is so much to choose from, including a lengthy list of daily specials, that one almost feels overwhelmed by it all. We tried a few of the salads, each of which was well seasoned, not over dressed, and mixed textures well. The pasta dishes are very good. I tried some buckwheat noodles (pizzocheri, which are long, flat noodles similar to papardelle) with potatoes, chard and bitto cheese. The others in the party had a fantastic potato gnocchi dish with a veal short rib ragu' that Leslie was still raving about two days later. A wonderful restaurant, and a gem in downtown Bethesda. Now go, mangia bene!