La Panetteria

We don't often post recipes on TwoDC but I'm going to share one with you today.

The Perfect Day

Serves: 2

Ingredients

No work

Sunny weather

Bicycle

Best friend

Yummy food

Instructions

Take the no work and combine on a shady trail with the sunny weather. Next, take one bicycle (doesn't have to be top-shelf) and sit on it. Grab your best friend (helps if best friend has bicycle too) and stir thoroughly until a sweat develops. Place in a restaurant serving yummy food. Let rest for about 20 minutes. Eat and enjoy!

Recently, we had the opportunity to make this recipe and, in this case, the star ingredient was La Panetteria in Bethesda. We rode our bikes up the C&O Trail (see more thoughts on local bike trails here) to this cozy Italian restaurant and were seated (helmets, dirt, and water bottles included) on this brilliantly sunny indoor patio.

After a very warm ride, I was craving cold water and pizza. The adorable Italian waiter recommended the white pizza with pepperoni and mushrooms. It was an incredible blend of flavorful cheeses and garlicky goodness, served atop a pillowy dough. I could eat a dangerous amount of this stuff.

For B, the waiter suggested the lasagna. This was a mammoth-sized piece homemade lasagna that was just as huge in the flavor department as it was in the size department. Good thing we had a bike ride home to burn off some of those calories.

I'm smiling just thinking about this meal. We were dirty and hot and tired, but La Panetteria welcomed us with open Italian arms. I can't wait to go back when we're a bit more presentable and try their dinner options.

Second Thoughts from B

Consider me humbled. On the list of good ideas, this one seemed like a great one. Unfortunately, I didn't take into account that only one of us has been waking up before dawn to attend spinning class for the last 6 months. Basically, I spent much of this beautiful - albeit somewhat muggy - day trying to keep up. I think I lost my ego at mile 3 and by the time I reached Bethesda, I was spent. So thank goodness for La Panetteria.

And while I'm handing out kudos, let me give a shout out to our Droids. As we've talked about (see here), we picked up these smart phones in December and haven't looked back. This time it was to use the Urbanspoon app to find something to eat and we hit the jackpot...

When I, of course, asked our waiter what he'd recommend (hint, hint, that statement could win you $40!), he pointed me to lasagna that was "just like his grandmother's." Game, set, match, grandma! The fresh pasta, high quality cheeses, and homemade sauces made me weak in the knees. Sure, it could have been from chasing after J all morning, but I'd like to think it was the food. Point is, no matter how you get to Bethesda, take a trip to La Panetteria and tell them grandma sent you.