What is it about Italian food that is so enticing, comforting, and required every once in a while? Is it the chance for carb overload? Or, is it the fresh, no frills food that celebrates its ingredients? Does the food remind us of simpler, laid-back times? Whatever the reason, it is widely accepted that some of our most cherished cuisine is that of Italy and surrounding regions on the Mediterranean. To experience Italian food in Italy would cost an arm and a leg, but we have the next best thing: Italian food in the comforts of our hometown. That’s right; seafood is usually the treasured food group but move over crab cake, creamy pasta cooked to al dente is coming through. Below, we provide a comprehensive list of the best of Italian food here in the city.
Luna Blu Ristorante Italiano sits at 36 West Street, where pasta and cobblestone streets merge. The restaurant owned by two Annapolis ladies serves lunch and dinner every day of the week. Monday through Friday, lunch is available from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; from Saturday to Sunday in the fall, lunch is open from noon to 5 p.m. Dinner is served at 5 p.m. every day. Lunch features all the Italian favorites you could request: bruschetta, sauteed calamari, tortellini soup, pizza, and Italian sausage with roasted peppers on a sandwich. Prices for lunch range from $5 to $18. Dinner features options like baked brie with mushrooms and spinach, scallops and polenta, risotto, and of course, a range of pasta selections. Dinner can go up to $26 unless you choose the four course option that costs $35 for an appetizer, salad, entree, and dessert. Similar to happy hour, Luna Blu provides discounted appetizers Sunday through Wednesday from 5 to 6 p.m. and Thursday from 5 to 9:30 p.m. Additionally, bottles of wine are half-off Mondays and Wednesdays. You can’t miss the blue facade; visit Luna Blu soon! See more on the Web: www.lunabluofannapolis.com. 
Right from City Dock, Maria’s Sicilian Ristorante & Cafe provides old family recipes to a modern audience. Maria’s is open for brunch, lunch, and dinner. Brunch is available on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and features items like breakfast sandwiches and omelets stuffed with sun dried tomatoes and mozzarella. Lunch provides various mussel preparations, fried calamari, minestrone soup, and fresh veggie and focaccia salad. Lunch prices range from $6.95 to $15.95. Dinner could be anything from carpaccio to eggplant involtini to seafood in creamy pasta. The price tag for dinner goes from $9.95 to $35.95. Of course, Maria’s supplies a long list of wines to accompany lunch and dinner. Maria’s is open every day from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. See the many more menu items on the site www.mariasannapolis.com.
Piccola Roma Restaurant is in the midst of the action on Main Street, but the vibe inside is relaxed. Piccola Roma’s tasty food is served at both lunch and dinner time. Lunch is comprised of pesto dip, proscuitto and crab in a cream-filled pastry, lobster ravioli, and filet mignon panini. Dinner is just as elegant, as noted in dishes like baked stuffed dates, primavera, seafood risotto, and grilled rack of lamb. Dinner prices range from $7 to $39. Lunch prices are nearly the same, though the most expensive item on the lunch menu costs $16. Diners have the option of eating inside and facing Main Street or eating on the Portico and facing the State House. Hours of operation are as follows: lunch Monday through Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; dinner Monday through Thursday 5:30 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday from 5 to 9 p.m. For more, head to www.piccolaromaannapolis.com.
Osteria 177 is across the street from Piccola Roma at 177 Main Street. The restaurant focuses on “coastal cuisine” manifested in dishes like tuna carpaccio, vesuviano with shrimp, and linguine alle vongole with clams, all under the lunch menu. Lunch prices can range from $7 to $18. Dinner features the same coastal feel, but is reinvented in dishes like grilled calamari and arugula salad and wild salmon in a buttery lemon sauce. Of course, the restaurant features a wealth of non-seafood dishes like pasta served alongside pears, gorgonzola, and creamy mushrooms. Dinner costs $7 to $49. Lunch hours are Monday through Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dinner hours are as follows: Monday through Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5 to 11 p.m.; and Sunday, 5 to 9 p.m. Certainly visit this authentic Italian restaurant in person, but you can also do so on the Internet: www.osteria177.com.
The Italian Market & Restaurant at 126 Defense Highway in Annapolis functions as both market and restaurant (as you can imagine from the title). The restaurant features all sorts of classic Italian dishes like scallops and linguine, chicken florentino, and fettucine alfredo. Pizza is also a staple at the market/cafe. Aside from the dine-in and carry out features, The Italian Market also caters. Head to http://theitalianmarket.com.
A little ways from downtown at Park Place sits another Italian restaurant named after one of Italy’s most cherished dishes, Carpaccio. The locally owned restaurant provides treasured entrees for lunch and dinner like oyster rockefeller, tomato and rice balls topped with gooey cheese, Mediterranean salad, lamb with gnocci, and brick oven pizza. Prices are comparable and range from about $5 to $36.99. In addition to the lunch and dinner options, Carpaccio provides carry out. Happy hour at Carpaccio is as delightful as the food there: half-off discounts on food and wine Monday to Friday, 4 to 7 p.m. Especially for the ladies, Carpaccio features a Ladies Night with wine deals.
Unfortunately, the confines of this post don’t allow for a true experience of all these delectable Italian restaurants in Annapolis. To gain appreciation for Italy in Annapolis, you must indulge in the food, perhaps with a drink or two. Whether you try the seafood preparations at Osteria 177 or the cheesy pasta at Carpaccio, you’ll be one step closer to determining what makes Italian food so desirable. We can’t resist this salutation: buon appetito!
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